Put down that veggie burger. These farmers say their cows can solve the climate crisis

Calls for plant-based diets to save the planet from the climate crisis are growing louder. But there is another, quieter, revolution reshaping the agricultural world. Farmers like Slabbert and their supporters say that what people eat is not as important as how they farm. They believe cattle and cropland could help save the planet." I have become a steward of this land and the cows are the key," Slabbert says. Before settlers arrived with their guns and wagons, this part of what is now South Africa's Free State province was an immense grassland. More than 30 species of grass anchored the rolling plains; fodder for millions of migrating antelope. Over time, the wild herds were shot out and much of the plains became corn and potato fields. There is still plenty of grassland here, or veld, as South Africans call it. Farmers such as Slabbert are looking back to those immense herds to recreate the natural cycle. "What we are doing is trying to mimic nature," he says, explaining that 200 years ago, huge herds of animals would have moved over this veld, avoiding predators in their tightly packed groups." Slabbert says he has rejuvenated the land by drastically increasing his cattle herd. He hems the animals into a rectangular patch of grassland with a low-current wire. For several hours, they eat all of the grasses they can find before the wire lifts, and the cattle rapidly move into a new section. They are always moving, never selectively eating, just like a migratory herd. The method is called ultra-high density grazing. "These cattle are replenishing the land," Slabbert says...MORE