Ridge Shinn of Big Picture Beef will present on “Grass Fed Beef, Health and Carbon Capture in New England” at the Western Massachusetts Green Consortium (WMGC)’s monthly “Green Night” series on Wednesday, December 14 at 5:00 pm. Green Night takes place at the Platform Sports Bar, located at 125A Pleasant Street (Union Station building) in downtown Northampton. The event is free and open to the public.
Shinn will present his innovative 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 Mid-west feedlots to be fattened on grain. He will also outline the human and animal health benefits of raising beef cattle on a 100% grass diet, and the sustainability benefits of growing deep-rooted, prairie-like grasses.
In a 2010 article featuring Shinn, Time Magazine dubbed him, “Carbon Cowboy,” referencing the fact that Shinn’s grazing method takes significant amounts of carbon out of the air and sequesters it deep in the ground.
According to WMGC president, Andrew Baker, “I’ve been a vegetarian for over forty years and this is one of the most exciting ideas I’ve seen for re-developing sustainable local farming in New England. We need to help Ridge make this happen.”
Presenter: Ridge Shinn
Ridge Shinn is the founder and CEO of Big Picture Beef. 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. An experienced cattleman, he has consulted 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.
Shinn is a timber frame builder as well as cattleman, who lives in Hardwick, MA.
About Green Night
Every Second Wednesday except August come to Platform Sports Bar at Union Station for Green Night to learn about what is going on in the Valley around sustainability. From 5:00-5:30 grab a drink or order food and chat with others. At 5:30 it's time to share news, events and make your announcements. The featured presentation begins at 6:00 with Q&A following. At 7:00 we move into the bar. Energy is high and we continue with conversations, networking and more food and drink.