https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/organic-live...
So looking at a single metric (methane emissions) doesn't do this topic justice.
Also, live stock grazing (if done properly) can also be a method of regreening environments.
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/though-forests-burn-agrofo...
The idea that we need to slaughter cattle to regenerate land is pretty flawed if nothing more because if this was actually effective, we could simply reintroduce bison and other animals that are natural to a given local and not need to constantly pump meat out of that same land. Meat production will slowly decline as consumers have more ethical, environmentally friendly, cost effective, healthy, and savory enough alternatives. Impossible and Beyond are the mvp and this is only going to accelerate. Especially if we are eventually start to price GHG.
They sell male calves and older cattle and also eggs, chicken etc. But not much else.
In all likelihood these farmers probably do far less damage to the environment and also "consume" far less plastic packaging and produce far less non-recyclable waste than the average person living in an apartment in a city. Also, the overall pollution per person in the household of a farmer is likely a lot less as well.
Compost can do just fine in this case. Also if you want to boost nitrogen on the soil you can do by using FAA (a KNF entry) based on fish, instead. Anyways, the second link you sent says that they have controlled grazing to prevent the cattle from destroying new growth. As the text says: plants can do it all.
Plantation can't. And never will.
The organic and natural farming methods used in parts of Asia - especially India, utilizes livestock for much more than just manure.
You should look up Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) by Subhash Palekar.
Quoting from this site:
https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/zero-budget-natural-farming...
The “four wheels” of ZBNF are ‘Jiwamrita’, ‘Bijamrita’, ‘Mulching’ and ‘Waaphasa’.
- Jiwamrita is a fermented mixture of cow dung and urine (of desi (Indian) breeds), jaggery, pulses flour, water and soil from the farm bund.
- This isn’t a fertiliser, but just a source of some 500 crore micro-organisms that can convert all the necessary “non-available” nutrients into “available” form.
- Bijamrita is a mix of desi cow dung and urine, water, bund soil and lime that is used as a seed treatment solution prior to sowing.
- Mulching, or covering the plants with a layer of dried straw or fallen leaves, is meant to conserve soil moisture and keep the temperature around the roots at 25-32 degrees Celsius, which allows the microorganisms to do their job.
- Waaphasa, or providing water to maintain the required moisture-air balance, also achieves the same objective.
> with managed "strategic" herds of grazing vegetarians
This is “introduce a few grazing animals”, not “this will support the world’s cattle”.
As with everything, all things have to be done in moderation. A certain acreage of land can only support so many plants, animals and humans.
I was only countering the narrative that livestock=evil because it damages the environment based on one single parameter - methane emissions.. which is also something that is being addressed by different types of feeds etc.