Grass-raised beef good for the plant, says UN

Beef cattle play a key role in maintaining a sustainable food system, according to new research published by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.

The research, published in September’s issue of the journal “Global Food Security”, counters claims that beef production consumes too much human-edible feed, finding that cattle are net contributors to the global protein supply, and concludes that “modest yield improvements” can reduce further land expansion for feed production.


FAO researchers created a global database of what livestock eat, finding that 86 percent of the feed the animals consume, most of it grasses grown on marginal lands, are not edible by humans.