It’s been debunked on this blog many times before, but no matter how many times the media tells us that a plant-based diet is the more sustainable option, the reality is we would have to eat broccoli and peanut butter in bulk to ever equal the amount of nutrition we can derive from a single 3 ounce serving of beef.

READ: Are proteins from vegetables equal to beef protein?

What’s more, while we dedicate more water and more acres to producing plant-based alternatives, cattle are quite efficiently converting poor quality forages found on rough and rocky terrains that would be unsuitable for anything else into a high quality source of protein, B vitamins and healthy fats to fuel our bodies.

In addition, the life-saving and enriching byproducts we derive from beef cattle cannot sustainably be replicated by synthetic alternatives.

Yet, so many have based their entire careers saying the complete opposite, and the truth continues to be swept under the rug. It’s now trendy and fashionable to go meatless, despite the repercussions on our health and the environment.

And even more troubling than the mainstream media publishing sensational and defamatory headlines about our industry, and even more challenging than the activist groups determined to put us out of business, there’s a new group coming after livestock producers — they’re rich, they’re famous, and they’ve got an agenda — to eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from the dinner table.

READ: Beef’s sustainability advantage

Don’t believe me? Check out this list posted by alternet.com titled, “8 business leaders who are investing to close slaughterhouses for good.” Author Joe Loria compiled this list of business executives and entrepreneurs who he says, “believe that the future of food means not killing animals.”

Of course, Bill Gates tops the list. His investments in Beyond Meat and Memphis Meats shows his commitment to the plant-based and clean-meat movement. Sir Richard Branson follows as he is also an investor in Memphis Meats.

In fact, Branson once said, “I believe that in 30 years or so, we will no longer need to kill any animals and that all meat will either be clean or plant-based, taste the same and also be much healthier for everyone.”

READ: Clean meat? It’s not that simple.

Others include Lisa Feria, Eric Schmidt, Miyoko Schinner, Sergey Brin, Liz Dee and Li Ka-shing. You can read about their investments for plant-based diets and lifestyles by clicking here.

It’s getting tougher and tougher to be a cowboy. In these modern times, we’ve got high risks, huge capital investments, regulatory burdens and a growing sector of the population who believe we’re up to no good. We’ve got decades of inaccurate nutritional information to correct, and we’ve got smooth operating activists, politicians, billionaires and reporters profiting from our ill fortune.

It is time for us to demand more of ourselves, our elected officials, our checkoff investments and our industry stakeholders. We must all be part of this fight before there isn’t an industry left to fight for. Who is with me?

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Farm Progress.