Can Grass-Fed Beef Feed the Planet?
Discover > Farm to Table Eating in Texas > Can Grass-Fed Beef Feed the Planet?
Grass-fed beef (how long does beef last?) as generally defined is meat sourced from cattle that were raised grazing or foraging in pastures. (However, today’s beef labels include the term “grass-finished” which refers to cows that have a diet of grass and shrubs their entire lives, while “grass-fed” are those cows that are generally fed with grass but at some point in their lives they were given grain feed. But for this article grass-fed would refer to cows raised in pasture, eating grasses and shrubs)
Around 95 to 99% of the cattle in the United States are grain-fed beef where cows are fed a diet of soy and corn-based grains and given drugs, hormones, and antibiotics. These conventionally raised cattle are kept in a feed pen and are not allowed to roam around and forage for food.
Going Back to the Old Ways of Raising Cattle
Grass-feeding and pasturing was the old way of raising cattle. Around 300 years ago Spanish Franciscan missionaries became the first cattle ranchers of Texas, the introduction of the Spanish cattle in the 1700s led to the development of the Texas Longhorn Cattle breed and eventually gave birth to a prosperous cattle industry in Texas.
During the rapid industrialization of the 20th century, America’s massive excess of corn was utilized as grain feed for cattle and increasing demand for beef meant the focus on quantity rather than quality.
Today, Texas is the top beef producer in the whole United States and 95% of the cattle are grain-fed and raised conventionally.
Grass-Fed Beef Gaining Popularity
However grass-fed, pasture-raised beef has gained popularity in recent years and its niche market has gained a steady following. According to studies, grass-fed cows are rich in health-enhancing fats while low in fats that are linked to diseases. Also, grass-fed cows contain 10 times more Vitamin A than grain-fed cattle. The grass-fed bovines have higher amounts of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Conventional cattle raising which involves putting cows in feed lots conserves space as compared to grazing cattle in pastures, But it is environmentally destructive and contributes much to global warming as arable land and even forests and grasslands are cleared to make room for croplands for corn and soy that are made into cow feeds.
Grass-fed beef has a lighter carbon footprint, though grass-fed cattle produce more methane, however, this is offset by grazing which helps trap more carbon in the soil, sequestering the gas away from the atmosphere.
Can Grass-Fed Beef Meet Global Demand?
Global demand for beef is rising annually. In 2020 the world will consume 130 billion pounds of beef and the increasing population will increase the demand for beef.
Grass-fed beef is also seeing increasing demand as more consumers are looking at healthier options which grass-fed beef offers, also growing consciousness on the environmental impact of beef production (forest lands converted into croplands for grain feeds) is providing momentum for the market. Another consideration is animal welfare, as people abhor the idea of animals being industrially raised or “finished” in feed pens.
North America and Latin America make up 70% of the total grass-fed beef market. But much of the grass-fed beef is coming from countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and parts of South America where there are extensive grasslands.
Do we have enough pastureland or grassland for large herds to forage? Looking at the data the United States particularly Texas is losing agricultural areas. From 1997 to 2012 Texas lost one million acres of private farm and ranch lands due to several factors foremost being land conversion.
An American Farmland Trust study reveals that between 2001 to 2016 the United States lost 11 million acres of agricultural land due to conversion and other non-agricultural related development. In Texas, 1.373 million acres of farmland were developed and compromised.
To supply the entire planet with grass-fed beef you need lots of land for grazing and based on the extent of farmland and ranchland lost to conversions, particularly in the United States which is the world’s top beef producer, grass-fed beef cannot replace conventional beef in the market. What grass-fed beef can do, is position itself to a niche market.
Texan ranchers are practicing regenerative agriculture which entails managing grazing by herding cattle from one paddock to another. The cows eat the grass in a certain area and then are moved to another grazing area which allows the grazed section to regrow and be naturally restored.
This way the soil’s health is prioritized and the grazing mimics natural patterns. There are several Texan cattle raisers which are practicing regenerative agricultural methods. One of the well-known regenerative ranching methods is the Adoptive High Stock Density (AHSD) Grazing where animals are contained in a smaller area to graze for a lesser duration of time.
However, Texan farmers or American farmers/ cattle growers practicing regenerative agriculture are small and their production of grass-fed (grass-finished) beef is simply not enough as a viable alternative to industrial-raised (grain-fed) beef.
There is however a large potential in regenerative farming or regenerative ranching. In Texas where 98-99% of farms are family-owned farms, there is an opportunity for this sustainable agricultural practice to be applied by these farms. Many of the regenerative farmers/ ranchers are family farmers that are freed from corporate interference and have the entrepreneurial freedom to practice and apply what they believe in.
And as people are getting more conscious about climate change and adopt lifestyles or consumer preferences that help mitigate these changes there is so much future in regenerative farming and grass-fed beef.
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