The study might have some relevance when comparing chicken vs grain fed beef, however beef finished on grass is a whole different story.

There is no more sound, logical and sustainable use for our vast grass lands than to grow and finish beef cattle.

Without cattle grazing the paddocks allowing sunlight in to grow healthy grass, the end result would be rank moribund growth with an inefficient root system to sequester less carbon and massive amounts of smoke from bush fires.

When you look at the big picture grass-finished beef must go at the top of any list as an integral part of a sustainable system of producing healthy protein.

Do we grow crops (grass or grain) to feed other animals to then transport and eat those animals and call that sustainable?

It could be suggested that vegetable protein (legumes and grains etc) is a far more sustainable alternative than any animal protein - with the exponential increase in world human population.

And don't forget the massive methane emissions from ruminants (not to mention the massive and poorly regulated water pollution from intensive feedlots, piggeries and chicken sheds).

Another complete fabrication from the beef industry is the water pollution from chicken farms.

My chicken farm has all the chook manure carted away and sold as organic manure.

The chooks only use water for drinking.

The sheds are washed down with high pressure pumps minimising water usage which does not leave the sheds but evaporates.

WHAT WATER POLLUTION?

In response to this study several key points need to be made, not least of which is a strong rebuttal of the claim that beef and sheepmeat production is environmentally unsound. Firstly, this is a British study that modelled production systems in the UK. The UK systems for beef and lamb production are vastly different to those used in Australia and hence the study’s modelling cannot be seen as representative of Australian livestock production systems. The practice of “housing” cattle for 503 days, as some of the study’s beef calculation models have factored in, and using hundreds of kilos of grain-based concentrated feeds for cows, couldn’t be further removed from the Australian situation. Secondly, the authors of the report highlight that “ruminant meats produce more burdens than pig or poultry meats, but ruminants can derive nutrition from land that is unsuitable for the arable crops that pigs and poultry must eat”. In simple terms, the report’s authors admit that cattle and sheep are part of a grazing system that utilises land and resources that are not capable of producing protein from pig or poultry. This is, in fact, the way most of Australia’s livestock industry operates: using cattle and sheep to produce protein for humans from land that would otherwise not be able to produce protein, and as part of a natural carbon and water cycle. In fact, most Australian livestock graze on land which is unsuitable for crop production or are part of a sustainable cropping system, used in rotation to help replenish soil structure and fertility. The beef produced by the Australian industry helps feed the world by supplying millions of meals per year in 106 countries around the world. Australia cannot possibly produce sufficient additional grain to come anywhere near producing this level of protein from poultry or any other livestock. Thirdly, the article fails to consider that the world is now facing a critical shortage of grain to feed its burgeoning human population, and modern poultry production cannot survive without using cereal grain, effectively in competition with human demand.

Finally, the report looks at per kg measures and acknowledges “that the nutritional values of the meats will differ, so that a simple comparison of meat types may be misleading”. Red meat is an essential part of a healthy diet, and among all meat proteins is the best source of nutrients, such as iron, vitamin B12, and zinc. Red meat has been a part of human nutrition for millions of years and has played an important role in human development. Red meat’s important nutritional value far outweighs any concerns that may arise from its production, and particularly production from a country that in no way resembles Australian conditions.