Beef Gears Up for Earth Day

April 22nd marks Earth Day, and the beef checkoff is once again encouraging producers to tell their friends and family to do something good for their body and the planet by celebrating with steak. Why? Because the beef raised today requires less land, water and energy than before and each serving provides 10 essential nutrients to your diet.

“As we prepare to celebrate Earth Day, we’d like to remind beef and dairy producers to share their production story with everyone they know – family, friends, neighbors and even those they just met at the grocery store,” says Daryl Berlier Owen, chair of the checkoff’s joint public opinion and issues management group and cow/calf producer from Amarillo, Texas. “We need to let them know that we’re proud cattle producers, providing 20 percent of the world’s iron-rich beef with just 7 percent of the cattle. That means people can enjoy a good steak as part of a healthy, balanced diet, knowing that it is being produced in such a way that’s good for their personal health and the health of the planet.”

Producers can be proud of so many things, so says the beef checkoff, including:

• About two-thirds of cattle farms and ranches have been in the same family for two generations or more.
• On average, each cattleman has 13 different practices in place to accomplish environmental goals such as nurturing wildlife, preventing erosion and conserving and protecting water.
• Thanks to smart practices, raising livestock in the United States today accounts for less than 3
• percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

The beef checkoff also says that the average American farmer feeds about 155 people worldwide vs. 26 just a few decades ago, while noting expert views that estimate global food production needs will increase 70 percent by 2050 to feed a growing world population.

Producers can find more information and modern beef production statistics, as well as informational videos, on the checkoff-funded ExploreBeef.org website.

A number of state beef councils will be participating in Earth Day efforts on a local level. For a list of state beef council contact information or for more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.