• nexguy@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    TIL There are 30,000 free roaming bison but there are 500,000 total including privately owned and commercial herds.

    • Soapbox@lemmy.zip
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      2 hours ago

      Yep. They are also far better for the land they graze on than cattle, as they evolved here, and so they generally eat only what they should and don’t overgraze. The meat is also far leaner and healthier than beef. We really should stop raising cattle and raise bison. The biggest issue is even “domesticated” bison are far more wild and dangerous to raise than the cattle we have bred to be docile. So risk averse ranchers are not interested.

      • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 hour ago

        Yeah, American bison don’t take well to husbandry, simply because they’re aggressive. They’re territorial and have bad eyesight, so their first inclination when they see a human-sized blob is usually to attack.

        But yes, if you’re going to eat red meat, bison is much better than beef. It’s so lean that natives could dry it and pound it into powder for trail snacking. You can’t do that with modern beef, because it has too much fat. Even beef jerky tends to be pretty greasy.