Beef Cattle are not to blame for Global Warming

For many years we were told that greenhouse gas emission from beef cattle production effected and lead to long-term global warming. A recent study lead by the Department of Agriculture says otherwise. They concluded that their study was similar to the results found in other studies that show beef cattle production is, "not a significant contributor to long-term global warming."

BEEF Magazine states that, "An Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-led team has completed a comprehensive life-cycle analysis quantifying the resource use and various environmental emissions of beef cattle production in the United States. The aim is to establish baseline measures that the U.S. beef industry can use to explore ways of reducing its environmental footprint and improve sustainability."

That study was lead by Alan Rotz. They studied different types of cattle operations and how they fit into the complex food production. Alan's study shows that "beef cattle production accounted for 3.3 percent of all U.S. Greenhouse gas emissions. (By comparison, transportation and electricity generation together made up 56 percent of the total in 2016 and agriculture in general 9 percent)."

This study was partially funded by the National Cattleman's Beef Association. Researchers for with the Agricultural Research Service (part of the United States Department of Agriculture) worked with universities and the cattleman's group over five years and covered seven cattle-producing regions. They ensured there was diversity in their study in order to prevent any bias for any one region over another because of the difference in climates, soil, and production practices, according to Rotz. Additional Resources:

Alan Rotz's study: Environmental footprints of beef cattle production in the United States

ARS Study Press Release: Study Clarifies U.S. Beef's Resource Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

BEEF Magazine: Research confirms: Beef production is not a major contributor to climate change

AGWEEK: Study: Don't blame beef cattle for global warming