Let's talk about beef (again)
The Beef (22d) Edition of the Negative Foods Newsletter
Beef is controversial, which makes it fun to write about.
Beef is consequential, which makes it important to write about.
The industrial beef industry is the worst climate actor in our food system. Jonathan Safran Foer argues that, when you include its role in deforestation, animal meat production accounts for more than half of greenhouse gas emissions. More conservative estimates still reveal the staggering climate cost of industrial beef.
But beef produced regeneratively is good for the climate, drawing carbon from the atmosphere on a net basis.
So the answer is not to eliminate all beef from our diet, but to instead eliminate the harmful beef, and to celebrate and enjoy beef that’s good for the climate.
Consider four good actor meat companies that are producing beef regeneratively, drawing carbon from the atmosphere, in different regions of the U.S.:
Belcampo of Northern California
White Oak Pastures of Bluffton Georgia
Wholesome Meats of San Antonio Texas
Hickory Nut Gap near Asheville North Carolina
White Oak shares publicly the LCA they commissioned from Qauntis that confirms “that our farm is storing more carbon in our soil than our pasture-raised cows emit during their lifetime.“
Belcampo recently released a report stating that “In 2020, Belcampo Farms removed a net 23,000 metric tons of CO2e from the atmosphere; this number reflects the total carbon sequestration from its regenerative grazing minus the emissions from all the company’s commercial activities, which include enteric methane, transportation, last-mile fulfillment, restaurant operations, and all other farming practices and processes.”
I spoke earlier this week with Belcampo’s founder Anya Fernald and CEO Garry Embleton, who were happy to confirm that their total emissions, including everything beyond the animals, are eclipsed by the removal of greenhouse gasses by Belcampo’s animals.
So while industrial beef producers are pumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, businesses like Belcampo are drawing down greenhouse gases.
This is like BrewDog in the beer edition of this newsletter. Is the right answer for Belcampo to reduce how much beef it makes? For Americans to eat less regeneratively produced beef? No. We should eat more beef from Belcampo, and Belcampo should scale their model to remove more carbon from the atmosphere.
As a society, if we scale up operations like Belcampo, and scale down industrial beef operations, it would be a material net positive impact on carbon in the atmosphere.
This is the crux of this newsletter. When we encounter Negative Foods like Belcampo beef, the consumption of such products is a lever to reverse climate change.
Of course there would be other consequences as well. We’d need more land for farms like Belcampo’s Shasta Farm, which would crowd out farming operations that are not producing Negative Foods. See last week’s newsletter for my thoughts on what to do with the crops that get displaced.
Beef prices would rise, and beef consumption rates, which are too high in the U.S., would fall.
Waterways would be cleaner, and water systems would store more water. Lettuce fields would be exposed to fewer pathogens. Biodiversity would improve. We’d have healthier food and happier farmworkers.
As more companies seek to remove atmospheric carbon to offset their emissions, the markets will reward regenerative farming practices. Kevin Silverman of Soilworks, which owns Wholesome Meats, pointed out to me this week that 23K tons of CO2e at $25 per credit would reward farms like Belcampo with nearly $600K in additional annual revenue.
Are you a food eater? If yes, then your role in this is to find companies like the four listed above and support them.
I’m moderating a panel at the Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum in Oakland Sep 28-29. Let’s connect IRL!
For Your Consideration:
Brief: Meat accounts for more than half of food production’s greenhouse gas emissions, says study
Brief: Netherlands mulls plan to cut livestock numbers by a third
People around the world increasingly see climate change as a personal threat, new poll finds
Nestlé’s pledges to speed up transition toward regenerative food system
Nitrogen fixer Andes scores $15m from Bayer, Wilbur-Ellis to move into carbon capture
Patagonia Provisions Releases a New West Coast IPA
Billions are pouring into the business of decarbonisation
UN calls for reform of $540bn farming subsidies to help climate
Acumen’s new ag fund ushers commercial capital to farmers’ fight against climate change
The Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum in Oakland Sep 28-29.
The views in this newsletter belong solely to Paul Lightfoot (and not to BrightFarms or other organizations). This newsletter accepts no advertising. Learn more about this newsletter at https://paullightfoot.substack.com/about.