"In addition to the health benefits, a major reduction in the eating of red meat would probably have a host of other benefits to society, Popkin said: reducing water shortages and pollution, cutting energy consumption, and tamping down greenhouse gas emissions — all of which are associated with large-scale livestock production",
you need to consider the fact that every article is written from the [usually] biased point of view of the journalist, most of the time with ulterior motives, hoping to convince people to get on their side. There are thousands of articles and studies out there that tell us about the bad, terrible, unhealthy effects of eating red meat. The truth is, EVERYTHING is bad for you if you do take it to the extreme- everything in moderation is fine. You also gotta remember that most of those studies are done about the ground beef used for fast food places' hamburgers. Red meat can be really good for you, you need the protein, and it is especially good if NOT eaten as a Big Mac, but a good steak every once in a while.

In reference to Carol's comment saying her grandparents were carnivores and lived to be 92 years old- yeah, eating meat is a tradition as old as time. It seems that the more we learn about what we SHOULD eat, the less healthy food we eat. You just gotta remember that if you want to keep healthy it's all about a BALANCED diet, which means a little bit of everything- meat, vegetables, fruits, carbs, etc. AND exercise (for those interested to live longer).

Calves are weaned at about 5-6 months of age, sold to a feeder who turns them into good pastures and occasionally supplements with grains. The calves are fed for several months and then resold to a feedlot as “stockers”. The feedlots house large numbers of cattle and feed them all they can eat of grains, silage and good quality hay. This is necessary because red meat eating Americans usually prefer the taste of grain fed beef, with the accompanying fat content. Grass fed beef has a “wilder” taste partly because cattle eat things other than grass when pastured.

The cattle reach slaughter weight in the feedlots and are then sold to the meat processors/packers. They include the large conglomerates that ultimately determine the prices paid to all links in the beef chain and eventually, the price paid by the consumer. Some of these are responsible for the recent, unfortunate recalls of “tainted” meat.

Many producers do use hormone implants. The science says that implants are a safe and effective way to improve gains on the same quantity of feed. We prefer to improve our genetics and the quality of our forage and produce a more natural product. Antibiotics are a necessary part of beef production. We all strive to produce healthy calves but occasionally they do get sick. Overuse of antibiotics are a shortcut most producers simply can’t afford.

We, as producers have a self mandated group of procedures know as the “Beef Quality Assurance”. This certification program helps us to provide a consistently safe and good quality product.

You may also be interested to know that much of the ground beef we eat is from dairy cattle that fail to produce the quantity of milk necessary to be profitable and their male offspring not suitable for breeding purposes. Because of lower milk prices recently, many herds have gone to slaughter.

Rest assured that most beef cattle farmers/ranchers strive to provide a safe and healthy source of protein to all consumers.

We truly care about the welfare of all of our cattle but also consume red meat, regardless of the warnings of health issues. I don’t think the consumption of them will be what kills us!