Recently Earth Day was celebrated by many. While it is important to pay homage to where we live annually, it is truly important to honor it each day. I think that for many this also permeates into questions about a responsible diet. We have discussed the ethical side of consuming meat in another blog post. We also tackled all those confusing beef labels in an earlier post and discussed hormone use in beef production. But what about the environmental impacts of meat production? Many readers may have a negative connotation with the association between meat production and saving the environment. However, they are far more intertwined and cyclical than many may guess.  Today we’re going to discuss if cattle are truly polluting the environment like it has been portrayed.

Farmers And The Environment

I think before we begin, that it’s important to identify two ideas.

Farmers and ranchers are reliant upon the environment. How many times have you heard of a farmer or rancher praying for rain? Most agriculturalists want to pass their farm or ranch down. After all, 91% are family owned. This idea of sustainability is not possible without great care. As noted with the weather and the markets, farmers can’t control every aspect of production. But they make the positive impact they can have a priority.

Pictured is Courtney Hurt, a 4th generation rancher. She is incredibly proud in regards to her heritage and was a fantastic woman to interview in regards to my Cattlewomen of New Mexico Project. It’s very common for a ranch to be in the same family for 3 generations or more in the United States, in fact 54% of them are.

Another important idea to share is that in this blog post we will look at statistics primarily for the beef industry to look at meat production in United States. As a country the United States is highly developed and has access to the latest technology. We also have a great opportunity for agricultural research and it’s application.

The Beef Industry & Air Quality

Production of Methane in Cattle

Most will tell you that one of the worst parts dilemmas of meat production is cattle passing gas. They believe it is having a detrimental effect upon air quality. Specifically, that it’s the methane they pass.

But we need to back up a little.

Whoever is sharing this with you is probably not an expert in animal science nor it’s environmental impacts. You see, cattle eructate. This means, belch. Cattle are ruminants, which means that they naturally produce methane. Their stomach is filled with tons of microbes that help them absorb nutrients from products we simply can’t. Ruminants have a digestive system with a stomach that has four compartments.

Other Sources of Methane

But cattle are not the only ruminants around! Much of our wildlife in the United States are classified as ruminants. These include deer, elk and even bison. This means that there have been animals producing methane in the United States for quite some time. Methane existed long before cattle production in the U.S.

What else produces methane gas? Rice. Which is a staple for most of the world’s population. It’s due to the microbes that tend to live in the soil of rice paddies.

I’m not trying to demonize rice or the beautiful deer you saw grazing when you went camping. I’m just trying to bring to light the fact that cattle are not the only creatures who produce methane.

Actual Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Animal Agriculture

So let’s look at the facts for the United States. What percentage of greenhouse gasses come from animal agriculture in the United States? According to the Enivronmental Protection Agency, for the Agriculture segment as a whole which includes land and crop management, livestock management and manure management you’re looking at 9% of all Greenhouse Gas Emissions. But if you’re just looking at what animals produce themselves (which all practically eventually contributes to meat production) it’s just 3% of all Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U.S. is the culprit.  6,511  Million Metric Tons of CO2 Equivalent produced overall by Ag in the U.S. seems scarier than 9%.

A Commitment to Improvement

It’s not as if animal scientists are unaware that the beef industry and meat production gets a lot of flack for emissions. However, American agriculture is rooted in doing things more efficiently with less waste generated. It always has been. There have actually been a few studies done on reducing the methane produced by cattle. Some found that it is very genetically dependent on the organisms naturally found in the gut of cattle. Others found that the type of feed has an influence.

The Beef Industry & Water

Groundwater Pollution

Most assume that raising cattle (or any animal through agriculture) will have a negative effect upon ground water. All animals will produce waste. If manure is not managed properly during storage, when used as fertilizer or there is an accident then yes, it can potentially have detrimental effects upon water.

However, all ranchers take specific steps to ensure and promote water quality on their land.

Many will fence off streams to protect their quality and their inhabitants. A large majority of ranchers even do regular water quality testing to ensure that it is healthy!

Most don’t know that poor water quality associated with abnormal nitrate levels can have a negative impact upon young cattle. Would it make any sense to harm your own herd’s performance due to carelessness? Absolutely not. Animal care across the agriculture sector in the U.S. is always a priority.

Even if you were just motivated fiscally high quality water is an essential priority for all Cattlemen.

Providing a Haven for Wildlife

Water can be a limiting factor based upon the environment you raise cattle in. So in addition to protecting natural water ways cattlemen and women may also provide stock tanks. Not only do these stock tanks provide a high quality source of water for cattle, but they also help wildlife thrive. Seventy-five percent of wildlife live on farms and ranches.

The Beef Industry & Effects Upon The Land

While being concerned about pollution of water and air, many are also concerned about the effect upon the soil and plants. If someone with cattle chooses to not manage their range properly then there can be negative effects. However, if grazing is well managed it can be a very positive environmental activity.

Many may not picture cattle when they imagine wild land firefighters. As cattle are ruminants (discussed above) their ability to graze has several notable effects. The first being that when managed well it decreases the amount of fuel that could catch fire and helps eliminate noxious weeds. The second is that it provides us with the opportunity to harvest energy from the land in it’s natural form. Most grazing land in the Western states is unsuitable for crop production, but because cattle are ruminants they are the key to unlocking all of the energy found in the cellulose of plants.

The Beef Industry & Sustainability

Many consumers assume that there is a lot of waste when a beef animal is processed. Obviously meat comes to mind as a product, but how much is actually used of the whole product?

Ninety-nine percent.

That figure may shock you, but you utilize the beef byproducts in your everyday life. Even if you have sworn off leather, chances are the beef industry is part of your everyday life. Do you wear lipstick? Use soap or shampoo? Drive a vehicle or bike on a road? There are beef byproducts in many cosmetics, cleaning products, car tires and asphalt.

Do you or someone you know has asthma? My little brother does. His so bad he constantly has an inhaler with him and couldn’t be on the playground in the spring when he was small. I’m grateful everyday that byproducts from beef have given him the freedom to live a good quality of life.

If you’ve ever had surgery and they sewed you close the beef industry probably helped them do that.

It’s very awe inspiring when you realize how interconnected the beef industry is with your everyday life.

We’re going to address the idea of switching to less meat based diets and what that would look like globally in terms of malnutrition in a later post. But we hope you enjoyed this one. Drop any questions in the comments below, I’ll do my best to answer them or point you in the direction of someone who can!

Have questions regarding an ethical clothing choice? Be sure to check out our post on Myths & Facts about wool.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren