Growing fruits, vegetables, and grain without raising animals as well means mineral inputs which are derived via mining and fossil fuel sources. This is indeed “emissions” and over the long term eventually results in soil depleted of nutrients, alongside significant ecological harm from runoff from artificially added fertilisers and other inputs.

Industrial scale grain farming also means heavy use of machinery which, again, all runs on fossil fuels. Whereas pasture raised cattle requires far less of these sort of inputs. A balanced approach to agriculture recognises the important of pasture animals such as ruminants and also recognises the damage excessive row crop farming causes.