Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. “And terrifyingly, it’s happening to about two-thirds of the world’s grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos.” Savory has devoted his life to stopping it. He now believes — and his work so far shows — that a surprising factor can protect grasslands and even reclaim degraded land that was once desert.
That surprising factor is not lowering the use of cattle or turning the world vegan, but rather carefully increasing traditional grazing in areas which are considered “un-salvageable” due to desertification.
“Savory’s argument, which counters popular conceptions, is that more livestock rather than fewer can help save the planet through a concept he calls “holistic management.” In brief, he contends that grazing livestock can reverse desertification and restore carbon to the soil, enhancing its biodiversity and countering climate change. ”
