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Beef

Author’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Date
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Beef

History of Beef

The history of before consumption can be traced back to around 8000 BC when cattle

domestication began. However, the topic of livestock rearing and beef consumption is widely

ranging depending on different social and historical backgrounds. For instance, in America, the

introduction of Longhorn cattle is associated with Spanish explorers in 1534 while Devon cattle

are believed to have been introduced in America by the British colonists in early 1623. Unlike in

Europe where space for livestock rearing was plenty due to the huge tracts of pastureland, the

Native Americans were busy hunting buffalo on vast lush grassland of the prairie (Shurtleff, &

Aoyagi, 2014).

Later, importation of other breeds occurred. They included Herefords, Shorthorns,

Aberdeen Angus, Ayrshire, Galloway, Charolais, Guernsey, Chianina, Jersey, Simmenthal,

Limousin, and crossbreeds. While some were introduced for the good dairy production, others

were also brought for their success meat production. Introduced to America in 1873, the

Aberdeen Angus, crossbreed with Texan Longhorn cow giving forth to the most popular and

eaten breed, the Black Angus. As more settlers paved their way to America, cattle drivers and

open range become outnumbered. The grass depleted while more land developed for agricultural

and industrial uses so that by the 1890s beef cattle rearing were only done on ranches. Ranch

breeding is mainly attributed with the invention of barbed wire, which allowed fencing off a

huge track of land(Shurtleff, & Aoyagi, 2014).

Geography of Beef
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According to the United State Department of Agriculture as quoted by Preston and Willis

(2013), the largest American beef supply comes from countries with the US. According to that

report, less than 20 percent of the total America beef supply comes from foreign countries such

as Canada and Mexico. According to the 2015 report by National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

(NCBA), the leading states in sales of beef were Texas, Kansas, California, Nebraska, and

Oklahoma. Tracking down exact geographical beef production takes areas has been difficult

since nearly all state rears beef cattle.

Fig.: A photo of beef cattle feeding inside the ranch

Culture of Beef

The rate of meat consumption per an American is over ten that of an average person in

the rest of the world. Accord to Mark Rosegrant, high American consumption of meat is

attributable to the affordability of their dollar. Despite, the economic factor, critics have argued
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that Americans consume more meat than people in the rest rich countries too. High consumption

of meat consumption in the US compared with countries like Japan and European nations have

been associated with its relatively less cost in the US. However, with the increasing health

warning on the danger of excessive consumption of red meat, beef consumption has been

witnessed registering a declining trend.

Religious Factor of Beef

According to Goulet (2016), unlike pork that is considered unclean for a Muslim

consumption, beef is perceived food for almost all religion across the globe including Christians

and Hindus. Any general ban on beef consumption emanates from an individual practical

standpoint rather than religious beliefs. The book of Leviticus chapter eleven of the Bible outline

animals considered unclean and those clean for Christian consumption. In that context, cows are

considered clean from man use. Therefore many religions institutions perceive meet as holy food

and source of medications for body health.

Development of Beef

The consumption of meat varies across different countries in the world. In the developed

countries like the US, the use of meat forms a signifi8acnt part of the regular diet. In the

developing countries, meat demand continues to rise with production and consumption growing

with income level. A shift has been witnessed on increase meat consumption that appears to

surpass the intake of cereals and other plant related food. According to data produced by

international FAO, the intake of meat in the United States and the other developed world in the

EU has relatively increased over the period since 1963 to date. However, meat consumption has

registered an unstable pattern, falling and peaking in the recent years. Although the use of meat
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seems to grow in most of the developed world as a whole, anonymously, the trend appears

considerably lower as compared to the United States.

However, the selection and consumption of meat consumption pattern differ depending

on education, age, gender, and race. Reports on consumption trend of fat in the Unites States

have indicated a falling in the proportion of fat emanating from the food identified food enriched

with saturated fat such as red meat for the last decades. The taste and preference of white meat

over the red meat consumption have been attributed to consumer's knowledge and awareness of

health. Besides, the affordability in the United States together with the hiking consumer income

level best explains the trend. The recent pattern of meat consumption varies within the US

overall population depending on demographic factors such as social, cultural, regional and

financial influence. Though at the national point the demand for meat could be expected to rise

with economic growth, individual consumption has seemed to remain constant, and perhaps

could fall at the peak of social-economic status.

Types of Beef

A manner in which we feed cattle have significant impacts on the composition of the nutrients

contained in the beef, particularly on fatty acid composition. While today animals are primarily

fed on grains, the meat we consumed throughout the evolution wandered freely and fed on grass.

Today, numbers of studies have indicated that the nutrients in the beef can differ depending on

how cows fed. Based on how the cattle fed, we have two types of meat production- the grass-fed

beef, and organic beef. Grasses fed beef are those that are allowed to roam and feed on shrubs,

grass or whatever edible they come across in their environment. On the contrast, organic meat

mostly feeds on unnaturally diet such as soy and corn in their latter part of lives. They are often

diagnosed on drugs and hormones to facilitate their growth as well as antibiotics to enhance their
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survival in unsanitary living conditions. Regarding the fatty acid composition, the grass-fed often

have less amount of fat as compared to grain-fed beef. Besides, there can be a slight difference

concerning the texture and taste. For instance, grass-fed beef often is leaner (Bhandari, 2015).

Current Trade Policies of Beef

The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) establishes the laws that regulate

slaughtering and manufacturing of meat products. For the purpose of prevention of sale of

adulterated meat and meat related products, the policy provides that precise examination of the

animal before slaughter by an appointed inspector. Any amenable species found on the

inspection to have disease symptoms, the law stipulates that they should be kept separate and

while slaughtered a careful inspection and examination be done. To ensure humane methods of

slaughter, an examination, and inspection of slaughter and handling are done per the laid down

plans. However, the prescribed procedures on slaughtering policies should not be construed to

hinder, prohibit or abridge the religious freedom of any individual or institution (Termini, &

United States, 2015).

The law also provides for a thorough inspection and labeling of all meat products meant

for the commercial purpose. The inspector, upon adequate examination and for the packaging of

meat, labels, stamp, mark and tag meet canings. Individual sanitation experts or inspector are

appointed to carry sanitary inspections on conditions of slaughtering and packaging environment

to prevent commerce of adulterated meat (Termini, & United States, 2015).

Practices of Beef

Beef cattle keeping can be satisfactory profit enterprise. However, several management

practices must be employed for a producer to become more successful. Management of resources

of production such as land, capital, labor, and feed is necessary to raise beef cattle profitably.
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The beef operation may need facilities for fencing, sheds, barns, and shelter. Beef management

may also require feeding and handling facilities such as corral system. Feeding requirements

vary on the stage of production and age where calves need more nutrition for their growth. The

pregnant cow in their last period of gestation period may require higher nutrition level than dry

ones. During cold seasons beef cattle also feed more to gain higher energy (White, Brady,

Capper, McNamara & Johnson, 2015).

Breeding season varies depending on farmer’s decision. Many producers prefer breeding

during spring to take the advantages of the even growth of spring grass. Many farmers prefer

artificial insemination cross breeding. The practice allows obtaining high-quality offspring at

relatively and affordable price. Calving is also an important practice in beef rearing. A different

method is used for calving cows. Management practices have been implemented to minimize

water pollution. From an economic point of view, letting nutrient-laden runoff the ranch into the

stream is a significant financial loss. Adverse environmental impacts are increasingly discovered

and have causes lot of concern to the society and environmental regulatory agencies. Reduction

in manure runoff is supreme essential to livestock operators. Due to the need for maintenance

concerns, many of cattle producers endeavor to practice possible cost-effective methods in waste

handling and proper treatment(White, Brady, Capper, McNamara & Johnson, 2015).

Sustainability of Beef

In the context of beef production, there is three components to sustainability: environmental,

economic and human resource. In commercial limelight, the producer must continually retain the

market competitiveness rather than be driven out of the market for no reason. Producers of beef

are environmentally responsible. Besides, working close with their customers will aid in

achieving marketplace expectations. Despite the enormous global impact of the meat industry,
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the sector could be best served through advocacy organizations at both regional and national

level (Castanheira, Grisoli, Freire, Pecora, & Coelho, 2014).

To achieve full sustainability in the production and commerce of beef, the industry

further continues to encourage ranchers and farmers to practice environment management such

as climate, topography, soil, animal and plant communities. More important, farmers can help in

research project development and take measures that regulate land abuse. For economic

sustainability preventive measure are utilized to lower the risk of entry and spread of diseases.

The business planning also considers both the current and future needs. The cost of production

must also be determined and managed while at the same time ensuring a compromise on beef

does not occur (Picasso, Modernel, Becoña, Salvo, Gutiérrez, & Astigarraga, 2014).

Sale and Production of Beef

The production of beef cattle in the US is increasingly becoming popular. The major attribute for

the popularity is due to the ability of beef cattle to feed on forage as their principal food source.

Due to the barren soil to support crop production combined with unsuitable rainfall and steeped

landscape; most of the national land have been utilized to grow grass. Through the sale of cattle,

grass producers then market their forage crop. Therefore beef production constitutes the vast

segment of American agriculture. Cattle rearing encompass various farm operations serving a

unique role. In every stage of production farmers and ranchers strive to offer high quality and

safe beef to consumers.

The production begins with farmers maintaining many breeding herds of a cow that

nurtures calves. Over the next few month after a calf is born and the weaning period elapses, a

calf then start to graze grass on pasture. The weaning takes place for six to ten months of age.

After weaning, usually, cows are traded at livestock auction markets. Then mature calves are
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transferred to feedlots or feed yard for roughly half a year with constant access graze, water and

roam. On attaining the market weight, they are transferred to the processing facilities where

USDA carries out inspections in the central packaging plant to oversee the implementation of the

quality standard, welfare, and safety. The last step in production is shipping and selling of beef

locally and overseas. Producers of beef have a variety of market options. Some of them are a

(video) auction, private treaty sales, sales to livestock order buyers, consignment sales, direct

sales to Packer, production sales, and trading in cattle futures. However, the choice of marketing

technique varies depending on a production system (Preston,& Willis, 2013).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that meat consumption, particularly in the US constitute a significant

portion of the total diet. However, regardless of the rising demand for beef, meat intake has some

adverse health impacts. As most of beef producers and ranchers view beef farming as a primary

source of food and income, much attention need be paid toward ensuring sustainable meat

production.
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References

Bhandari, B. D. (2015). Three Essays on Economic Analysis of Production Systems of US Grass-

fed Beef Industry (Doctoral dissertation).

Castanheira, É. G., Grisoli, R., Freire, F., Pecora, V., & Coelho, S. T. (2014). Environmental

sustainability of biodiesel in Brazil. Energy Policy, 65, 680-691.

Goulet, J.-G. (2016). Religious diversity today: Experiencing religion in the contemporary

world.

Picasso, V. D., Modernel, P. D., Becoña, G., Salvo, L., Gutiérrez, L., & Astigarraga, L. (2014).

Sustainability of meat production beyond carbon footprint: a synthesis of case studies

from grazing systems in Uruguay. Meat science, 98(3), 346-354.

Preston, T. R., & Willis, M. B. (2013). Intensive beef production. Elsevier.

Shurtleff, W., & Aoyagi, A. (2014). History of meat alternatives (965 CE to 2014): Extensively

annotated bibliography and sourcebook.

Termini, R. B., & United States. (2015). Food and drug law: Federal regulation of drugs,

biologics, medical devices, foods, dietary supplements, personal care, veterinary and

tobacco products

White, R. R., Brady, M., Capper, J. L., McNamara, J. P., & Johnson, K. A. (2015). Cow–calf

reproductive, genetic, and nutritional management to improve the sustainability of whole

beef production systems. Journal of animal science, 93(6), 3197-3211.