Underappreciated — and undervalued
So why does it matter that half of the world’s land mass consists of broadly defined rangeland? Because these vast, open areas are not only ill-suited to cultivation of the row crops vegans insist should be the primary sources of food for all of humanity, but more importantly, because rangelands provide forage for livestock, habitat for wildlife and serve as vital sources of fresh water.
Forget the value of the recreational opportunities and the importance of their unique ecosystems. Without the utilization of grasslands and the animals that live therein, billions of people worldwide would struggle to survive.
In North America, we have failed to preserve the grasslands that once covered millions of square miles of the continent, instead plowing up the prairies and paving over a resource that has been severely undervalued from the day Europeans first set foot on the shores of the New World.
Currently, most people assess the importance of rangeland by whether they believe grazing animals are an asset or a liability to the eco-health of America’s grasslands. For anti-industry activists and the most vocal of the veganistas, it’s axiomatic that all cattle should be permanently banned from what is, in fact, their natural habitat.
