Sure, growing crops specifically to feed cattle that could be fed to humans instead makes farming cattle seem wasteful but only if You take a very narrow view of the situation instead of looking at the entire system.

Cattle provide more than just food products, From 1 cow hide you can get 12 basketballs OR 144 baseballs OR 20 footballs OR 18 volleyballs OR 18 soccer balls OR 12 baseball gloves. Yes all of those could be made of synthetic materials but I appreciate the natural biodegradable quality of leather products. Belts, shoes, jackets, furniture, steering wheels and on and on...it would add up to lots more plastics in our environment.

Most cattle are currently being fed annual cereal crops to fatten them up quickly, which I agree is a terrible way to go but unfortunately also profitable, but farming cattle on perennial grassland if managed properly actually regenerates the land, increases biodiversity, builds soil,stops desertification and is profitable too.

I think there is truth in the article but it also lacks perspective in some ways.