Growing up, meat at the center of the table wasn’t a choice, but a way of life. It was the time we spent as a family to give thanks for what was provided to us through our hard work, the labors of our community, and the resources we had been blessed with.
Abbie Uhlenkott
Attending the University of Idaho only increased my respect for animal agriculture and their superior commitment to efficiently utilize resources through industry improvements. I have studied and discovered information inconsistent with the points in “Beef: it’s not for dinner,” allowing me to be confident in my educated decision to consume meat as a dietary component.
The original article’s statistics were alarming, and it’s understandable why someone would consider making the vegetarian choice after seeing them in “popular press.” Fortunately, science supports animal agriculture, which contributes less than 3% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions while upcycling 1.9 billion pounds of inedible food waste into a protein-packed food source for humans.
There is no scientific reason to fear taking advantage of meat’s nutritional value. Contrary to the presented argument the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published, “Research shows that lean, unprocessed red meat can be incorporated into healthy eating patterns to improve cardiometabolic disease risk factors.”
Likewise, it’s important to understand accurate consumption factors. One beef yields approximately 490 pounds of meat. The average individual consumes 56.9 pounds each year. Meaning that one steer could feed 8.6 people for an entire year.
Arguably, the most profound information I can provide you with comes from a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that concluded removing animal agriculture would “create a food supply incapable of supporting the US population’s nutritional requirements.” Animal agriculture is key to a delicious, nutritious, and sustainable food production system.
Abbie Uhlenkott
University of Idaho, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Dayne Anderson
I'm not sure what the size of the people are in these studies! Often I find myself angered by outdated data being plugged into today's lifestyle. The Body Mass Index is the best example of this. When people with 5% body fat or less are referred to as obese based upon the BMI, is just sad! I consider myself a healthy individual with a balanced-varied diet. However, I must eat 200 lbs of beef per year!