The human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually
every major category of environmental damage now threatening the
human future deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and
water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the
destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.
– The World Watch Institute
Grazing has its place in just about every agricultural system that involves livestock. This includes cows bred to produce organical dairy products, or those set to become grass-fed beef, who will graze for two to three years before slaughter, or cows bred for their flesh or milk in the factory farming system who will graze for up to one year before being transported to feedlots.
However the particular breeding, feeding and killing operation is conducted, humans are introducing large numbers of grazing cattle into areas where cows were not previously found. This has an enormous impact on native ecosystems so much so that grazing cattle now have the character of an invasive species.
Read the whole story below:
Grazing Cattle: The New Invasive Species | One Green Planet.