Steaks for Troops Needs Your Help

It was last January when I had the privilege of meeting Bill Broadie.  Bill has spent his entire life in the beef industry except for the years he gave to his country.  He's a Vietnam War veteran that, like many of his fellow soldiers, didn't receive the hero's welcome he should have when he came home from the war. 

It's hard for me to understand why this would ever happen but Bill wanted to make sure that our current soldiers didn't have to experience the same thing.  He combined his passion for the beef industry with his appreciation for our nation's returning heroes when he formed the All-American Beef Battalion.  It's a program that feeds our troops and their families the best home-cooked steak dinner imaginable when they return home from the war. 

Going out for a nice steak dinner with our families is something that most of us take for granted.  But these soldiers haven't seen their families in months or years and during that time they certainly weren't eating at a nice restaurant.  Listening to Bill tell the stories of how much our troops appreciate this simple act of appreciation will bring a tear to anyone's eye and make you appreciate everything you have. 

We were excited when Bill called us this week to give us an update on the program.  They have fed nearly 100,000 steaks to our troops and their families since the program started. This program runs on the generosity of those who donate money and supplies.  But lately they have been feeding more steaks than there is cash coming in.  Every soldier deserves our thanks for their sacrifice which is why I’m proud to donate so they can enjoy a great steak served by America’s farmers and ranchers.  

I would really encourage all of you to support it as well.  They are a non-profit that relies on people like you.  If they can't get that support then our troops don't get to enjoy one of these meals.  

Bill is serving his country for the second time in his life, let's give him the appreciation and support he should have gotten the first time.  Please visit the All-American Beef Battalion and make a donation today.  

Animal Rights Group Allowed Abuse to Continue

Games over Indonesian animal cruelty videos cost animals' lives

EXCLUSIVE by Simon Benson

From: The Daily Telegraph

June 17, 2011

ANIMAL rights groups withheld film evidence of shocking animal cruelty in Indonesian slaughterhouses from the government for three months - before launching a major publicity campaign.

The RSPCA said it had considered the "ethical" dilemma of refusing the government access to the footage until the ABC's Four Corners highlighted the abuse two weeks ago, and admitted its actions meant thousands of animals would continue to be slaughtered between the time it discovered the brutal killings and when the footage was finally made public.

But the RSPCA said it feared the government would have done nothing had it been shown the footage earlier.    Read More

As has been the case with so many undercover videos filmed by animal rights activists, their political motivations were more important than actually stopping the abuse.  For months they were aware of this cruelty yet refused to inform authorities about it.  And now their solution is to end live exports, not how to improve facilities that handle the cattle or better training for those that work in them.  This is like ending the production of cars to prevent traffic accidents.  Their true motivation is to eliminate animal agriculture which explains their actions.  -TH

All-American Beef Battalion

While we were in Wichita for the Kansas Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Conference I had the privilege of meeting Bill Broadie.  Bill has spent his entire life in the beef industry except for the years his gave to his county.  He's a Vietnam War veteran that, like many of his fellow soldiers, didn't receive the hero's welcome he should have when he came home from the war.

It's hard for me to understand why this would ever happen but Bill wanted to make sure that our current soldiers didn't have to experience the same thing.  He combined his passion for the beef industry with his appreciation for our nation's returning heroes when he formed the All-American Beef Battalion.  It's a program that feeds our troops and their families the best home-cooked steak dinner imaginable when they return home from the war.

Going out for a nice steak dinner with our families is something that most of us take for granted.  But these soldiers haven't seen their families in months or years and during that time they certainly weren't eating at a nice restaurant.  Listening to Bill tell the stories of how much our troops appreciate this simple act of appreciation will bring a tear to anyone's eye and make you appreciate everything you have.

It was a privilege for me to donate to this cause and I would really encourage all of you to support it as well.  They are a non-profit that relies on donations of money, time and beef to make this happen.  If they can't get that then our troops don't get to enjoy one of these meals.  Amazingly they have fed over 60,000 steak dinners in the past couple of years but there are more heroes returning home everyday that deserve the same.

Bill is serving his country for the second time in his life, let's give him the appreciation and support he should have gotten the first time.

There's No Such Thing As Hormone Free

Hormone meat pulled off shelves


• Wendy Hargreaves
• From: Sunday Herald Sun, Austrailia
• December 26, 2010 12:00AM


It is an Australian first that has sent shock waves through the meat industry.

Industry experts predict higher beef prices as more customers demand hormone-free meat, which makes up about half of all beef sold in Australia.

Farmers have used hormone growth promotants (HGPs) to speed up muscle growth in cattle for more than 30 years, backed by rigorous safety approval from health authorities.

But in a survey of 1000 people by Meat and Livestock Australia, leaked to the Sunday Herald Sun, almost half said they would consume less meat if it had added hormones, while 16 per cent would "never touch it again" and 15 per cent would "actively warn others".

Without the HGPs, industry experts said another two million head of cattle would be needed to make up a shortfall in meat, creating environmental problems.    Read More

The most common question we get as we talk to consumers is about hormones. Most media stories, like this one, fail to give readers all of the information they need in order to make a sound decision. All food has hormones in it. Both animal and plant-based foods contain hormones. Hormones are the chemical messengers that life depends on. Many plants actually contain higher levels of hormones than meat does. There is no such thing as hormone free food.



The difference in hormone levels from a 3 ounce piece of beef treated with a growth hormone versus one that wasn’t is one-half of a nanogram. That’s one-half of one-billionth of a gram. Compare that to the amount of estrogen in a birth control pill, which is in the neighborhood of 34,000 nanograms. You would have to eat nearly 5 million pounds of beef to equal the amount of hormones in a year’s supply of birth control pill.


It’s essential that we put things in context when we are having discussions like these.

Beat Stress, Eat a Steak!

Feeling stressed? Grill a steak, study suggests

BY PHILIP BRASHER & DAN PILLER • BUSINESS@DMREG.COM • DECEMBER 12, 2010
Des Moines Register

Red meat's image has tended to emphasize stereotypically aggressive male behavior, ranging from ancient barbarians to modern tailgaters.

But McGill University in Canada says its studies suggest otherwise: Meat has a calming effect on men.

Maybe men know what is best for them when they gravitate to the backyard grill.

"It wouldn't be advantageous to be aggressive anymore, because you would've already used your aggression to acquire the meat, and furthermore, you'd be surrounded by people who share ... your DNA," lead researcher Frank Kachanoff told the Montreal Gazette. "One of the basic principles in evolution is to want to preserve not only your DNA but also that of your next of kin."

How well the beef-is-calming notion takes hold remains to be seen. U.S. per capita consumption has dropped by about 25 percent in the last half-century.    Link

It’s hard to be stressed when you are about to enjoy a great steak!  Meat is an essential part of the balanced diet that we should all have.  Eliminating food groups from your diet is never a good idea and the science continues to suggest it.   

A Film About Beef

Here's another great video by a student filmmaker talking about the beef industry and sharing what she learned.

A Film by Katie Griffith from ExploreBeef on Vimeo.

The Care Package: Cattle Welfare in the West

Three student filmmakers were recently given full access to makes short documentaries about the beef industry. As we travel across the country speaking about agriculture I continue to tell people they shouldn't ask Google about where their food comes from. They should ask the farmers and ranchers that grow it. These films offer an opportunity for everyone to learn about beef industry directly from the people involved.

Here's the first of three films I will be posting.

The Care Package: Cattle Welfare in the West from ExploreBeef on Vimeo.

Blaming Cows For Global Warming Not Accurate

A new beef with role of cows in global warming

November 20, 2010
Alex Horkay
TheStar.com
Statistics have been giving us a bum steer when they state how much cattle methane emissions contribute to global warming, a new study shows.


That's because mathematical equations used to predict cows' methane emissions are inaccurate and don't take into account factors such as dietary changes, said Jennifer Ellis, lead author of the study and a PhD student at the University of Guelph.


When cattle burp up their cud, they discharge methane with it, due to microbial fermentation occurring in their complex stomachs.


“Diet can change CH4 (methane) emissions quite a lot. For example, between two and 12 per cent of the energy a cow consumes will be lost as CH4,” she said.

When an equation calculates the quantity of methane emissions on one farm, it can't be used to accurately determine how much greenhouse gas is created worldwide because there is so much difference in cattle diet around the world and from farm to farm.    Read More

While most of the anti-ag groups are quick to try blaming cows for global warming, common sense scientists have shown that it’s not that simple.  There are so many factors that determine the amount of methane produced by a cow so it’s nearly impossible to determine any impact based on current models.  It’s unfortunate that these anti-ag groups have to try tricking people with false information to gain support and turn them against farming and ranching families.

2010 Trailblazer Award Winners

When Joe Roybal called me late this summer to say that Stacy and I had been selected at BEEF Magazine's 2010 Trailblazer Award honorees I was pretty much speechless (which doesn't happen very often).  My first thought was that we probably weren't old enough to be a trailblazer in the beef industry!  Never had the thought crossed my mind that we would be considered for an award like this.  We didn't set out to win any awards when we started telling our story but we truly appreciate it. 

So a big thank you to Joe and everyone at BEEF Magazine for thinking of us!

Here's a link to the 2010 BEEF Magazine Trailblazer Award article.

National Beef Ambassadors Contest

This weekend have the distinct honor of being judges for the National Beef Ambassador contest being in Rapid City, SD.  If you are in the beef industry and aren't familiar with the Beef Ambassador program, you should be.  These young adults have always impressed us with their passion for agriculture and especially beef production. 

There is no doubt in my mind that the Beef Checkoff money (or lack thereof) for this program is returned to our industry ten-fold.  You can't buy the enthusiasm and dedication that we have seen year after year from these young leaders. 

Along with judging the competition, we will also get to share our story with everyone coming to the contest at the Sunday morning breakfast.  This generation of young producers will spend their entire ag careers knowing that educating consumers and telling their story are very important.  That's why I know our future is in good hands. 

For more information check out the National Beef Ambassador website. 

EPA's Anti-Ag Agenda

NCBA Blasts EPA for Anti-Agriculture Agenda


09/30/2010

by Gary Truitt

The National Cattleman’s Beef Association has launched a series of blistering allegations against the Environmental Protection Agency. Last week EPA administrator Lisa Jackson testified before the Senate Ag Committee that her agency is not out to get American agriculture. But, this week National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Chief Environmental Counsel Tamara Thies accused the agency of trying to put the cattle industry out of business, “It is ironic that as we strive to become less dependent on imported oil the policies of the Obama administration are likely to make us more dependent on imported beef.” She accused the EPA of waging a war to bring an end to production agriculture, “EPA exhibits reckless indifference to scientific fact, and instead imposes stringent regulations based on nothing more than its biased, anti-animal agriculture agenda that will leave many cattle operations with no recourse but to shut down.”

Speaking on Wednesday at a forum focused on the impact of EPA regulations on job creation and economic growth in the nation’s rural communities, Thies told members of the Rural America Solutions Group that EPA’s regulations will result in a loss of jobs, just the opposite of what the White House says they want to do. She said EPA regulations are causing economic uncertainty in the cattle industry and throughout rural American because they are “vague, overreaching, costly, unnecessarily burdensome, ludicrous, and sometimes illegal.”     Read More

The mentality at the EPA is that everything humans do is inherently damaging to the environment and that their job is to continually come up with more “solutions” to these problems.  It’s beginning to look like the EPA is more of a threat to the people of this country than people are to the environment.  This has never been more apparent that it is now with their goals of regulating dust. 

Lean Beef Good For Diet

Have a Cow: Heart Association Lines Up With Producers to Support Healthy Beef-Eating


By Hanna Raskin, Thu., Sep. 30 2010 @ 1:02PM

Animal rights activists may disagree, but beef is delicious. It's primal and earthy and packed with protein, which is probably why many Americans eat more red meat than they should.

But the Texas Beef Council's aggressively pushing another rationale for red meat consumption: It's good for you.

The organization is again sponsoring a Firehouse Grill-Off at the State Fair, featuring "big burly firefighters grilling heart-healthy recipes."

The council is so intent on demonstrating beef's cardiovascular benefits that it's partnering with the American Heart Association to present the event, which Alex Roberts, a publicist e-mailing on behalf of the Texas Beef Council, characterizes as an important step "to lower the risk of developing heart disease."

"We definitely support the promotion of portion-controlled, lean beef choices as a part of a heart healthy lifestyle," e-mails Claire Kinzy, communications director for the American Heart Association's South Central Affiliate.    Read More

With so many lean, healthy cuts of beef to choose from, it can be part of any diet.  Eating a balanced diet that includes meat and dairy products continues to be the only diet plan that has stood the test of time.  If the diet you are on doesn’t provide your body with all of the nutrients and vitamins it requires then you need to make a change.  Nutrition and dieting is 95% common sense but that seems to be in short supply these days. 

More Fake Water Statistics About Beef

More water lies from a 'nutty vegan chef'


Commentary by Greg Henderson
Thursday, September 09, 2010

For more than a quarter of a century PETA has been campaigning to end animal use in America. They’ve utilized some aggressive and controversial tactics to convince people to become vegetarians. Yet, consumer research suggests only about four percent of Americans are practicing vegetarians, and that number has not changed much over the decades.

But PETA is not about to give up, and they’ve embarked on a relatively new strategy to tie vegetarianism to the growing Green Movement. Their recent campaigns target beef production as an environmental evil, a claim they make based on some outrageous propaganda. (I guess expecting the truth in their campaigns is asking too much.)

Specifically, PETA is working to convince Americans that “meat’s not green.” On street corners in major cities they orchestrate publicity stunts with naked girls showering behind short curtains emblazoned with the claim “1 lb. of meat equals 2,463 gallons of water.” Such stunts make for good photo opportunities for newspapers and local television stations.

The stunts also provide fodder for the journalist wanna-bes known as bloggers. Take the vegetarian chef for an online Houston magazine called culturemap Houston. Joel Luks is a Canadian-born chef who describes himself as an “intellectually curious arts advocate. Design junkie & blogger. Nutty vegan chef loving ethnic foods. Classical flutist.”    Read More

Using fake statistics about the amount of water it takes to raise cattle has become a favorite past time for animal rights groups that are trying to eliminate animal agriculture in this country. Like Mr. Henderson’s comments imply, we have groups with the mentality that if lies further their agenda then that justifies their use. To make matter worse, even institutions that most people respect as unbiased have fallen for these lies. If you remember, last July I was in Chicago when I saw an exhibit about water. A portion of the exhibit stated many things about raising cattle that weren’t true. After working with that museum as well as the American Museum of Natural History in New York, I was able to get it changed. Unfortunately there are many places where we see these claims. Every time one of us does, we need to have the courage to do something about it.

Spreading the Misinformation of Food Inc.

Dave Stockdale
Sustainability Honcho
Cattle call
SFGate.com
I was enjoying a meat-centric meal at a local restaurant a few days ago with some friends when someone brought up the film Food, Inc. So we ended up discussing the dark side of meat production while...

I was enjoying a meat-centric meal at a local restaurant a few days ago with some friends when someone brought up the film Food, Inc. So we ended up discussing the dark side of meat production while enjoying our nicely prepared pastured beef short ribs. If you also saw this film, then what follows will not be new. And yet, it never hurts to remind ourselves of some of the issues and concerns.

As the aforementioned movie revealed for many previously unaware folks, the idyllic vision we have of cows grazing on open fields under blue skies is not a very realistic picture of cattle production today. While many cattle in the United States do begin their lives on relatively small, family-owned ranches with ample amounts of pasture or rangeland, the vast majority of cattle end their lives in large, overcrowded feedlots. In many feedlots, their diet switches to grains and other products such as flesh, bones, hooves, and feathers of other animals, chicken or cattle manure, stale pastry, ground cardboard, and even plastic hay.

Cattle are a ruminant (or cud-chewing) species, as are goats, sheep, and bison. Their specialized digestive system has evolved over millennia to digest the biodiversity of grasses found on pastureland. When ruminant animals such as cattle are fed a grain-based diet, it can cause them a range of health problems, so they are often administered antibiotics to fend off the diseases they might contract under these conditions. The cattle are also often given growth hormones to make them grow bigger faster.

Not all grain-fed cattle are subject to the worst feedlot conditions. Some feedlots are less crowded and are managed without the use of antibiotics or hormones. Some facilities feed their cattle only grain and other foodstuffs (a typical diet might include barley, corn, wheat, soy meal, sugar beet pulp, cane molasses and hay) without all the fillers and questionable by-products. Feedlots producing certified organic dairy products or beef must follow guidelines that include feeding the animals certified organic grain, avoiding antibiotics and hormones, and providing some access to pasture.

In addition to the effects on animal health, the feedlot system also has some serious environmental impacts. Overcrowding of animals produces excessive amounts of manure that cannot be recycled on site. Runoff from this manure creates an excess of nitrogen in watersheds. Methane gas produced by cattle contributes to global warming. The large-scale industrial production of grain to feed the animals includes high usage of pesticides and herbicides and the widespread use of genetically engineered seed.

The feedlot system also has social consequences. As commodity prices for beef and dairy products are driven down, small family-owned ranches are often driven out of business. Those that do manage to stay afloat generally work on contract with a few large corporations, greatly limiting their autonomy, financial security, and opportunities for growth. Feedlots themselves can be toxic environments for the workers who operate them and smelly eyesores for the communities that house them. Slaughterhouses can be dangerous for workers when speed and production are considered more important than safety.

Keeping cattle on open rangeland or pasture from birth until death is an alternative to the feedlot system. Because cattle eat the diet that is biologically appropriate for them and their digestive systems, the health problems outlined above are eliminated. The negative environmental and social consequences are lessened too. Research is also showing that there are also significant health advantages to eating dairy products or beef from pasture-raised animals.

I don't eat animal protein every day, but when I do, I buy ingredients or seek out menu items that feature pastured animals whenever possible. It's my way of supporting a production system that I believe is better for me, the animals, and the planet. That fact that these products also taste better and have a more interesting texture to me is an added bonus!

This blogger from San Francisco learned everything about modern livestock production from watching the movie Food Inc. and is eager to share it.  Line by line you can go through this article and see how this mockery of a film has misinformed consumers.  For example, according to this guy every feedlot is overcrowded.  On more than one occassion he refers to overcrowded feedlots.  He also mentions that most family farmers and ranchers that raise beef are doing it for a large corporation.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The next time you don't feel like sharing your story consider the idea that this guy is eager to share your story for you and it's apparent that he's not concerned about the truth. 

Modern Beef Is "Green"

Beef Production More Sustainable Now, WSU Expert Says

EPOnline.com
Jul 26, 2010

Advances in productivity over the past 30 years have reduced the carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of U.S. beef production, according to a new study presented by a Washington State University researcher.

In “Comparing the environmental impact of the US beef industry in 1977 to 2007,” assistant professor of animal science Jude L. Capper revealed that improvements in nutrition, management, growth rate and slaughter weights, have significantly reduced the environmental impact of modern beef production and improved its sustainability.

“These findings challenge the common misconception that historical methods of livestock production are more environmentally sustainable than modern beef production,” said Capper in a presentation on July 14 at the American Society of Animal Science meeting in Denver.   Read More


There are plenty of people trying to eliminate animal agriculture by spreading misinformation about it’s impact on the environment. The truth of the matter is that animal agriculture has greatly reduced the environmental impact over the last few decades. But it doesn’t stop there. The improvement that we have seen is continuing into the future. We depend on a healthy environment to raise healthy livestock which is why farmers and ranchers are some the greenest people around. ~Troy

Moms On The Farm

Moms Day Out On The Farm
By Alex Hoffman
Published: July 13, 2010, 5:02 PM
Keloland.com

HARTFORD, SD - Whether you are shopping for yourself or feeding a family, people are spending more time studying food labels.

On Tuesday, a group of moms went beyond the packaging and got a firsthand look at where it all comes from.

Surrounded by miles of rolling hills, the farm is normally a quiet oasis. But Tuesday, this land north of Hartford became an outdoor classroom.

Women are taking a break from work and families to find out exactly what it takes to get food from the field to the fridge.

"I think it'd be fun for them to see where it all starts from instead of just going to the grocery store and saying, 'Well, that’s where chicken comes from,' or 'That’s where pork comes from,'” hog farmer Dennis Steineke said.

Most of these women have very little experience being on a farm and say they're excited to learn what it's all about.

"It's good to learn about how farming works and how we get our meat and how the animals are taken from the farm to how we get them in the grocery store,” participant Jackie Studenski said.
Read More

This is a terrific program sponsored by Ag United. I’ve mentioned on this blog many times the importance of showing consumers what we do. There are those in our industry that talk about being advocates and there are those that actually do something. If you ever get the chance to host a tour of your farm or ranch jump on it. Thanks to Ag United and these South Dakota producers for hosting this tour.

Beef Burgers, It's What's for Dinner

Appetite for "better burgers" shows no satiety
By MATTHEW BARAKAT (AP) – 21 hours ago

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — With a drive-through seemingly on every corner, you might think the market for burgers long ago reached saturation. But the fastest-growing restaurant chain in America last year was Five Guys, which specializes in double-pattied behemoths the size of a softball.

And that's just the tip of the arugula. So-called "better burger" joints are one of the fastest-growing parts the restaurant industry. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay launched Bobby's Burger Palace in the Northeast. Elevation Burger is expanding into Kuwait. Mooyah Burgers & Fries, Meatheads and the Shake Shack are looking to expand.

Higher-grade beef, fresher or more creative toppings, and better buns are bringing customers in the door.

It's a market that has room to grow. Such chains represent only about 2 percent of the $65 billion burger market, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based restaurant consultant Technomic. Read More

People love burgers! Even with so much misinformation about beef production being put out there by vegan animal rights activists, consumers love what we produce. However, we need to maintain that relationship by continually sharing with them how that beef gets on their plate. They want to know and there are a lot of groups that jump at the chance to tell them their version and make it harder for the truth to get out. Education and promotion are essential items that should be on every producer’s daily chore list.

Vegetarian Visits a Feedlot

Cattle Feedlot: Behind The Scenes
by Ryan Andrews, June 23rd, 2010.

My trip to Magnum

My day at the cattle feedlot got off to a rough start. Maybe it’s because I wore my “Have You Hugged A Vegetarian Today Shirt.” Bad move on my part, I guess.

No, I’m just kidding. I didn’t wear my vegan shirt.

And my day at the Magnum Feedyard in Wiggins, Colorado got off to a great start.
It all began at a restaurant in Hudson, Colorado, called the Pepper Pod. That’s where I met two new friends: an animal science instructor and a student from Colorado State University, who escorted me up to Wiggins to get an exclusive tour of the Magnum Feedyard.

During the 75-minute drive, a lot was going through my mind.

For starters, this visit had been 6 months, and quite a few emails/phone calls, in the making.

You see, very few people in the nutrition world are ever allowed to visit feedlots. In fact, some of my favorite authors have written entire books about feedlots without ever being granted permission to see one in person. So I had to “work it” pretty hard to get this kind of access. And was really excited.

However, despite my enthusiasm for the opportunity, I was a little worried. I mean, everything I’d read about feedlots suggested that they’re horrible, dismal places where thousands of sick cows are crammed in tiny pens, being force-fed corn while standing in steaming piles of their own feces.

As someone concerned with animal welfare, what would I do if faced with this sight? Would I run for the gates, throw them open, and let those poor cows free? Was I man enough to do that? Would I just go home with my tail between my legs? Or would I see something totally different, totally unexpected? Read More


I saw this over the weekend and had several people sending me emails about this story. It’s certainly a testament as to what happens when share our story. The rhetoric from the anti-ag groups has gotten so ridiculous that when people actually get a chance to see it for themselves they are almost shocked at the truth. This author found well cared for, well fed cattle that were comfortable in their setting. Congratulations to the folks at Magnum Feedyard for telling their story.

Reporting the Hype, Not the Facts

Chefs now offering low-carbon diets to help save the planet
In the effort to save the planet from carbon emissions, chefs are saying eat less feedlot beef. That's because feedlot beef is by far the biggest creator of carbon gases. Fed on corn instead of the grass it was meant to eat, cows simply belch and pass wind a lot, creating much of the CO2 that's harming the earth. Bon Appétit Management Co. and other corporate food-service operators are turning to lower-carbon foods like chicken in an effort to change eating habits while reducing their carbon footprints.
By Paula Bock

SO YOU THINK trading in your gas guzzler for a hybrid will save the planet?

Try cutting back on cheeseburgers! And mangos! And fish flown in "fresh" from the southern hemisphere!

Old millennium: Low-carb diets. The new cool: Low-carbon diets. As in eat green. As in healthy for the environment. As in reduce global warming by minding what you swallow.

Just ask the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. A few years ago, it released a study showing that livestock cause more harm to the environment than all global transportation systems combined. Numero Uno emission emitter? Beef.

If Americans reduced meat consumption by just 20 percent, a University of Chicago study found, it'd be like all of us switching from a standard sedan to an ultraefficient Prius. A Japanese study estimated that raising 2.2 pounds of beef creates the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide as driving an average European car for 155 miles or burning a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.
Producing a pound of feedlot beef creates the equivalent of 14.8 pounds of CO2. By comparison, a pound of pork creates the equivalent of 3.8 pounds of CO2; chicken, the equivalent of 1.1 pounds.
Why do cattle have such a huge carbon hoof print? Surprisingly, it's not so much because of transport from feedlot to fast-food joint or land cleared for grazing or even the chemical fertilizers used to grow the feed, though all that also adds up.

It's largely because cornfed cattle pass a lot of gas. Read More


Here’s another example of activism as compared to journalism. If this reporter had done some actual research as opposed to regurgitating common misconceptions, they would have learned there’s a different story to be told. For example, the writer seems to think that cattle will only produce methane if they are being fed a grain based diet. Methane is a byproduct of rumination, not the diet. There is also evidence that suggests grain fed beef actually produce less emissions over their lifetime compared to other production methods. Along with that, even though rumination produces methane, that is the process that allows us to convert indigestible forages into human consumable protein. It allows us to utilize the vast majority of land on this planet that doesn’t allow for farming. The University of Chicago study that is cited is the same one that Michael Pollan used to cite as well until the authors of that study clarified that that wasn’t true. It’s another example of the sad state of journalism today.

Beef Industry Fights Hunger

Beef industry helps in the fight against hunger
by Tommy Noel

POCATELLO - Idaho's beef industry is helping in the fight against hunger.
Over 3,000 pounds of beef were donated to the Idaho Foodbank, courtesy of Beef Counts.

This will help feed the 116,000 people who depend on free emergency food each month.

The cattle industry-food bank partnership is the only one of its kind in the country.

"Protein is one of the things the Foodbank lacks in a big way. Today, the Foodbank can only give about five pounds a month to every family that they service. This is going to go a long ways to increase that in a significant way, and this is just the beginning," says Rick Stott of Agri Beef Co.

In addition to the beef, a $50,000 check was donated by Agri Beef Company.

The meat will now be distributed to the Foodbank's 78 partner agencies, such as the Salvation Army and various senior citizen centers. Link

The headline says it all. The beef industry is helping fight hunger, just like the farmers and ranchers that produce every other type of commodity that the human existence relies on. I’ve been proud to be involved in volunteering at food banks across the United States and there is no doubt that they serve an important need. It was especially apparent when the economy started to fall a few years ago. Many folks who lost their jobs needed some temporary help to put food on their table. Every time you volunteer at one of these food banks it’s a great reminder about what’s truly important and where our priorities should be.