When it comes to the cattle industry there are many myths floating around the internet. Many of these are simply misunderstandings but mostly from a lack of knowledge. One where chocolate milk comes from brown cows is one that immediately comes to mind. Now while some may be innocent there are some that are spread by people with more than malicious intent.
Part of the reason that many of these myths are still around is because of the growing disconnect between people and where their food comes from. When I was back in college it was stated that the average person is around 3 generations removed from the farm. How many times have we seen people online comment thinking that meat is made at the store?
A good way to combat this is through education. We as an industry need to do a better job of providing the correct information to the public. It is through this misinformed public that we have the anti-agriculture folks spreading myths or downright lies, to the people. One such myth that always seems to pop up is the one about cattle and the environment. Here is some information to counter that.
Cattle are destroying the environment
All you need to do is either watch the news or look through social media to come across this little gem. Certain politicians campaign by saying that the government needs to step in to save us all. Antiproduciton agriculture activist posts slightly false, or just outright false, information to scare the general public. I decided to go over 4 different areas to show how that is simply not the case. I suppose should also include a disclaimer that not all people in agriculture do the right thing but the majority of people do.
Cattle produce the most methane and greenhouse gasses
This is one that you tend to see the most often. There is a claim here that cows belching is killing the environment because of the methane produced. A problem with combating this is that there is a little kernel of truth in this, though all great lies have a little bit of truth to make them believable. Though cattle do produce methane by belching according to the EPA back in 2016 it only makes up 9% of all GHG emissions worldwide.
Another issue with this one is that we are discussing two very different types of methane. Typically when people hear about methane they think of the one that stays in the atmosphere. In contrast to carbon monoxide, methane gas produced by cattle disappears into the ground after 12 years. Upon returning to the ground, the gas turns back into CO2, which plants can use to fuel photosynthesis.
The issue here is that even if they were successful that would not solve the problem they claim to fight. Research has demonstrated that removing all livestock from the U.S. food system would only reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5% Worldwide numbers would be even lower at just 0.36%.
They require too much water
Though it is not common as methane another part of the environmental myth is that cattle use up too much water to produce any beef. A misconception that you will often see is that it requires 24,000 gallons of water to produce just 1lb of boneless beef. This one I’m not sure where it came from, but if it was true at one time, it isn’t so now.
Because of many different factors, such as urbanization, producers have had to become more efficient. Currently, in the U.S. we produce the same amount of beef with 33% fewer cattle than we had in 1977. We also produce 18% of the world’s beef with only 6% of the total number of cattle. This has been possible because of better animal health and care that producers have been following.
The truth of the matter is that it only takes about 308 gallons to produce 1lb of beef now. The thing about it is that most of that water is naturally occurring rainfall. This may still seem like a lot but let me provide you with some context. The average American family uses about 300 gallons in their home each day. In fact, it takes 713 gallons of water just to make 1 t-shirt. Cattle, in general, aren’t water guzzlers as you may believe.
Cattle take away food that can be used by people
Often, you will see this scare tactic used. The fact of the matter is that more than likely you are not gonna want to eat what cows eat. 90% of their diet is either forage or plant leftovers that would otherwise just go to waste. Because of their rumens, they are capable of turning plants that cannot be used for human consumption into something that is edible for people, beef.
The fact is that 29% of the land here in the United States is not suitable for growing food crops. This is typical because though it can grow forages about a few inches down is a hard rock layer. This makes it impossible to plow. Another issue that you can run into is that in areas like here in West Texas and other western areas of the country the climate is a little too arid to support food crops without the need for irrigation.
Now you may be thinking “what about the corn and other grains fed to cattle?”. Crops like corn are used for cattle feed, but only 7% of the harvest here goes for that purpose. Also, though we do feed it sometimes grains are not the major thing that cattle eat. In fact according to the United Nations grain only makes up 13% of global livestock feed.
They degrade the land
Another part of this myth that you may have heard is that cattle production does nothing but destroys the land. When people try to convince you to donate to save the rainforest, they often make this claim. While I do not disagree with saving them but lets at least be honest about it. They enhance the natural ecosystem by converting indigestible plant fiber into protein while cycling nutrients through the soil. If you are looking for ways to improve your pastures then check out some of my posts here.
While I will admit there are some people that do not do this but not all. The vast majority of people in production agriculture actually care about preserving the environment. They participate in various programs at the state and national levels to preserve this beautiful planet. The steps that cattle producers take do wonders for maintaining water sheds, keeping our waterways pure, and carbon sequestration.
Going back on the rainforest thing one part of this that you hear often is that we are “destroying the world’s lungs to make way for cattle pastures”. Clearly, these people do not fully understand what they are talking about. An acre of grass will supply enough oxygen for 64 people each day. A fully grown forest with its full canopy will only produce enough for 8-18 people.
