Beef production makes many positive contributions to the sustainability of our food system that are often overlooked by analyses of GHG emissions’ impact of removing beef from the diet. Cattle have the ability human nutritional value be produced by the beef system while producing fewer GHG emissions?” Studying the different ways inputs (feed, water, and land) can be used more efficiently throughout the beef value chain to reduce GHG emissions per pound of beef would provide the means to maintain the same level of food production while reducing GHG emissions. Over time, beef production has made impressive advances to meet the protein demands of a growing population while reducing the amount of natural resources required to produce a pound of beef.^4,5,6 For example, due to improved genetics (of cattle and the plants they consume), animal nutrition, management, and the use of growth-promoting technologies, the U.S. beef industry has decreased its GHG emissions per pound of beef 9-16% from the 1970’s to utilize forages (e.g., grass) and byproducts (e.g., distillers grains) that are unfit for human consumption. Specifically cattle can utilize cellulose, one of the world’s most abundant organic (carbon-containing) molecules, that is indigestible by humans.⁶ Consequently, U.S. beef producers feed their cattle feed sources that are not in direct competition with humans and/or would have gone to waste (byproducts).⁶ Cattle can also convert low-quality feeds into high-quality protein from land not suited for cultivation, thereby reducing soil erosion and enhancing soil carbon storage.⁶ Furthermore, integrated crop and beef systems (e.g., using cattle to graze crop residues and cover crops) can lead to many positive environmental sustainability outcomes including increased soil waterholding capacity and enhanced nutrient cycling.⁹

Bottom Line: Beef is a valuable asset to the human diet; it is an affordable, nutrient-dense source of lean protein. As with the production of all foods, the production of beef results in GHG emissions; however, direct emissions from the U.S. beef industry are only estimated to be 1.9% of the total U.S. GHG emissions.³ Thus, even without consideration of the unintended consequences and impacts of alternative protein sources, completely removing beef from the U.S. diet would likely have a minimal impact on GHG emissions. However, as historical progress has demonstrated (GHG emissions per lb. of beef have been reduced 9-16% since the 1970’s^5,7), there are opportunities to reduce beef’s impact, chief among them being reducing consumer waste.