Frequently Asked Questions

Beef Myths & Facts

Meat production is wasteful
The activist myth goes something like this: meat production uses outrageous amounts of water, feed and land that should be used for something else. The truth is it takes 2.6 pounds of grain and 435 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef in the United States. The reality is that 85 percent of the nation’s grazing lands are not suitable for farming. It is important that we use land that is too rough, too high, too dry, too wet and largely inaccessible to graze livestock to produce food for the world’s population. Cattle eat forages that humans cannot consume and convert them into a nutrient-dense food.

Myth:	Sixteen pounds of grain and soybeans are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.(read more)
Myth:	A 1,250 pound beef steer finished in a feedlot on corn will have consumed in his lifetime roughly 284 gallons of oil. (read more)
Myth:	Just 165 pounds of beef can be produced from one acre of land. But 20,000 pounds of potatoes can be produced from the same acre of land. (read more)
Myth:	The portion of the world’s wheat that is being fed to livestock has more than doubled since 1960. (read more)
Myth:	Less than half of harvested agricultural acreage in the United States is used to grow food for people. Most of it is used to grow feed for livestock. (read more)
Myth:	Amount of water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25 gallons. Amount of water needed to produce 1 pound of beef: 2,500 gallons.(read more)
Myth:	The water used to produce 10 lbs. of steak can provide for a vegetarian family for an entire year. (read more)
Myth:	Irrigation to grow food for livestock uses 50 out of every 100 gallons of water consumed in the United States. (read more)
Myth:	The quantity of water that is used to produce a 1,000 lb. steer would float a destroyer.(read more)
Myth:	Sixteen pounds of grain and soybeans are needed to produce 1 pound of beef. This estimate is based on the false assumption that beef cattle are fed grain diets from birth to market weight. According to the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) 1999 Animal Agriculture and Global Food Supply Report, an average of 2.6 pounds of grain is used to produce a pound of beef in developed countries and 0.3 lb. in developing countries. Animals don’t steal grains destined for the world’s hungry; instead they consume large amounts of feedstuffs not suitable for human consumption. This includes forage from marginal land that can’t be cultivated for human foods and food processors’ byproducts such as citrus pulp brewers’ grains, almond hulls and tomato pomace. The soybean product fed to cattle is a meal made of the bean flakes, which remain after the soy oil is extracted for human consumption. In addition, corn fed to cattle is feed corn grown specifically for use as livestock feed and of lower quality than corn grown for human consumption. Top
Myth:	A 1,250 pound beef steer finished in a feedlot on corn will have consumed in his lifetime roughly 284 gallons of oil. This claim, made by Cornell University’s Dr. David Pimentel, in a March 31, 2002 New York Times Magazine article is based on erroneous data and outdated assumptions about corn production. Energy efficiency has significantly increased agricultural productivity; for example, producing a bushel of corn today requires about half the energy it did 25 years ago. Rather than 284 gallons of oil, a more realistic figure is 13.83 gallons, according to a 2002 analysis conducted by Dr. Michael S. Graboski of the Colorado School of Mines for National Corn Growers Association. Top
Myth:	Just 165 pounds of beef can be produced from one acre of land. But 20,000 pounds of potatoes can be produced from the same acre of land. Per acre corn yield in the state known for its potatoes, Idaho, was 170 bushels per acre in 2004, or 9,520 lbs. of corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Statistics 2005. Over all phases – cow/calf to feedlot – with an average of 2.6 pounds grain per pound of beef, this land could actually be converted to 3,661 lbs. or more than 50,000 servings of naturally nutrient-rich beef. In addition, beef delivers a much more potent nutrient bundle than potatoes. Top
Myth:	The portion of the world’s wheat that is being fed to livestock has more than doubled since 1960. Relatively little wheat is fed to livestock. Wheat is not considered a feed grain although low quality wheat may be fed to livestock because it has little human food value. Even the small amount of wheat fed to livestock varies with economic conditions. When wheat prices are low relative to feed grain prices, it may be used in livestock rations. In any event, the amount of wheat fed to livestock is directly related to demand for wheat as human food. When demand and prices are low, market signals will direct the wheat to the use that produces the best economic return. If there is a high demand for wheat as a human food grain, it will not be fed to livestock. Top
Myth:	Less than half of harvested agricultural acreage in the United States is used to grow food for people. Most of it is used to grow feed for livestock. According to USDA’s Agricultural Statistics 2005, of the 2.3 billion acres of land in the United States, 455 million acres are classified as cropland and only about 18 percent of U.S. cropland is used for feed grain production. There is not a large displacement of human food production for livestock feed. Top
Myth:	Amount of water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat: 25 gallons. Amount of water needed to produce 1 pound of beef: 2,500 gallons. According to statistics compiled by the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Kansas State University, the yield of wheat from irrigated land averages about 3 bushels per acre inch of water (27,168 gallons). So it actually takes 151 gallons of water to produce one pound of wheat – six times more than the amount this claim suggests. Considering all factors in beef cattle production including direct consumption, irrigation of pastures and crops, and carcass processing, it takes 435 gallons of water to produce a pound of boneless beef, according to the CAST 1999 Animal Agriculture and Global Food Supply Report. Top
Myth:	The water used to produce 10 lbs. of steak can provide for a vegetarian family for an entire year. This is a case where simple arithmetic tells the story. At 435 gallons per pound of beef, 10 pounds of beef equals 4,350 gallons of water, or an annual average of 362.5 gallons per month. For a family of four, this adds up to 3 gallons per person per day. Assuming the statement refers only to the amount of grain that could be produced with the same amount of water, at 151 gallons per pound of wheat produced, this would yield .32 ounces of unprocessed wheat per person per day. In terms of their water budget, this family certainly couldn’t afford daily activities liking washing the dishes (20 gallons), reading the paper (300 gallons for a single day’s supply of newsprint) or taking a shower (15-20 gallons for the average 15 minute shower) according to the American Water Works Association. Top
Myth:	Irrigation to grow food for livestock uses 50 out of every 100 gallons of water consumed in the United States. U.S. agriculture, in total, accounts for approximately 50 percent of U.S. water use. According to a 1993 article in the Journal of Animal Science by J. Beckett and J. Oltjen, total livestock production accounts for just over 11 percent of all U.S. water use. This includes the water to grow crops fed to livestock, which accounts for 9.7 percent of all water use, and livestock consumption, at 1.2 percent of all water use. Top
Myth:	The quantity of water that is used to produce a 1,000 lb. steer would float a destroyer. According to the U.S. Navy, it takes 8,000 metric tons of seawater to float a destroyer, or roughly 2.11 million gallons. It takes 435 gallons of water (for all purposes) to produce a pound of boneless beef. A 1,000 pound steer would yield 450 pounds of boneless beef, the equivalent of 195,750 gallons of water, far short of the ridiculous claim. Top