Proof Modern Beef production is Sustainable!

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Mill Iron A

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Jul 12, 2011
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516
So I'm sitting inside my home office due to the weather outside and I'm putting some powerpoint presentations together for my work.  I was browsing the Journal of Animal Science articles when I found this:

Expand+Journal of Animal Sciencejas.fass.orgdoi: 10.2527/jas.2010-3784 J ANIM SCI December 2011 vol. 89 no. 12 4249-4261
The environmental impact of beef production in the United States: 1977 compared with 2007
J. L. Capper1,2
+ Author Affiliations

Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, PO Box 646310, Pullman 99164
↵2Corresponding author: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Consumers often perceive that the modern beef production system has an environmental impact far greater than that of historical systems, with improved efficiency being achieved at the expense of greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this study was to compare the environmental impact of modern (2007) US beef production with production practices characteristic of the US beef system in 1977. A deterministic model based on the metabolism and nutrient requirements of the beef population was used to quantify resource inputs and waste outputs per billion kilograms of beef. Both the modern and historical production systems were modeled using characteristic management practices, population dynamics, and production data from US beef systems. Modern beef production requires considerably fewer resources than the equivalent system in 1977, with 69.9% of animals, 81.4% of feedstuffs, 87.9% of the water, and only 67.0% of the land required to produce 1 billion kg of beef. Waste outputs were similarly reduced, with modern beef systems producing 81.9% of the manure, 82.3% CH4, and 88.0% N2O per billion kilograms of beef compared with production systems in 1977. The C footprint per billion kilograms of beef produced in 2007 was reduced by 16.3% compared with equivalent beef production in 1977. As the US population increases, it is crucial to continue the improvements in efficiency demonstrated over the past 30 yr to supply the market demand for safe, affordable beef while reducing resource use and mitigating environmental impact.

WOW That is amazing!
 

knabe

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Feb 7, 2007
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Hollister, CA
how much of this is due to the introduction of rumensin and genetics?

when was rumensin used large scale?
 
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