Editing Beef (section)

=== Environmental impact ===
{{Further|Environmental impact of meat production|Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest|Cattle#Environmental impact}}
[[File:Land-use-of-different-diets-Poore-Nemecek.png|thumb|Agricultural land worldwide could be reduced by almost half if no beef or mutton were eaten.]]
{{Bar chart|title=Mean [[greenhouse gas emissions]] for different food types<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Michael Clark|last2=Tilman|first2=David|date=November 2014|title=Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health|journal=Nature|volume=515|issue=7528|pages=518–522|doi=10.1038/nature13959|pmid=25383533|issn=1476-4687|bibcode=2014Natur.515..518T|s2cid=4453972}}</ref>|float=right|label_type=Food Types|data_type=Greenhouse Gas Emissions (g CO<small>2</small>-C<small>eq</small> per g protein)|bar_width=20|width_units=em|data_max=62|label1=[[Ruminant|Ruminant Meat]]|data1=62|label2=[[Recirculating aquaculture system|Recirculating Aquaculture]]|data2=30|label3=[[Trawling|Trawling Fishery]]|data3=26|label4=[[Aquaculture|Non-recirculating Aquaculture]]|data4=12|label5=[[Pork]]|data5=10|label6=[[Poultry]]|data6=10|label7=[[Dairy]]|data7=9.1|label8=[[Fishery|Non-trawling fishery]]|data8=8.6|label9=[[Egg as food|Eggs]]|data9=6.8|label10=[[List of root vegetables|Starchy Roots]]|data10=1.7|label11=[[Wheat]]|data11=1.2|label12=[[Maize]]|data12=1.2|label13=[[Legumes]]|data13=0.25}}{{Bar chart|title=Mean [[land use]] of different foods<ref name="Nemecek 987–992">{{Cite journal|last1=Nemecek|first1=T.|last2=Poore|first2=J.|date=1 June 2018|title=Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers|journal=Science|volume=360|issue=6392|pages=987–992|doi=10.1126/science.aaq0216|issn=0036-8075|pmid=29853680|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Sci...360..987P}}</ref>|float=right|label_type=Food Types|data_type=Land Use (m<sup>2</sup>year per 100g protein)|bar_width=20|width_units=em|data_max=185|label1=[[Lamb and mutton|Lamb and Mutton]]|data1=185|label2=Beef|data2=164|label3=[[Cheese]]|data3=41|label4=[[Pork]]|data4=11|label5=[[Poultry]]|data5=7.1|label6=[[Egg as food|Eggs]]|data6=5.7|label7=[[Aquaculture|Farmed Fish]]|data7=3.7|label8=[[Faboideae|Groundnuts]]|data8=3.5|label9=[[Peas]]|data9=3.4|label10=[[Tofu]]|data10=2.2|label11=|data11=|label12=|data12=|label13=|data13=}}

The consumption of beef poses numerous threats to the [[natural environment]]. Of all agricultural products, beef requires some of the most land and water, and its production results in the greatest amount of [[greenhouse gas emissions|greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions]],<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=13 September 2021|title=Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production, study finds|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/13/meat-greenhouses-gases-food-production-study|access-date=14 October 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> air pollution, and water pollution.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Nemecek|first1=T.|last2=Poore|first2=J.|date=1 June 2018|title=Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers|journal=Science|language=en|volume=360|issue=6392|pages=987–992|doi=10.1126/science.aaq0216|issn=0036-8075|pmid=29853680|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Sci...360..987P}}</ref> A 2021 study added up GHG emissions from the entire lifecycle, including production, transportation, and consumption, and estimated that beef contributed about 4 billion tonnes (9%) of [[Greenhouse gas|anthropogenic greenhouse gases]] in 2010.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Xu|first1=Xiaoming|last2=Sharma|first2=Prateek|last3=Shu|first3=Shijie|last4=Lin|first4=Tzu-Shun|last5=Ciais|first5=Philippe|last6=Tubiello|first6=Francesco N.|last7=Smith|first7=Pete|last8=Campbell|first8=Nelson|last9=Jain|first9=Atul K.|date=September 2021|title=Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00358-x|journal=Nature Food|language=en|volume=2|issue=9|pages=724–732|doi=10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x|pmid=37117472 |hdl=2164/18207 |s2cid=240562878|issn=2662-1355|hdl-access=free}}</ref>{{Rp|728}} Cattle populations graze around 26% of all land on Earth, not including the large [[Field (agriculture)|agricultural fields]] that are used to grow cattle feed.<ref name="fao"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ripple |first1=William J. |last2=Smith |first2=Pete |last3=Haberl |first3=Helmut |last4=Montzka |first4=Stephen A. |last5=McAlpine |first5=Clive |last6=Boucher |first6=Douglas H. |title=Ruminants, climate change and climate policy |journal=Nature Climate Change |date=January 2014 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=2–5 |doi=10.1038/nclimate2081|bibcode=2014NatCC...4....2R }}</ref> According to [[FAO]], "Ranching-induced deforestation is one of the main causes of loss of some unique plant and animal species in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America as well as carbon release in the atmosphere."<ref name="fao2005">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/102924/|title=Cattle ranching is encroaching on forests in Latin America|date=8 June 2005|publisher=Fao.org|access-date=30 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523022221/http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/102924/|archive-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> Beef is also the primary driver of [[deforestation]] in the [[Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest|Amazon]], with around 80% of all converted land being used to rear cattle.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cattle Ranching in the Amazon Region |url=https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use/cattle-ranching |website=Global Forest Atlas |publisher=[[Yale School of the Environment]] |access-date=25 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213011657/https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use/cattle-ranching |archive-date=13 February 2021|date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/08/opinions/go-vegan-save-the-planet-wang/|title=Go vegan, save the planet|last=Wang|first=George C.|date=9 April 2017|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=25 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/feeling-sad-about-the-amazon-fires-stop-eating-meat/|title=Feeling Sad About the Amazon Fires? Stop Eating Meat|last=Liotta|first=Edoardo|date=23 August 2019|work=[[Vice Media|Vice]]|access-date=25 August 2019}}</ref> 91% of Amazon land deforested since 1970 has been converted to cattle ranching.<ref name="fao">{{cite book|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm|title=Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options|author1=Steinfeld, Henning|author2=Gerber, Pierre|author3=Wassenaar, T. D.|author4=Castel, Vincent|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]]|year=2006|isbn=978-92-5-105571-7|access-date=19 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/02/02/000090341_20040202130625/Rendered/PDF/277150PAPER0wbwp0no1022.pdf|title=Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon|last=Margulis|first=Sergio|work=World Bank Working Paper No. 22|publisher=The World Bank|year=2004|isbn=0-8213-5691-7|location=Washington D.C.|page=9|access-date=4 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910042549/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/02/02/000090341_20040202130625/Rendered/PDF/277150PAPER0wbwp0no1022.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> 41% of global deforestation from 2005 to 2013 has been attributed to the expansion of beef production.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://ourworldindata.org/drivers-of-deforestation |title=Drivers of Deforestation |last=Ritchie |first=Hannah |author-link=Hannah Ritchie |date= 9 February 2021|journal=[[Our World in Data]] |access-date=20 March 2021 |quote=}}</ref> This is due to the higher ratio of net energy of gain to net energy of maintenance where metabolizable energy intake is higher.<ref name="NRC2000">National Research Council. 2000. Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle. National Academy Press.</ref> The ratio of feed required to produce an equivalent amount of beef (live weight) has been estimated at 7:1 to 43:1, compared with about 2:1 for chicken.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pieper |first1=Maximilian |last2=Michalke |first2=Amelie |last3=Gaugler |first3=Tobias |title=Calculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products |journal=Nature Communications |date=15 December 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=6117 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19474-6 |pmid=33323933 |pmc=7738510 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.6117P |language=en |issn=2041-1723}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pimentel |first1=David |last2=Pimentel |first2=Marcia |title=Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment |journal=The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |date=1 September 2003 |volume=78 |issue=3 |pages=660S–663S |doi=10.1093/ajcn/78.3.660S |pmid=12936963 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/78/3/660S/4690010 |issn=0002-9165|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="sm201206">{{cite news|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/|title=How the Chicken Conquered the World|author1=Adler, Jerry|date=June 2012|work=Smithsonian|access-date=19 April 2015|author2=Lawler, Andrew}}</ref> However, assumptions about feed quality are implicit in such generalizations. For example, production of a kilogram of beef cattle live weight may require between 4 and 5 kilograms of feed high in protein and metabolizable energy content, or more than 20 kilograms of feed of much lower quality.<ref name="NRC2000" /> A simple exchange of beef to soy beans (a common feed source for cattle) in Americans' diets would, according to one estimate, result in meeting between 46 and 74 percent of the reductions needed to meet the 2020 greenhouse gas emission goals of the United States as pledged in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/08/if-everyone-ate-beans-instead-of-beef/535536/|title=If Everyone Ate Beans Instead of Beef|last=Hamblin|first=James|date=2 August 2017|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=26 September 2019}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=January 2021|reason=}} A 2021 [[CSIRO]] trial concluded that feeding cattle a 3% diet of the seaweed ''[[Asparagopsis taxiformis]]'' could reduce the methane component of their emissions by 80%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-04-21/seaweed-fed-cows-could-solve-livestock-methane-problems/8460512 |title=Seaweed-fed cows could solve livestock industry's methane problems |work=ABC News (Australia) |last=McCarthy |first=Marty |date=20 April 2017 |access-date=5 August 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426095124/http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-04-21/seaweed-fed-cows-could-solve-livestock-methane-problems/8460512 |archive-date=26 April 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Roque|first1=Breanna M.|last2=Venegas|first2=Marielena|last3=Kinley|first3=Robert D.|last4=Nys|first4=Rocky de|last5=Duarte|first5=Toni L.|last6=Yang|first6=Xiang|last7=Kebreab|first7=Ermias|date=17 March 2021|title=Red seaweed (Asparagopsis taxiformis) supplementation reduces enteric methane by over 80 percent in beef steers|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=16|issue=3|pages=e0247820|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0247820|pmid=33730064|pmc=7968649|bibcode=2021PLoSO..1647820R|issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free}}</ref> While such feed options are still experimental, even when looking at the most widely used feeds around the globe, there is high variability in efficiency.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Herrero |first1=Mario |last2=Havlík |first2=Petr |last3=Valin |first3=Hugo |last4=Notenbaert |first4=An |last5=Rufino |first5=Mariana C. |last6=Thornton |first6=Philip K. |last7=Blümmel |first7=Michael |last8=Weiss |first8=Franz |last9=Grace |first9=Delia |last10=Obersteiner |first10=Michael |date=24 December 2013 |title=Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=110 |issue=52 |pages=20888–20893 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1308149110 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3876224 |pmid=24344273|bibcode=2013PNAS..11020888H |doi-access=free }}</ref> One study found that shifting compositions of current feeds, production areas, and informed land restoration could enable greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 34–85% annually (612–1,506 MtCO2e yr−1) without increasing costs to global beef production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Castonguay |first1=Adam C. |last2=Polasky |first2=Stephen |last3=H. Holden |first3=Matthew |last4=Herrero |first4=Mario |last5=Mason-D’Croz |first5=Daniel |last6=Godde |first6=Cecile |last7=Chang |first7=Jinfeng |last8=Gerber |first8=James |last9=Witt |first9=G. Bradd |last10=Game |first10=Edward T. |last11=A. Bryan |first11=Brett |last12=Wintle |first12=Brendan |last13=Lee |first13=Katie |last14=Bal |first14=Payal |last15=McDonald-Madden |first15=Eve |date=2 January 2023 |title=Navigating sustainability trade-offs in global beef production |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-01017-0 |journal=Nature Sustainability |volume=6 |issue=3 |language=en |pages=284–294 |doi=10.1038/s41893-022-01017-0 |bibcode=2023NatSu...6..284C |s2cid=255638753 |issn=2398-9629}}</ref>

Some scientists claim that the demand for beef is contributing to [[Holocene extinction|significant biodiversity loss]] as it is a significant driver of deforestation and [[habitat destruction]]; species-rich habitats, such as significant portions of the Amazon region, are being converted to agriculture for meat production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/oct/20/the-four-horsemen-of-the-sixth-mass-extinction|title=How humans are driving the sixth mass extinction|last=Hance|first=Jeremy|date=20 October 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal|last1=Morell|first1=Virginia|year=2015|title=Meat-eaters may speed worldwide species extinction, study warns|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.aad1607|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/meat-eaters-may-speed-worldwide-species-extinction-study-warns}}</ref><ref name="Machovina 2015 419–431">{{cite journal|last1=Machovina|first1=B.|last2=Feeley|first2=K. J.|last3=Ripple|first3=W. J.|year=2015|title=Biodiversity conservation: The key is reducing meat consumption|journal=Science of the Total Environment|volume=536|pages=419–431|bibcode=2015ScTEn.536..419M|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.022|pmid=26231772}}</ref> The 2019 [[IPBES]] ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' also concurs that the beef industry plays a significant role in [[biodiversity loss]].<ref name="Watts2019">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report|title=Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life|last=Watts|first=Jonathan|date=6 May 2019|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=18 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48169783|title=Nature crisis: Humans 'threaten 1m species with extinction'|last=McGrath|first=Matt|date=6 May 2019|work=[[BBC]]|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> Around 25% to nearly 40% of global land surface is being used for livestock farming, which is mostly cattle.<ref name="Watts2019" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/world/sutter-vanishing-help/|title=How to stop the sixth mass extinction|last=Sutter|first=John D.|date=12 December 2016|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref>