Regenerative agriculture is having a moment. From farming circles to food documentaries, it’s being framed as the answer to our broken food system. But there’s a central contradiction in the way the term is being used, and it risks locking us into another unsustainable paradigm.
If regeneration means restoring soil health, halting wildlife loss, and cutting emissions, we must be willing to say something that some may find uncomfortable: true regenerative farming cannot include livestock.
Most definitions of regenerative agriculture include animals as an essential component – for fertilising soil, rotating with crops, or mimicking ‘natural’ grazing systems. But this assumption doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Earthworms
Globally, 83 per cent of agricultural land is used for animal farming, while providing just 18 per cent of our calories. The carbon footprint of meat and dairy is vastly higher than plant-based alternatives, and the inefficiencies are staggering.
According to Oxford University research, shifting to a plant-based food system could cut food emissions in half and free up three-quarters of farmland – land that could be rewilded, reforested, or returned to nature.
There’s a misconception that ruminants are necessary for soil fertility. In reality, natural ecosystems maintain soil health without domesticated animals. Earthworms, microbes, fungi and plant roots already do the job.
Soil scientist Amir Kassam calls these organisms “a million tiny cows.” His work supports stock-free organic farming, which avoids all animal inputs and instead uses green manures, compost, cover crops, and minimal tillage.
It’s not just theoretical: farms like Tolhurst Organic in Oxfordshire are showing what’s possible. Tolhurst’s land hosts an astonishing 1,500 earthworms per square metre, a benchmark for soil vitality.
Resistance
I’ve seen the contradictions of animal farming firsthand. In the early 2010s, I worked on a large dairy farm. Thousands of cows grazed fields stripped of their biodiversity. The soil was churned and compacted. The runoff polluted local waterways. I waded knee-deep through slurry.
The animals deemed sick or unproductive were separated into a ‘red herd’ and milked daily, even though their milk was dumped due to antibiotic and other pharmaceutical contamination. This is standard practice in the industry.
The experience changed my life. It led me to go vegan, and to begin advocating for food systems that are genuinely sustainable – for animals, for ecosystems, and for the people caught inside this harmful system.
One of the less talked-about impacts of livestock farming is its contribution to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Around two-thirds of all antibiotics produced globally are used in animals raised for food. This drives resistance in bacteria, a threat that the WHO ranks among the top 10 global health threats.