Nearly 60% of global agricultural land is used for beef – either directly for cattle pasture or indirectly for growing feed.16 It’s one of the most resource-inefficient foods on the planet, in terms of the land and energy it requires per calorie or nutrient. And the pressure to find land for pasture and feed is the single greatest driver of deforestation. As I write this, large parts of the Amazon rainforest are literally being burned down for the sake of beef. Yet, far from being essential to human diets, beef accounts for only 2% of the calories humans consume.
