Environmental, social, and economic footprints of current and past beef production systems

Stackhouse-Lawson, K. R.; Reagan, J. O.; Isenberg, B. J.; Pollak, Edward; Battagliese, Thomas; Ulhman, B.; Barcan, Cristian; Schulze, I.; Silva, J.; Rotz, C. Alan

doi:10.3920/978-90-8686-781-3_179

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 3 publications

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“…This model is often depicted as a "three-legged stool" or shown as a Venn diagram where sustainability is the center of three overlapping circles that represent the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability [16]. In beef production systems, the interactions between the environmental, social, and economic "pillars" of sustainability are complex and multifaceted [17][18][19]. While numerous studies have attempted to examine and evaluate the different dimensions of sustainability in the beef industry, there is not a well-established definition for what it actually is or consensus around what methods or metrics should be used to achieve or evaluate it [11,12].…”

Section: Sustainability and Beef Production In The Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

U.S. beef producer perspectives on “sustainable beef” and implications for sustainability transitions

Smith,

Metcalf,

Metcalf

et al. 2024

Discov Sustain

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Beef production systems are at the center of ongoing discussion and debate on food systems sustainability. There is a growing interest among beef producers, consumers, and other beef supply chain stakeholders in achieving greater sustainability within the industry, but the relationship of this interest to general sustainability issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, livelihood risks, and animal welfare concerns is unclear. Specifically, there is very little research documenting how beef producers define and view the concept of sustainability and how to achieve it. Producer perspectives are critical to identifying constraints to sustainability transitions or to help build agreement with other producers about the shared values such transitions may support. Through a secondary analysis of survey data of U.S. beef producers (n = 911) conducted in 2021 by the Trust in Food division of Farm Journal, a corporation that provides content, data, and business insights to the agricultural community (e.g., producers, processors/distributors, and retailers), we investigated what “sustainable beef” means to U.S. beef producers, highlighting the key components and constraints they perceive to achieving desirable sustainability outcomes. Leveraging the three-pillar model of sustainability as a framework for analysis, we identified key themes producers use to define “sustainable beef.” We found that producers collectively viewed sustainability as: (1) multidimensional and interconnected; (2) semi-closed and regenerative; (3) long-lasting; and (4) producer-centered, although an integrated perspective uniting these aspects was rare. We discuss how these perspectives may be the basis for sustainability efforts supported by producers and raise future research considerations toward a shared understanding of what sustainability is and what is needed for enduring sustainability solutions in the U.S. beef industry.

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Section: Sustainability and Beef Production In The Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

U.S. beef producer perspectives on “sustainable beef” and implications for sustainability transitions

Smith,

Metcalf,

Metcalf

et al. 2024

Discov Sustain

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Opening the black box: carbon-footprint calculators, meat consumption, and the “wicked problem” of metric governance

DuPuis,

Mulvaney

2024

Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy

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Measuring the sustainability of beef supply chain with rapid appraisal for beef supply chain

et al. 2021

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Background and Aim: Nationally, there has always been a gap between the demand for beef and its supply, although supply growth is proportional with demand growth and even exceeds it in some regions in Indonesia. This research study aims to measure the sustainability status of the beef supply chain and applies the developed measurement system to a specific beef supply chain by identifying suitable indicators and their scale. Moreover, this research study provides some recommendations for the improvement of the sustainability status of the beef supply chain. Materials and Methods: In this research study, 11 and nine indicators were analyzed to assess the sustainability status of the beef supply chain at the farm and slaughterhouse chain levels. A rapid appraisal for beef supply chain was applied to rapidly assess the sustainability status of beef supply chains using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). The Delphi method was utilized as an iterative process to collect data and obtain consensus of experts' judgments regarding the policies that should be implemented to improve the most sensitive indicator affecting the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Results: Analysis of ordination with MDS shows the regional sustainability index value for multidimensional approaches of beef cattle farms and beef slaughterhouses. The sustainability index value for beef cattle farms was 56.14 (moderately sustainable), 48.02 (fairly unsustainable), and 48.77 (fairly unsustainable) in Semarang, Sragen, and Boyolali, respectively. Moreover, the sustainability index value for beef slaughterhouses was 47.05 (fairly unsustainable), 54.83 (moderately sustainable), and 54.19 (moderately sustainable) in Semarang, Sragen, and Boyolali, respectively. Policy recommendation was focused on the basis of the results of leverage analysis, which highlighted the most indicative factor affecting sustainability for each dimension. Conclusion: Measurement results revealed that the achievement of beef supply chain sustainability requires targeted efforts through the deployment of several policies as the current status of sustainability in beef farms and beef slaughterhouses was only inclined toward moderately sustainable and fairly unsustainable. Although all the surveyed regions in this study can meet the regional needs of beef meat on their own and even distribute the excess to other regions, none of the beef supply chains of the surveyed region indicated good sustainability.

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Environmental, social, and economic footprints of current and past beef production systems

Abstract: Reagan, J. O.; Isenberg, B. J.; Pollak, E. J.; Battagliese, T.; Ulhman, B.; Barcan, C.; Schulze, I.; Silva, J.; and Rotz, C. A., "Environmental, social, and economic footprints of current and past beef production systems" (

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

U.S. beef producer perspectives on “sustainable beef” and implications for sustainability transitions

U.S. beef producer perspectives on “sustainable beef” and implications for sustainability transitions

Opening the black box: carbon-footprint calculators, meat consumption, and the “wicked problem” of metric governance

Measuring the sustainability of beef supply chain with rapid appraisal for beef supply chain

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