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Will eating less meat benefit the environment?

We hear a great deal in the media about the negative impacts of livestock production on the environment. Unfortunately, that’s only half the story, and it’s time for people to take a more balanced look at how to best feed a hungry world.

Why plant crops are not the only answer

All agricultural activities have the potential to create both negative and positive environmental impacts. 

Beef cattle contribute approximately 2.4 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But beef production also has many environmental benefits: 

Carbon sequestration: One acre of healthy grassland can store more than 80 tonnes of carbon. Figures citing beef production emissions do not take into account the approximately 1.5 billion tonnes of GHGs naturally sequestered from the atmosphere by grasslands and pasture.

Biodiversity: Although cattle production uses 33 per cent of Canada’s agricultural land, it supports biodiversity and provides 68 per cent of the Wildlife Habitat Capacity of all agricultural land in Canada (CRSB, 2016).

At-risk species: Several at-risk species, such as burrowing owls, swift fox, greater prairie chicken, sage grouse, black-tailed prairie dogs, and loggerhead shrikes prefer unbroken pasture as their habitat.

Water management: Grasslands help maintain watersheds, which in turn help prevent drought and flooding.

Erosion: Grasslands also help prevent erosion.

Regeneration of unusable land: Grasslands account for about 33 per cent of Canada’s agricultural land, but this is primarily land that is unsuitable for crop production. While beef production makes use of land that is too rocky, hilly, boggy or dry for crop production, it also naturally replenishes and adds nutrients to the soil.

Replacing beef with plant crops would require moving more land into cultivation. This will result in a loss of natural grasslands, the release of soil carbon, reduced biodiversity and the potential loss of several at-risk species. This does not take into account the environmental and financial costs involved in converting native grasslands to crops, then continually irrigating and replenishing the land to maintain those crops.

How did beef production get such a bad rap?

The oft-quoted negative impacts of beef production on the environment come primarily from two discredited sources:

‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’ was a 2006 UN study that cites a number of incorrect facts, statistics and statements. For example, it asserted that 18 per cent of global GHG emissions come from livestock. Later studies conducted by the World Resources Institute (WRI) conclude that the true figure is only about five per cent. 

‘Cowspiracy’ is a 2014 Hollywood film which likewise uses incorrect facts and statements to argue that we should move away from a meat-based diet.

Despite the fact that these two sources have been emphatically discredited and disproved, they are still incorrectly quoted as ‘proof’ that livestock production is environmentally unsustainable.

Continued improvement

Like any responsible industry, Canada’s beef producers are dedicated to improving their impact on the environment. The true facts about Canadian beef’s contribution to climate change reflect this effort:

– Canadian beef has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world: 11.4 kg of carbon dioxide per one kg of live cattle weight.

– Cattle contribute very little to total Canadian and global GHG emissions: GHGs from cattle are 2.4 per cent of total Canadian GHG emissions and 0.04 per cent of total global GHG emissions. In Canada, 28 per cent of GHGs come from transportation.

– Canada’s beef industry reduced its GHG footprint by 14 per cent from 1981 to 2011. Canada now produces the same amount of beef with 29 per cent less breeding stock, 27 per cent less slaughter cattle, and 24 per cent less land.

Cattle feeding and the environment

In Canada, beef cattle are primarily raised on natural grassland and pasture for about 12 to 15 months, and then they are ‘finished’, often at a feedlot, using high-energy grain rations. 

85 per cent of the grain fed to livestock is unfit for human consumption and would otherwise be considered waste.

This combination of pasture followed by feedlot allows us to use less land, less water and emit fewer greenhouse gases, putting Canadian beef producers among the most efficient in the world.

Making up your mind with all the facts

Next time you’re faced with a delicious, nutritious steak, consider that beef production has many benefits for the environment, and that beef producers are working successfully to reduce any impacts that their activities do have. 

Not only is beef an important part of a healthy, balanced diet, it’s production also plays an important role in protecting our native grasslands and supporting Canadian wildlife and eco-systems.

The truth about beef production and sustainability

Canada’s beef producers want consumers to know that they are producing good, healthy food in a sustainable way. 

But, what does sustainable mean, and what are beef producers doing to foster responsible production? For answers to these questions we turned to the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB).

CRSB is a collaborative, multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to promoting sustainability throughout the Canadian beef industry. They have three main pillars of focus: 

1) Sustainability benchmarking – a farm-to-fork assessment of the overall performance of the Canadian beef industry from environmental, social and economic perspectives.

2) The Certified Sustainable Beef Framework, which provides a tool for producers to attain certification against sustainability standards, which can then be communicated to consumers.

3) Sustainability projects, which help advance continuous improvement for sustainability in the Canadian beef industry.

“We define sustainability as a socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound product that prioritizes the planet, people, animals and progress,” said Andrea White, CRSB’s community engagement manager.

CRSB has adopted the same five focus areas as the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB): natural resources; people and the community; animal health and welfare; food; and efficiency and innovation. 

Some recent projects which have come from the organization include the National Beef Sustainability Assessment and Strategy (2016), CRSB Certified Sustainable Beef Framework (2018), collaboration on a Species at Risk on Agricultural Lands project, intended to maintain and enhance wildlife habitat, and a study evaluating consumer perceptions of beef sustainability.

How is the beef industry doing on sustainability?

“One of our priorities is to teach the public that beef production in Canada is already sustainable,” Andrea said. “There are a lot of loud voices out there telling very small pieces of the story, but they often don’t talk about the many ways beef production actually benefits the environment. By working together as an industry, we can tell the whole story, and demonstrate the good work we are doing.”

You can read about the ways beef production benefits the environment in ‘4 things you should know about beef production and the environment’.

Through a combination of sustainability projects and public outreach, the CRSB aims to support continuous improvement in the industry’s sustainability performance, while simultaneously creating public awareness of the true facts about the impact of beef production on communities, animal care and the environment. “Sustainability is a journey, not an end point,” said Andrea.

Cattle feeders and sustainability

Sustainability is a top priority for Alberta’s cattle feeders, so the appointment of Les Wall of KCL Cattle Co., in Coaldale Alberta, to the CRSB Council is good news. 

“We are pleased to have Les Wall, a progressive and innovative producer, join the CRSB Council,” said Anne Wasko, CRSB chair. “We look forward to his valuable expertise and experience in representing the cattle feeding sector on our multi-stakeholder leadership team, to help propel the sustainability of Canadian beef forward.”

To learn more about the work that cattle feeders are doing to improve the sustainability of their operations, check out ‘The beef industry and sustainability: how are we doing and where could we improve?