A just and inclusive transition must move beyond colonial paradigms of land and production. Long before fossil fuels or industrial agriculture, the urban civilizations of ancient Mesoamerica proved that population density and ecological balance could coexist. Central to these civilizations was the milpa, based on corn, beans and squash, and a holistic understanding of humans in our ecosystems. Their “Macehual Urbanism” offered a framework for thriving cities without livestock, deforestation, or extractive expansion. Modern science now confirms the value of what these civilizations practiced. UN analysis shows that forest restoration is the most effective climate solution available, and this is possible if we reclaim land monopolized by grazing and animal feed and learn from past wisdom to transition to a healthier future. This transition starts not with technology but with territory: returning land to forests, ecosystems, and communities capable of sustaining them. This presentation reclaims the knowledge of Indigenous urban societies as a foundation for a just transition grounded in agroecology without animal exploitation. We look past false solutions, including “regenerative grazing”, and call for a shift toward a land ethic proven by both ancient practice and modern science: abundance without domination, coexistence without extraction.