Conventional beef production is eco-friendly and eco-nomical

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved conventional beef-production technologies are more important than ever to the livelihood of the U.S. beef industry. They help you produce more beef, more efficiently, making beef more affordable for consumers with less impact on the environment.

Conventional beef-production technologies contribute to an affordable food supply

Conventional beef-production technologies — growth-promoting implants, ionophores and beta-agonists — play a critical role in U.S. beef production. They significantly increase the volume of beef produced while conserving natural resources and reducing production costs across all segments of the industry. The result is more affordable beef for consumers and increased consumer demand.

A recently completed economic analysis¹ of the impact of these technologies on U.S. beef production using 2007 cattle prices and input costs showed that if the use of growth-enhancing technologies were discontinued, there would be:
            18% less beef produced
            11% increase in retail beef prices
           8.5% decrease in per-capita consumption of beef

Conventional beef-production technologies improve land-use efficiency

An Iowa State University study² shows that beef animals finished in a conventional feedyard using grain-based rations and growth-enhancing technologies are three times more land efficient than organic or grass-fed beef animals.

Land area (acre-days) needed to produce 1 pound of beef during the finishing phase

Conventional feedyard-production technologies make the most efficient use of total farmland resources. This is particularly important as we consider:

• The world population is estimated to reach 9 billion by the middle of the 21st century
• The global demand for food will double by 2050 and there will continue to be increased per-capita demand for beef and other high-quality animal protein
• Worldwide, we have a limited land area on which to produce food, feed and fiber
• It is critical that we continue to conserve natural and biodiverse natural habitats

Conventional beef-production technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Conventional grain-based beef-production systems reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent compared to grass-only finishing programs². Growth-promoting technologies account for 25 percent of this reduction. Overall, beef production contributes only 2 percent of the GHG emissions in the U.S. compared to 80 percent from fossil-fuel combustion.

Additional resources

More Beef, Lower Cost — The Impact of Pharmaceutical Technology in Modern Beef Production Brochure
Author — John Lawrence, PhD, Iowa State University

Economic Analysis of Pharmaceutical Technologies in Modern Beef Production
in a Bioeconomy Era White Paper
Author — John Lawrence, PhD, Iowa State University

Growth-enhancing Pharmaceuticals — Safe for Consumers, Safe and Beneficial for the Environment Brochure
Author — Alex Avery, Center for Global Food Issues

The Environmental Safety and Benefits of Pharmaceutical Technologies in Beef Production White Paper
Author — Alex Avery, Center for Global Food Issues

Modern Beef Production Technology — Proven Safe, Economical and Environmentally Friendly for More Than Three Generations Brochure
Authors — Tom Elam, PhD, and Rod Preston, PhD

Fifty Years of Pharmaceutical Technology and its Impact on the Beef We Provide to Consumers White Paper
Authors — Tom Elam, PhD, and Rod Preston, PhD

¹Lawrence, J.D. and M. Ibarburu. 2009. Economic Analysis of Pharmaceutical Technologies in Modern Beef Production in a Bioeconomy Era. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. http://www.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/lawrence/Pharma%202007%20update.pdf. Accessed May 20, 2009.
²Avery, A. and D. Avery. 2007. The Environmental Safety and Benefits of Pharmaceutical Technologies in Beef Production. Center for Global Food Issues, Churchill, Va. http://www.cgfi.org/pdfs/nofollow/beef-eco-benefits-paper.pdf. Accessed May 20, 2009.