Cows are like the Humvees of the animal world; they’re not very efficient, at least when it comes to producing food for humans. A hectare of land that would be able to grow 1,500 or 2,000 pounds of protein from peanuts or soybeans per year can only support about about 82 pounds of beef protein. That’s because compared to other animals we use for food, cows are a lot bigger and slower-growing, so they need to take in more calories before they’re ready to be eaten. They also consume a lot of water, produce an overwhelming amount of manure that can choke lakes and streams, and generate a significant portion of our nation’s climate-changing carbon emissions.