New Beef Eco-Report (www.cgfi.org) used beef production models from Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions estimates from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC).
More than 95% of beef produced in the United States is raised on grain-based diets in feedlots (http://www.beeffrompasturetoplate.org/) has
been deemed safe for humans by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, the World Health Organization, the Codex Alimentarius Committee of the World Trade Organization, the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and a conference of expert toxicologists established by the European Agriculture Commission.
The first-of-its-kind analysis compared the land costs and greenhouse gas emissions of organic grass-based beef with conventional grain-finished beef. The findings are particularly
relevant in light of a UN Food and Agriculture Organization report published last summer estimating that beef and dairy production are responsible for 18% of all human greenhouse gas
emissions.
"Environmentally conscious consumers who have been told that grass-raised beef is more environmentally sensitive and sustainable should rethink their beef purchases in light of our
findings," says lead author Alex Avery, director of research at the Center.
The full report and additional information can be found at: