Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, The Savory Institute’s mission is facilitating the large-scale regeneration of grasslands around the world, along with the livelihoods of their inhabitants, through holistic land management. Globally, properly managed livestock are the key to healthy grasslands. Holistically managed grazing can:
- Absorb and store carbon in soils
- Promote species biodiversity
- Protect water sources
- Provide healthy, nutritious foods
- Create economic abundance for ranchers and farmers
These factors can mitigate climate change, enable food and water security, and decrease poverty.
The Savory Institute is a 501© 3 nonprofit organization. It holds a GuideStar platinum rating, the nonprofit informational source’s highest level.
Ecologist Allan Savory and Holistic Planned Grazing (HPG)
One-third of the earth’s surface consists of grasslands. Rapid desertification has affected as much as 70 percent of these grasslands. This threatens food and water security worldwide.
Livestock had been blamed for this desertification, but Zimbabwean rangeland ecologist Allan Savory realized the problem was actually livestock management. He knew this management had to change. He developed Holistic Planned Grazing, which enables livestock managers to mimic the effects wild herds formerly had on the land. HPG calls for the charting of grazing moves. It limits the amount of time plants are exposed to grazing animals to ensure adequate plant recovery, rather than overgrazing. When practiced globally, HPG results in enduring returns for the land – and everyone dependent on it.
At an annual E.F. Schumacher lecture – named in honor of the German-British statistician and author of the seminal work Small is Beautiful – Savory said he believed the situation we are facing is “greater and more dangerous than all of the wars humanity has ever fought.” The right policies and practices on the ground are essential if there is a chance to save civilization.
At Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed, we are proud of our regenerative agriculture practices and our association with The Savory Institute.
History of The Savory Institute
In the 1960s, Savory made a breakthrough in understanding the causes of the global grasslands systems’ degradation and desertification. By the 1980s, working with managers on four continents, the concept of holistic management was developed.
Savory launched the institute bearing his name in 2009. The idea was to accelerate the spread of holistic management worldwide via an international network of entrepreneurial innovators. These leaders would commit to serving their regions with the highest standards of holistic management training and implementation support.
Ecological Outcome Verification
The Institute’s Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) is a comprehensive protocol for monitoring ecological outcomes. It’s the first methodology for verifying regenerative outcomes on land.
The protocol evaluates land health using a variety of indicators. Overall, EOV measures the health of the land as a living system. It also provides critical information to farmers and ranchers.
Savory Global Network
In 2012, the Africa Centre became the first-ever accredited Savory Hub, the start of what would become the Savory Global Network. These Hubs are independently owned and operated regional learning centers.
In 2018, the Land to Market program was launched. It is the world’s first sourcing solution for meat, dairy, wool, and leather derived from verified regenerative lands. That same year, the first EOV product with verification entered the market.
To date, the Savory Global Network consists of 48 Hubs and 12,645 people trained across six continents. More than 33 million acres have been influenced. Its EOV includes 263 land bases verified, involving over 1.8 million acres.
Goals
The Institute’s goals involve seeking to influence the management of 1 billion hectares (2.5 billion acres) by 2025. This goal requires the establishment of 100 Hubs. The bottom line is restoring life to global grasslands, reducing climate change before it’s too late, and creating a livable planet for many generations to come.
Shop Our Online Store for 100% Grass Fed, Grass Finished Beef
By ordering 100% grass fed, grass finished beef from Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed, you are playing a role in the regeneration of the planet’s grasslands and the fight against climate change. You receive delicious, nutritious meat from cattle raised in a holistic manner. These cattle ate only grass or forage, and were never given antibiotics, growth hormones, or the grains fed to feedlot animals.
Be part of the change you seek when making food choices. Shop our online store today, and make sure to check out our special bundle deals!
“All the benefits of grass-fed beef are ONLY gained when the cattle are holistically grazed for their lifetime.”
—Matt Maier, Chief Renegade
