‘It’s Pseudoscience’: George Monbiot Blasts Regenerative Grazing In Heated Debate

George Monbiot and Allan Savory engaged in a heated debate at Oxford University Museum of Natural History regarding the efficacy of regenerative grazing in combatting climate change. Savory, a proponent of holistic management, claims that grass-fed cattle in rotational systems can help sequester carbon and improve biodiversity. However, Monbiot refuted these claims by stating that there is no empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of this method, and in fact, grazing livestock systems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and ecological destruction.

Monbiot highlighted the significant carbon opportunity cost of livestock farming, emphasizing that rewilding the land used for grazing could sequester substantial amounts of carbon. He criticized the idea that grazing cattle can mitigate climate change as "climate science denial," linking it to the interests of major corporations who benefit from perpetuating this narrative. Monbiot was not alone in his criticisms, as studies have shown that land left free from grazing actually has higher biodiversity and better environmental outcomes.