According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global production of beef and buffalo was around 29 tonnes in 1961. By 2018, production had more than doubled, reaching close to 72 tonnes. That’s almost 30% more beef produced per cow* since 1961. And yet the amount of land devoted to livestock pasture has been declining for the past twenty years:
This is great news for the environment. Less land for pasture means more land for forest and less carbon in the atmosphere. How did we do it? Mostly through better breeding, more productive grasses/feed crops, proper shelter and improved veterinary care (Scientific American, 2019). No resting on laurels though - lots more needs to be done, especially in low-income countries. But we’re on the right track.
—
Note: Unfortunately, the stats on beef and buffalo are combined. I’m assuming that most of the productivity gains have to do with beef, not buffalo, given that the greatest gains have been in developed countries where buffalo meat has yet to take off.
References:
“Achieving Peak Pasture” by Dan Blaustein-Rejto and Linus Blomqvist/ Breakthrough Institute. Nov 21, 2019 https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food/livestock-revolution
“Meat and Dairy Production” by Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser/Our World in Data. First published in August 2017; last revision in November 2019. https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production
“We’ve Reached “Peak Pasture” for Livestock” by Dan Blaustein-Rejto and Linus Blomqvist. Scientific American. August 21, 2019 https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/weve-reached-peak-pasture-for-livestock/