Source record
Grazed and Confused? Ruminating on cattle, grazing systems, methane, nitrous oxide, the soil carbon sequestration question
Tara Garnett, Cécile Godde, et al. (2017). Food Climate Research Network, University of Oxford.
Key findings
- Grazing livestock can sequester some soil carbon, but the global potential offsets only a small fraction (estimated 20–60%) of grazing livestock's own emissions, and is time-limited and reversible.
Record
- Source type
- Report
- Study type
- Review
- Topics
- Climate & emissions, Land use
- Geography
- Global
- Funding & conflicts
- Not recorded.
- Source quality
- Moderate evidence
Limitations
- Synthesis with acknowledged wide uncertainty ranges.
Statistics we use from this source
- 40% (estimated range 20–60%)Share of grazing livestock emissions that soil carbon could plausibly offset
Claims this source supports
EnvironmentModerate evidence
Well-managed grazing can store some carbon in soil, but not enough to offset cattle's own emissions, and grass-fed beef generally has higher emissions per kg than grain-finished beef.
Better, in some ways, but not low-impact. Soil carbon gains are real, limited, and temporary.
Cite this record
Grazed and Confused? Ruminating on cattle, grazing systems, methane, nitrous oxide, the soil carbon sequestration question. The Balance of Health. https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/garnett-2017-grazed-and-confused