NORTHAMPTON — Ridge Shinn of Big Picture Beef in Hardwick will present “Grass Fed Beef, Health and Carbon Capture in New England” at the Western Mass. Green Consortium’s monthly “Green Night” series Wednesday. It will be at 5 p.m. in the Platform Sports Bar, at 125A Pleasant St. in Union Station.
Shinn, founder and CEO of Big Picture Beef, will present his plan for working with New England farmers to aggregate their stock on finishing farms in New England for fattening on pasture, eliminating the need to ship cattle to Midwest feedlots to be fattened on grain. He will also outline what he says are the human and animal health benefits of raising beef cattle on a 100 percent grass diet, and the sustainability benefits of growing deep-rooted, prairie-like grasses.
“I’ve been a vegetarian for over 40 years and this is one of the most exciting ideas I’ve seen for re-developing sustainable local farming in New England,” said consortium President Andrew Baker.
Shinn’s mission is to establish an environmentally sustainable and economically viable model for producing beef through managed grazing — no feedlots and no grain, ever. He has consulted as a cattleman all over the United States, and in New Zealand, Uruguay and Argentina on beef production and eco-system restoration through grazing. His work has been recognized in Time Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times, Wine Spectator and Smithsonian.
The consortium’s monthly event, free and open to the public, offers a crossroads where green builders, energy professionals, nonprofit and for-profit company leaders, academics, homeowners, students, job-seekers — anyone interested in sustainability issues — can gather to learn and socialize over food and drink.