THE ROLE OF RED MEAT IN HEALTHY & SUSTAINABLE NEW ZEALAND DIETS

HOW SUSTAINABLE IS SHEEP AND BEEF FARMING IN NZ?

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Farmers are Kaitiaki of the environment

Here in New Zealand we are lucky to have access to nutritious, grass-fed beef and lamb raised by farmers who are recognised as world leaders in sustainable farming and animal well-being. Our farmers take their role as Kaitiaki, or guardians, of the environment seriously. Farmers know their land, love their animals, and want to leave their farms in better condition for the next generation

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlight how resilient, sustainable & low-GHG emission systems, similar to New Zealand’s pastoral systems, can play a role in minimising climate change.

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Considerable reforestation has occurred & is underway on sheep & beef farms. Currently, beef and sheep farms host around a 1/4 of NZ’s native vegetation, 17% of our native forest, and 180,000 hectares of pine forest.

Pasture-raised NZ beef & lamb is produced in a farming system that is about 90% carbon neutral due to extensive vegetation on-farm.

A key component of food security is matching food production to land capability. Sheep and beef production uses 34% of NZ’s total land mass. Of this land, 93% of it is best suited to rearing animals, due to its hilly terrain. Of the remaining 7% of beef and sheep farmland, the vast majority has already been diversified into areas such as cropping, beehives, and commercial forestry.

The idea that beef and sheep farmland can be easily switched out for other uses is not borne out in fact. Beef and sheep production, contributes to a strong, reliable, and sustainable New Zealand food systems and is necessary to ensure that Kiwis (and millions of others) continue to be nourished. We enjoy some of nature’s best growing conditions and are recognised as world-leading producers of sustainable beef and lamb.