Future Perfect

Can we raise better beef?


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Beef cattle take a huge toll on the environment. In Brazil, a huge chunk of greenhouse gas emissions comes from ranching alone. And a California-sized chunk of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down to provide land for these cattle to graze on.

But one man, living on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, has a potential solution. In a series of small pilot projects run in his own small town, he’s demonstrated that he can work with ranchers to make their land healthier and more sustainable, so they don’t have to slash and burn more forest. He’s also shown that, by making the land greener and the cows healthier, he can dramatically reduce emissions from ranching.


Further listening and reading: 

  • Christina Selby’s story about Vando Telles’s company can be found at Scientific American.
  • Vox video has an in-depth explainer on deforestation in the Amazon and on the invasion of indigenous land in Brazil.
  • Vox video also has an explainer on why eating beef speeds up climate change.
  • Vox’s Umair Irfan traveled to Brazil last year to report on deforestation and climate change.
  • We always want to hear from you! Please send comments and questions to [email protected]

    Subscribe to Future Perfect on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app to automatically get new episodes of the latest season each week.

    This podcast is made possible thanks to support from Animal Charity Evaluators. They research and promote the most effective ways to help animals.


    Featuring:

    Christina Selby (@Christina Selby), freelance science reporter


    Host:

    Sigal Samuel (@SigalSamuel), staff writer, Vox 


    More to explore:


    Follow all of Future Perfect’s reporting on the Future of Meat.

    Subscribe to Vox’s Future Perfect newsletter, which breaks down big, complicated problems the world faces and the most efficient ways to solve them.


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