Allan Savory's 5 Big Lies - Debunked

Livestock to save the world...What does the science actually say about Allan Savory's methods? In this video we look behind the glamorous 'before and after' shots in the TED talk.
Links and Sources:

2014 Paper: "...no peer-reviewed studies" for Savory's grazing:

"lack of conclusive evidence on measurable benefits of HM grazing."

Definition of Short duration grazing:

Short Duration Grazing and Intensive Rotational Grazing:

Guardian Article Questioning Savory Carbon Data:

1/8th as much as Savory's methods require Paper:
"The Savory Method Can Not Green Deserts or Reverse Climate Change" (Just google it, no direct link)

Grass fed beef Methane Emissions:

Methane 25x more potent than CO2:

NY Times Op-Ed mentioning Polyface grain usage:

Geoff Lawton's Greening the Desert:

Forest Man of India:

95% of plants are compatible

[MictheVegan]

I would be tempted to do a follow up video but judging by the amount of people telling me how amazing Joel Salatin is when I cover him in part 2, it's clear that it won't be watched beyond 30 second with a "This guy is vegan so he's wrong."
Also, a few people mentioned anecdotally that this method has helped them. Yes, putting more thought into your grazing system can lead to improvements but in the end, Holistic Grazing falls so short of saving the world from desertification and CO2. For 99% of people, Allan Savory is an excuse to keep buying factory farmed burgers and feel great about it. Seriously ask yourself, do you only eat beef grown with Holistic Grazing methods? If not, you are eating against your own morals.

[kevinmeiring]

As an active cattle farmer my observations over the last 2 years have shown that Alan is on the right track. We have successfully rehabilitated over 40 hectares of bare ground using the methods discussed by Alan. Nature has been a humbling experience for me with most of my "educated guesses" being completely off target.

[AlexandreLollini]

I did not hear Allan Savory say that you need to eat meat. The aim is to regenerate soil, enabling this soil to grow edibles plants.

[thomasdenmark]

Having grown up on a ranch in Nevada and seeing the condition of grazed land compared to ungrazed I know from experience you are wrong. Properly managed grazed land flourishes.

[Kurauone__]

I am a vegan but will have to disagree with you on the simple grounds that I know people who have implemented his method and it worked.

I cannot argue that it is all legit but there certainly is something to it.

[Comrade_Jason]

I worked on a cattle farm in South Africa in the Karoo which is an arid region. The cattle ranged over thousands of hectares of natural grassland and the grass always looked great (and green!) Although totally anecdotal, a lot of people in Southern Africa do not plant grass for their cattle, as the land is perfect for grazing. The cows in essence totally take up the role of the wildebeest, buffalo etc that used to roam that land but we've now pushed into reserves. I'm not a scientist but I have seen these ideas working in practice.

[haroldschrock]

Instead of ranting about how it cannot be done why don't you go visit some farmers and ranchers that are doing it. There are hundreds of holistic management practitioners around the world that are doing exactly what you're arguing against. Using livestock to capture carbon and heal soil. Of course it works, I'm doing it myself. I didn't have to pay Allen Savory or anyone connected with him for my education.

There's all kinds of peer-reviewed research proving that holistic management does what it claims. Reviewed by farming peers that is. The best science is repeatable science, holistic management grazing is very repeatable science.

[bryantilley]

5 or so years ago I bought a plot of land on a slope that was 150 by 200 foot and it was in horrible shape. It was not retaining water and starting to erode, you could not get a shovel to pierce the ground it was so hard. There were about 30ish species of plants on the land and most where struggling. Most of the land was dead 6ft grass, bitterweed, brambles, and broomsedge. I went in and cut everything down and kept mowing it until all that was left was a fine mulch. It started to green out a little, but it wasn't doing that grand. After 2 years of doing that I added chickens on a rotational grazing like Savory has talked about and after leaving them on the land for a little over a year the place has come alive. Now there are over 100+ species of plants on that little 150 by 200 plot! Also there are 11 ant colonies on it and before there was none. Now it's also a hangout spot for birds, rabbits, squirrels, and armadillos. You can also dig into the ground now without much effort. I removed the chickens from the lot but I mow the area ever couple months during the growing season and add a little chicken manure over it to simulate the effects of rational grazing that the chickens where doing.

Sure Allan Savory's methods may not be absolute and there are more tests that need to be done to get it right, but from my own at home experiments I'd say he is on to something and I've seen others do similar things on youtube and has had similar results that I have had.

P.S. to any vegans that don't like this method because it uses animals, I can tell you the very chickens I used on that plot are still alive today though some are starting to get a little gray from old age. So that shows that this system will work without the killing of the animals.

[BC-yvew]

So funny and unexpected that studies funded by companies that depend on destructive conventional farming methods would find holistic & regenerative methods ineffective. I have to hand it to you, it takes a brave person to wake up one day and say “I’m going to record myself saying some completely crazy stuff and post it on YouTube.” Bravo.

[lookoutsidethebox]

It works. There is a pile of people that have been doing it for years and are seeing the results he is talking about. They are testing the actual amount of carbon that they sequester. The people that practice Allan's management are very focused on the health of the land and the environment. Studies can be just as void and swayed to the Benefit of the organization paying to have it done. I highly advise you to look up Dr.Allan Williams in regards to grass finished beef and if we have enough space to do it. You would be shocked at what he has to say. If you don't think holistic management works look up Gabe Brown or Neil Dennies . If you don't have hands on experience and want to flap your gums about how it is all lies, maybe you should tour some operations that practice it it first .

[cookyahoo]

The guy who made this video, who loves the sound of his own voice, wishes to impress us with a lot of syllables.. Where are his successes and proofs that his own ways work? Spends way too much time staring at computers for his info

[realSpook]

WOW just this
This might be the biggest smug hipster vegan i have ever seen on the internet

[amihland]

in my short life I learned not to believe to: 1) people who explain things very very fast and claim, that you are stupid 2) people who have an agenda. this guys does both

[shanemiles]

We've been practicing Holistic Management on our Ranch in North Dakota for about 20 years. Everything Savory talks about works. But the Ted talk this guy is referring to show very little of the actual teachings of Allan Savory. A Holistic Management class cost about $400. Not that much money in the scheme of things. Holistic Management doesn't fix problems in one or two years. But over a course of 10 years or 20 depending how aggressive you are with these practices. The scientists that were debunking Holistic management probably did a standard 3 year study. And I question what and how these practices were performed. This guy needs to go visit a farm or ranch that practices this to find the real truth. Look up Gabe Brown another influential leader in my state on Holistic Management

[arshstondube]

I've seen Allan Savory's theorem working. I tried to understand what you are saying against it and found out you never tried it at all.

[gerowyn]

have you seen what Joel Salatin has done on his farm over 50 years using the methods Allan Savory talks about?

[davidcreighton]

At least Allan has the experience to back his talk. You - probably Wikepedia.

[matthewpappalardo]

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, conducted by a third-party sustainability science firm, confirming that White Oak Pastures is storing more carbon in its soil than its pasture-raised cows emit during their lifetime. White Oak Pastures offsets at least 100% of our grassfed beef carbon emissions and as much as 85% of the farm's total carbon emissions. This flies in the face of "conventional wisdom", showing that grassfed beef and holistic land and animal management can be tools to help reverse climate change.

You do not know enough about this subject to produce a video. But you have your agenda.

[justcallmebookworm]

I get the impression that some vegans might be getting confused by Allan Savory's stance on using animals to solve desertification.

Afaik, Savory is not saying that eating more meat is the solution--rather that having more animals grazing, but not overgrazing, can help solve desertification. I think he also said that overgrazing is not necessarily about the amount of livestock on a given amount of land, but rather grazing too long in one area (I think a farmer in a vid mentioned the livestock even eating the roots of the grass because they are kept so long in an area), and bringing livestock back to graze in that area too soon (before the grass can regrow, I think).

He's also made the observation that animals in nature tend to gather in large herds as a defense against predators. I believe his recommendation to increase the amount of livestock may have initially been based on this observation. Basically, 'mimicking nature, ' I guess.

You might note that none of the above is suggesting that anyone has to eat more meat or dairy.

Other vegans in the comments have mentioned the issue of livestock consuming large amounts of grain--which I'm not debating. I think it's been said that this leads to large water usage and waste and food innefficiency (much less grain could feed humans instead--reducing water and land usage).

Here, Savory's 'Holistic Management' in actually a positive influence. I've seen farmers using his method, in one youtube vid, mention how they have spent much less money on animal feed because they are able to graze the livestock on grass instead. This would certainly not only save farmers money, but also reduce their reliance on grains.

Again, note that none of this is a suggestion to eat more meat or dairy. I don't think I've ever heard Savory mention diet at all, let alone eating more meat or dairy to solve desertification.

I'm not really certain he's the enemy to animals that vegans seem to be making him out to be.

P.S. I am also a vegan and agree that meat and dairy, etc. shouldn't be eaten.

[Hakkeholt]

Mic's ego is more important than the health of this planet.