Frequently Asked Questions

Beef Myths & Facts

Meat consumption causes world hunger
Starvation and famine are driven by socio-economic and political problems – not by American beef consumption. In his message for World Food Day in 2000, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, “Ending hunger and food insecurity is not simply a matter of growing more food. Recent studies have shown that four out of five malnourished children in the developing world live in countries that boast food surpluses.” So even if someone were willing to pay farmers to grow food-quality grain to ship as a charitable contribution, unfavorable economic and political environments would likely prevent the grain from reaching the people it was intended to benefit.

Globally, humans still directly consume nearly two-thirds of total cereal grain production, while beef cattle consume only 5 percent, according to the CAST 1999 Animal Agriculture and Global Food Supply Report. The feeds used for animal production are numerous and varied. Much of the feed used consists of materials that humans cannot consume directly, such as grass and milling by-products. In all cases, the nutrient density and variety of the human food supply are increased as a result.

Myth:	Number of people who could be fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their meat intake by 10%: 60 million. (read more)
Myth:	The grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock could feed more than one billion human beings. (read more)
Myth:	A significant portion of soybeans grown worldwide goes to feed cattle – and would be much more effectively used if fed to people instead. (read more)
Myth:	The grain used to create an 8-oz. steak could fill the bowls of 40 people. (read more)
Myth:	Number of people who could be fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their meat intake by 10%: 60 million. This is an old quote from Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute. It should be noted that Brown has been predicting food security crises for more than 20 years and has yet to be correct in any prediction. Further, in the 1990 Current Issues in Food Production: A Perspective on Beef as a Component in Diets for Americans, Dr. Harry Kunkel, professor of human nutrition at Texas A&M University, noted that this claim is based on a simplistic arithmetic exercise. If one accepts the figure quoted by activists of 12 million tons of grain ‘saved’, this would work out to about a pound of (unprocessed) grain per day for about 60 million people. But this ignores logic and reality. First, the grain in question is feed grain, not the higher quality food grain consumed by humans. Second, if there were no market for this grain as livestock feed, it simply would not be grown. Farmers are not going to grow grain and give it away. Unless, someone was willing to buy this lower quality grain and ship it to third world countries, it would not even be produced. Top
Myth:	The grain and soybeans eaten by U.S. livestock could feed more than one billion human beings. This is a naïve arithmetic exercise that ignores reality and common sense. First, there is a qualitative difference in ‘feed grain’ used for livestock and ‘food grain,’ which is higher quality for human consumption. And in regard to soybeans, the soybean meal used to feed animals is made from the flakes that remain after the soy oil is extracted for human use. In fact, 100 percent of soy oil is consumed by humans while 90 percent of the meal produced is consumed by animals (2002 USDA and U.S. Census Bureau data). Additionally, if the market for feed grain were removed, this grain would not be produced. Even if someone were willing to pay farmers to grow this grain and would then ship it as a charitable contribution to third-world countries, unfavorable economic and political environments would likely prevent the grain from reaching the people it was intended to benefit. We learned that from the debacle of trying to get food to hungry people in Somalia a few years ago. And the Green Revolution taught us it is much better to encourage local production than to provide food as a hand-out. Top
Myth:	A significant portion of soybeans grown worldwide goes to feed cattle – and would be much more effectively used if fed to people instead. The primary products derived from soybeans are soy protein products and oil. Soy protein products are made with the flakes that remain when beans are crushed to extract soy oil. The extracted soybean oil is used for human food and industrial products, with 100 percent of 2002 domestic soybean oil being used or consumed by humans. The flakes, which cannot be used for human food, are made into meal, which is primarily used for animal feed, or other soy protein products. Although 90 percent of the soybean meal is consumed by animals only 11 percent of soybean meal is consumed by beef cattle (2002 USDA and U.S. Census Bureau data). But regardless, the use of soybean meal as livestock feed is an efficient and effective use of this soy protein product and does not impact human consumption of soybean oil. Top
Myth:	The grain used to create an 8-oz. steak could fill the bowls of 40 people. At 2.6 lbs. of grain per pound of beef, that 8 ounces of steak translates into 1.3 lbs. of grain. Divided by 40 bowls, this would yield about .45 ounces of unprocessed, low-quality feed grain per bowl. So these would be very small, very unappetizing bowls of unprocessed grain. Top