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How Regenerative Beef Production Could Restore Desertified Land and Strengthen Public Health

How Regenerative Beef Production Could Restore Desertified Land and Strengthen Public Health
A bull is displayed at a stand at the Green Week international foods and agricultural trade fair in Berlin, Germany, on Jan. 19, 2026. Nadja Wohlleben /Getty Images
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Commentary

For most of my adult life, I believed what many environmentalists still believe: that healing the planet requires eliminating animal agriculture. This conviction was deeply personal and publicly lived. I was raised by hippy parents, helped build a nationally recognized vegan brand called Café Gratitude around the idea that food could be medicine, and later co-founded Kiss the Ground to bring regenerative agriculture into the mainstream.

Ryland Engelhart
Ryland Engelhart
Author
Ryland Engelhart is co-founder and co-executive director of American Regeneration.