Are 2 pasture-raised cattle a year more ethical than vegan?

Created on: August 23, 2026
Last edited on: August 23, 2026

A viral argument claims that eating two pasture-raised cattle a year kills fewer animals than living vegan, because field animals die during crop farming. It sounds plausible at first, but it does not hold up to closer scrutiny.

The short version:

• The basis is a calculation from 2003 resting on a thin set of data. Its most important study observed 33 mice, and only one of them was killed directly by the combine harvester.
• The calculation was done per field instead of per person. Per person the result reverses, because beef needs many times the land area for the same amount of protein.
• More than half of Germany's grain is fed to animals. A large share of arable land therefore serves animal farming rather than feeding people directly.
• Pasture-raised beef for everyone does not add up: all German pastures together yield only about 2 to 4 million cattle a year. That works out at roughly one animal per person every 20 to 40 years.
• And an ethical difference remains: in crop farming, animals can die unintentionally. With pasture-raised cattle, killing the animal is the plan from the outset. Veganism is not a mere arithmetic exercise about who kills fewer animals, but the attempt to avoid the exploitation and abuse of animals as far as is practically possible.

You will find the detailed answer, with all the studies, the full land-area calculation and a calculator in which you can set every assumption yourself, here:

➡️ Pasture-raised beef vs vegan: the fact check with all sources

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