While the U.S. already produces the most sustainable beef in the world through decades of improvement and innovation, U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers are committed to producing high-quality, sustainable beef for generations to come. Since the 1960s, the U.S. beef industry has reduced emissions by 40% while producing 60% more beef,1,2 and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gas from beef cattle only represents 2% of emissions in the U.S.3
What is “upcycling”? When cattle graze, their ruminant digestive system turns things humans can’t eat, like grass, other forages, and byproducts - such as distillers grain, cottonseed, and beet pulp - into high quality protein and micronutrients for human consumption – a process called upcycling.
To the beef community, sustainability comprises much more than environmental considerations. Today, a sustainable food supply balances efficient production with environmental, social and economic impacts.
Beef is produced using fewer resources than before. Ranchers work hard to feed a growing population, while reducing water use, care for the land, and protect the environment.
Contrary to some of the misconceptions about beef’s role in greenhouse gas emissions, cattle-generated gases are completely natural, are very different from the types of gasses stemming from fossil fuel emissions, and are on the decline.
What do you get when you put a renowned dietitian and rural Minnesota farmer together in a room? An equally emphatic belief that yes, you can have your beef—and eat it, too.
You may be surprised to learn that beef production in the U.S. has a lot of positive impacts on the environment.
See how beef farmers and ranchers around the country are implementing land-saving, wildlife-preserving, and award-winning environmental efforts.
Click here to Contact John Robinson, Sr. Vice President of Membership and Communications