Content area
Full text
If there was an upside to the 2006 report, "Livestock's Long Shadow," it is that it proved just how misinformed the 98% of the people are who enjoy the fruits of your hard work, but have negative and erroneous ideas about how you do what you do.
The report, released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, was so heavily flawed that it drew smirks and incredulous gasps from cattle producers. For everyone else, unfortunately, it only cemented their already-negative thoughts about cattle production.
Here's the other upside to the report: it galvanized cattlemen into getting more aggressive and doing something about it.
The results of that call to action were many, including more research and a stepped-up recognition that cattlemen must tell their own story. Recently, however, the beef industry took a major step - through the beef checkoff, cattlemen last year embarked on the largest sustainability study of its kind ever conducted. This farm-to-fork, comprehensive sustainability assessment will define, beyond any doubt, beef's contribution to the three pillars of sustainability - economic, environmental and social.
While just about everyone has a different definition of sustainability, the beef industry defines it as the process of...