#36 – Defending Beef with Nicolette Hahn Niman

“For every complex problem there’s an answer that is clear simple and wrong”

Are you confused or disheartened by the mainstream medias portrayal of beef? Would you like to understand how well managed cattle can be a huge step in solving our climate and health problems? Do you long for more nuance in the discussion on how to create sustainable food for our future?

Today on the podcast we welcome Nicolette Hahn Niman the author of the book Defending Beef.

• We talk about how the key to creating a sustainable future can be found by looking back to our food and farming heritage
• She explains the flaw in the global science reports we all hear about
• She shares how she moved from being a 30-year vegetarian back to eating meat
• We talk about the importance of nourishment from real food and hear how Nicolette creates and sustains that for her own family

As well as being author, Nicolette is a mother, a lawyer and a rancher. She has an incredible head for science but she has her fingers in the soil and her knife on the chopping board in her kitchen every day. There’s so much wisdom in this conversation.

“It is complexity and diversity that create regeneration.”

The Run Down:

0:00 Introduction and what Nicolette last ate

8:15 The science behind cattle’s footprint and the problem with global reporting

14:45 Finding simple answers by looking back

29:00 The brilliance of nature and our disconnection from it

32:34 Nicolette’s move from vegetarian to meat eating

41.20 Raising a family and running a farm and the importance of nourishment

51:50 How we can make a difference

“Do your best. Get what you can from your local community. Raise food if you can. Cook as much as you can and then do not beat up on yourself if you can’t be perfect.”

Resources:

Buy Nicolette’s book here (whilst supporting local bookstores)

Nicolette’s ranch

Allan Savory

Gabe Brown

Joel Salatin

Thanks to Chelsea Green, we are delighted to be able to give away a copy of Nicolette’s book Defending Beef. To find out how to get in the drawer check our Instagram accounts (details below).

“For most of human history most people struggled with not having enough information now we are all struggling with a tsunami of information and the challenge is to find out what’s credible”