DEFENDING BEEF: THE CASE FOR SUSTAINABLE MEAT PRODUCTION

Book ID/图书代码： 13566014B73024

English Summary/英文概要： For decades it has been nearly universal dogma among environmentalists that livestock—goats, sheep, and others, but especially cattle—are Public Enemy Number One. They erode soils, pollute air and water, damage riparian areas, and decimate wildlife populations. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization bolstered the credibility of this notion with its 2007 report that declared livestock to be the single largest contributor to human-generated climate-change emissions.

But is the matter really so clear cut? Hardly. In her new book, Defending Beef, environmental lawyer turned rancher Nicolette Hahn Niman argues that cattle are not inherently bad for the Earth. The impact of grazing can be either negative or positive, depending on how livestock are managed. In fact, with proper oversight livestock can actually play an essential role in maintaining grassland ecosystems by performing the same functions as the natural herbivores that once roamed and grazed there. Grounded in empirical scientific data, Defending Beef builds the most comprehensive and convincing argument to date that cattle could actually serve as the Earth’s greatest environmental benefactors by helping to build carbon-sequestering soils and prevent desertification.

Defending Beef is simultaneously a book about big issues and ideas and the personal tale of the author, who starts out as a skeptical vegetarian and eventually becomes involved with sustainable ranching. She shows how dispersed, grass-based, smaller-scale farms can and should become the basis for American food production. And while no single book could definitively answer the thorny question of how to feed the Earth’s growing population, Defending Beef makes the case that, whatever the world’s future food system looks like, livestock can and must be part of the solution.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 几十年来，家畜山羊和绵羊等，尤其是牛——它们是头号公敌已经成为环保主义者的普遍信条。他们侵蚀着土壤，污染空气和水，破坏河岸地区和残害野生动物。联合国粮食和农业组织在2007年的报告中支持了这一说法，宣布牲畜是人为气候变化排放量最大的贡献者。

但事情真的如此清晰？当然不。在她的新书《捍卫牛肉》中，已成为农场主的环境律师妮可莱特??哈恩??尼曼认为牛不是天生的地球破坏者。放牧的影响可以是正面的也可以豪斯负面的，这取决于家畜的管理。事实上，如果有适当的监督，牲畜可以执行曾经游牧和放牧中的天然食草动物相同的功能，在维持草原生态系统中起着至关重要的作用。《捍卫牛肉》基于实证的科学数据，建立迄今为止最全面和最有说服力的论点——牛可以通过帮助建立隔碳土壤和荒漠化防治成为地球环境保护最大的施恩者。

《捍卫牛肉》是一本关于大问题、想法和作者自己的故事的书，作者最开始是无神论的素食主义者，后来最终参与到可持续的牧场中。她展示了分散的和以草地为主的小规模农场如何可以而且应该成为美国食品生产的基础。虽然没有一本书能明确回答如何养活地球上的不断增长的人口这个棘手问题，《捍卫牛肉》认为，无论未来世界食物体系是什么样子，但是牲畜可以而且必须成为解决方案的一部分。(LNL)

Awards/获奖情况：“和红肉、饱和脂肪糖和谷物有关的长期健康问题是复杂的，我看到仍然有许多对它们的审判。在等待可以解决的科学手段时，哈恩??尼曼的书中对反刍动物在可持续食品系统的作用的有力辩护很值得一读。”——玛丽恩，纽约大学公共健康、营养和食品研究学的教授，以及《吃什么》的作者

“我在夏季和冬季期间去过美国的每个州，看过大片的农村土地。在这个国家有大量的土地不能种植作物。在这片土地上生产食品的唯一方法就是放牧动物。放牧得当将提高土地质量。《捍卫牛肉》清楚地表明，肉牛是可持续农业的重要组成部分。”——坦普尔??格朗丹，《动物成就人类》的作者，科罗拉多州立大学动物科学教授

“Issues related to the long-term health effects of red meat, saturated fat, sugar, and grains are complex and I see the jury as still out on many of them. While waiting for the science to be resolved, Hahn Niman’s book is well worth reading for its forceful defense of the role of ruminant animals in sustainable food systems.”--Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of What to Eat

“I have traveled to every state in the U.S. during both summer and winter and have seen the land in extensive rural areas. There are huge land areas in this country that cannot be used for crops. The only way to grow food on these lands is grazing animals. Grazing done properly will improve the land. Defending Beef shows clearly that beef cattle are an important part of sustainable agriculture.”--Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human and Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University

DEFENDING BEEF got a good review in South China Morning Post:

http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/books/article/1677883/e-books-and-audiobook-reviews-non-fiction

About the Author/作者介绍： 妮可莱特??哈恩??尼曼是《捍卫牛肉》的作者。她曾担任的“水保护”联盟的高级律师，发起家畜和家禽集中生产改革的运动。近年来，她作为可持续的食物生产和改善农场动物福利的倡导者在全国都享有声誉。她是《正义的猪排》的作者（HarperCollins，2009），并为许多出版物写作，包括纽约时报，洛杉矶时报，赫芬顿邮报和大西洋在线。她与丈夫比尔??妮曼，以及他们的两个儿子米尔斯和尼古拉斯住在加利福尼亚州波利纳斯的一个农场。

Nicolette Hahn Niman is the author of Defending Beef. She previously served as senior attorney for the Waterkeeper Alliance, running their campaign to reform the concentrated production of livestock and poultry. In recent years she has gained a national reputation as an advocate for sustainable food production and improved farm-animal welfare. She is the author of Righteous Porkchop (HarperCollins, 2009) and has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, and The Atlantic online. She lives on a ranch in Bolinas, California, with her husband, Bill Niman, and their two sons, Miles and Nicholas.

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Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

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