U.S. Cattle Production
Sustainability Overview
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Breakdown in the U.S.
According to the U.S. EPA’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
inventory, 2% of U.S. emissions come directly from beef cattle1(methane from cattle belches, methane and nitrous oxide frommanure). Total direct emissions from all agricultural production,
crops and livestock collectively, were 8.4% of U.S. emissions in2017. Agriculture, land use, land use change, and forestry
combined in the United States are a net sink of CO 2 equivalent(CO2e) emissions, meaning they removed 172 million metric tonsof CO2e from the atmosphere in 2017.
Table 1. 2017 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sources and Sinks1
Million metrictons CO2e% of US total
GHG emissions

Beef cattle

138.3

2%

Other animal ag

117.5

2%

Crop agriculture

286.3

4%

Agriculture total

542.1

8%

Transportation

1800.628%

Electricity

173227%All other human-caused
GHG emissions

2382

37%

U.S. total GHG emissions

6456.7100%

Item

Land use, land usechange, forestry
Agriculture, land use,land use change, forestry

natural resources required to produce human nourishment. TheU.S. is a leader in beef production efficiency because of scientificadvancements in beef cattle genetics, nutrition, husbandry
practices, and biotechnologies.

Correcting the Misinformation
A quick Google search of beef and GHG emissions will result in awide range of statistics. Unfortunately, two types of conflation
typically occur that muddy the waters. First, globally-relevant
statistics are often conflated with U.S. emissions, and second allemissions from livestock production are often ascribed to beef.
Globally, life cycle emissions from livestock production(emissions from feed production to consumer) are 14.5% of GHGemissions. Global beef life cycle emissions are 6% of the world’s
GHG emissions.4 The disparity between these two percentages isdue to the other forms of livestock agriculture accounted for in
the 14.5% figure, such as poultry, pork, and dairy production. In
the United States, beef cattle production produces 3.7% of U.S.
GHG emissions from a life cycle perspective5 (adding in feedproduction, fuel and electricity use, etc. to the 2% estimationfrom the EPA inventory). The GHG emissions produced by U.S.
beef cattle contribute only a fraction of the GHG emissions
attributed to global beef production, as most cattle in the world
are located outside U.S. borders. U.S. beef cattle emissions areless than ½ percent of the world’s GHG emissions.6-714.1-172

What’s the Global Situation Look Like
Large disparities in emissions intensities, or GHG emissions perlb of beef produced, exist across regions of the world. The U.S.
has one of the lowest beef GHG emissions intensities: 10 – 50times2 lower than other parts of the world. Most of this variation
is driven by the number of cattle required to produce beef. For
example, the U.S. produces around 18% of the world’s beef with
6% of the world’s cattle herd.3 Fewer cattle required for a given
amount of beef produced means fewer GHG emissions and fewer

Figure 1. U.S. beef cattle production emissions in thecontext of total global GHG emissions

Upcycling is the Ruminant Advantage
Cattle are ruminants. This means they have a symbiotic
relationship with the microorganisms that live within their
specialized stomach compartments that provides them theirupcycling superpower. Upcycling is converting something oflittle to no value to a higher value product. Cattle upcycle
every day, converting solar energy in plants that’s inaccessible
to humans to high-quality protein, micronutrients, and ancillary
products such as leather and pharmaceuticals. The U.S. beef
cattle industry provides more than two times the high-quality
protein (accounting for amino acid profile and bioavailability)7
to the U.S. food supply than cattle consume: cattle directly
contribute to food security. Additionally, beef is rich in
micronutrients such as Zinc, Iron, Selenium, Choline, Niacin,Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6.

Cattle Provide Far More than Beef
Cattle production results in more benefits to society than justthe excellent nutrient package that is beef. Cattle are a sourceof fiber (leather), fertilizer, fuel, and wealth. Beef cattle
operations represent over 1/3 of U.S. farms and ranches 8 – thesingle largest segment of U.S. agriculture. Cattle production
preserves and enhances grassland ecosystems. Cattle grazing
can help mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires.9 Cattle
grazing lands help regulate and purify the water supplies for
major municipalities in the United States.10 Conservatively, theecosystem services of cattle ranching and farming provide $14.8
billion of societal value in the U.S.11 In short, cattle production isa key part of the social fabric of America, from culturalcontributions of cowboy Americana to provisioning of heart
valves to people. Cattle are a self-replicating, solar-poweredplant-based protein source with numerous unmatched cobenefits. Humanity has depended upon cattle production for
the whole of civilization and will continue to do so far into thefuture: beef cattle production is sustainable.

Beef cattle production is always getting better
Despite having a highly resilient and efficient beef production
system in the USA currently, cattle producers are always
looking for ways to get better. Compared to 1975, it takes
36% fewer cattle12 to produce the same amount of beef today.
This dramatic improvement in efficiency has been driven byimprovements in beef cattle genetics, nutrition,biotechnologies, and husbandry practices that result inimproved animal well-being. Research and extension andadoption of new knowledge is a continuous process thatdelivers on incremental improvements in reducing beef cattle
production’s resource use and environmental impacts.
Advancements in grazing land management, genomicallyenhanced expected progeny differences (EPDs), methaneinhibitors, integrated crop-livestock systems, water recycling
technology, and manure composting are just a few of theexamples of new technologies being deployed and tested thatwill further enhance the sustainability of U.S. beef production.
Ultimately, the U.S. beef industry is resilient and wellpositioned to continue to provide U.S. and international
consumers a superior animal source food in a socially andenvironmentally responsible manner for decades to come.

For more information, go to www.beefresearch.org/beefsustainability.aspx

References:
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 – 2017. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/
ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2017 accessed August 7, 2019
Herrero, M., et al., 2013. Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
110: 20888-20893.
UN FAOSTAT database. Available at: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home accessed August 17, 2020
Gerber, P.J., et al., 2013. Tackling climate change through livestock – A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome.
Rotz. C.A. et al., 2019. Environmental footprints of beef cattle production in the United States. Ag. Syst. 169: 1-13.
IPCC, 2014: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
Baber, J.R. et al., 2018. Estimation of human-edible protein conversion efficiency, net protein contribution, and enteric methane production from beef
production in the United States. Trans. Anim. Sci. 2: 439-450.
USDA 2017 Ag Census. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/index.php accessed August 7, 2019.
Davies, KW, et al. 2015. Winter grazing can reduce wildfire size, intensity and behaviour in a shrub-grassland. International Journal of Wildland Fire 25(2)191-199
Steiner, J.L. et al., 2014. Knowledge and tools to enhance resilience of beef grazing systems for sustainable animal protein production. Ann. N.Y. Acad.
Sci. 1328:10-17.
Taylor, DT, et al. 2019. National and State Economic Values of Cattle Ranching and Farming Based Ecosystem Services in the U.S. University of Wyoming
Extension B-1338.
USDA-NASS Quick Stats Tools. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/ accessed August 7, 2019.

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