Meat and dairy are critical sources of protein and nutrients. Poor and vulnerable communities in developing countries source much of their food from extensive livestock production in rangelands, a relatively efficient way of using variable land and water resources. In contrast, the developed world eats factory farmed meat and dairy. Such farming is resource intensive, using imported feed and antibiotics which causes climate change and environmental pollution. Yet livestock can play a healthy role in sustainable food systems, by increasing efficiencies in resource use, adopting nature-positive practices, and scaling down industrial production – encouraged by a demand shift to plant-based diets.