Is there an ethical case for eating buffalo?

“I don’t eat beef,” Pinkett Smith explained. “I will eat fish and I will have buffalo once in a while.”

Pinkett Smith’s reasons for eating buffalo (or, as it is also—and more accurately—called, bison) are health-related; she cites the meat as providing the protein she needs in a lean format that doesn’t “tear my body up.” And indeed, there are a few ways that bison meat solves key concerns about other forms of red meat, like beef. But it’s quite a jump to decide that bison is the most ethical way to consume meat. Let’s break down the facts.

Farming bison is a more sustainable, environmental option than farming cows

It’s no secret that the meat industry is bad for the environment. Cows on their own don’t hurt the environment, but when raised in their millions for a profit-hungry meat industry, they lead to a sharp increase in greenhouse gases, deforestation, and pollution. Reducing your red meat consumption is one of the most effective personal actions you can take to protect the environment.

In contrast, bison are native to many of the environments in which they’re farmed, including in Asia and the US; North American prairie grasses evolved symbiotically with bison, making a perfect evolutionary match. Bison were a central part of the continent’s ecosystem, once roaming all the way from Canada to Mexico. Settlers hunted them close to extinction; until the beginning of the 20th century there were only an estimated 300 wild bison left.

Bison roam as they eat, which means they’re less prone to overgrazing than cows. And while they emit methane gases like cows, they also provide environmental benefits including cropping native vegetation, fertilizing native grasses, and stirring seeds, which make them an important part of an ecosystem, rather than a tax upon existing ecosystems.

Arguably, bison are only more sustainable and environmentally-friendly than cows because of the destructive way the meat industry farms cows, not because of some species superiority. But given the state of the industry, and presuming a world in which animals continue to be raised for food, bison are indisputably the more environmentally-friendly option.

Eating bison is better for you than eating other forms of red meat

Red meat provides some nutrients that humans need: protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins. But it also takes a toll on our bodies. There is strong scientific evidence showing a clear link between eating lots of red and processed meats and a higher risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and premature death.

In comparison, bison have one-third to half of the fat content of beef, as well as less saturated fat, more unsaturated fat, fewer omega-6s, and more omega-3s. Bison also have experienced less genetic modification and breeding over the years, and they are not given antibiotics or growth hormones.

Bison is also much more expensive than beef. Part of the problems plaguing the beef industry is the pressure to make meat affordable, a price that all too often comes at the cost of animal welfare, environmental damage, and our own health. However, the higher price of eating bison makes it more likely that people will not eat it as regularly. If bison is not a daily commodity, this takes some of the pressure off the extreme production cycle that wreaks so much damage on other farmed animals. By reducing our intake of animal products, we can do a lot for the environment and animal welfare as well as our own health, even if we’re not ready or able to embrace a fully plant-based diet.

Farmed bison enjoy a better quality of life than other farmed animals

Animal cruelty is widespread through the meat industry, across cows, sheep, chickens, fish, and all the creatures who suffer for our diets. However, there is evidence that bison are treated better than their other farmed animal compatriots.

The USDA has stricter regulations about bison, partially because bison are counted as “exotic animals,” which ensures they are not medicated cruelly with antibiotics or growth hormones. This requires a better quality of care from the farmers who keep them. Bison also aren’t as easily controlled as cows, which makes it harder for ranchers to keep them in filthy, confined quarters; instead, most bison spend the majority of their lives grazing on pasture.

Of course, “better” does not necessarily mean “good.” In the end, bison—like every unwilling animal participant in our meat industry—also have their lives cut extremely, brutally short. In the wild, bison can live to be 40 years old; historically, Native Americans typically ate these older, bigger animals. But the bison industry kills most bison at 18 months of age. That’s decades of life on our shared planet, with their own familial groups and their own complex emotional lives, lost—all for the sake of a meal.

So what are we really asking about bison?

There are undeniable facts that make bison a more ethical option than most other meat on the market. Their sustainable footprint, happier lives, and better health repercussions are all notable. Also notable is the idea of reshaping the way we think about meat; making it less an everyday option and more an occasional treat or dose of good nutrients for our bodies, like Jada Pinkett Smith’s approach.

Bison might just be one of the more ethical ways to consume meat. However, of course, the most ethical way to consume meat is… to not consume meat. Meaning when we consider the ethical case for eating bison, it should be within a larger aim to reshape the meat industry itself—not to just swap out an ‘exotic’ meat as a fun treat.