The beef industry demands massive resources for grazing and feed production. This large-scale land clearing drives climate change, fuels deforestation and leads to habitat destruction—pushing Australia’s native species closer to extinction.
Raising cows for food uses more land than all other animals and crops combined. In Australia, the beef and sheep industries cover a staggering 42% of the country’s total land area. Imagine the potential: with the same land, you could grow 29 times more food as vegetables compared to chicken, 73 times more than pork and a whopping 78 times more than beef!
This land use practice often encroaches on fragile ecosystems, including the Great Barrier Reef watershed. In fact, the single biggest cause of deforestation in Australia is bulldozing the bush for beef production. Australia is the only developed nation recognised as a deforestation hotspot—accelerating species extinction at an alarming rate. Every single hour, eight MCGs worth of bushland is destroyed, leaving our beloved and unique wildlife homeless.
Producing just one kilogram of beef requires 25 kilograms of dry feed. But that’s not all—beef production also guzzles more water than any other meat or vegetable. On average, it takes 15,415 litres of water to produce just one kilogram of beef.
A third of the world’s fertile land is turning into desert, driven by deforestation and unsustainable farming. Runoff from cow farms floods rivers and oceans with waste, antibiotics and feed, wreaking havoc on water quality and marine life. To make matters worse, composting animal remains can contaminate groundwater and spread disease, further endangering our environment.
Beef production is a major driver of climate change, pumping out massive amounts of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. As ruminant animals, cows release methane during digestion, primarily through burping. Methane is an especially potent greenhouse gas that's 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide. In Victoria, farmed animals alone are responsible for 68% of the state’s total agricultural emissions.
What about ‘regenerative’ beef?
An analysis of 100+ peer-reviewed studies found that shifting to plant-based diets and rewilding former grazing land delivers far greater climate, biodiversity and ecosystem benefits than any grazing-based approach. Besides, it’s simply not possible to feed the global population with animal farming.
Cows can remember a person or event for up to 10 years! They are also very playful. Given space, they will chase each other and play with balls. Unfortunately, the beef industry prioritises maximising output and minimising costs—often at the expense of the animals. Intensively farmed cows live in a state of constant fear and distress, only to face the brutal reality of transport to an early death.
Let’s review the facts:
‘Grain fed’ or ‘feedlot’ beef comes from cows that eat grass for most of their lives, but switch to a grain-based diet to quickly gain weight before slaughter. In Australia, cows typically spend around 105 days in feedlots. Shockingly, about 50% of the beef produced in the country comes from one of 400 feedlots.
Feedlot cows face significant welfare concerns. Aside from the cramped and filthy conditions that breed disease, Australian feedlots have no legal mandates for shade or shelter, exposing cows to extreme weather. Most critically, the diet of feedlot cows is unnatural. Cows have evolved to eat grass; if they eat too much grain, they become sick and have to be given antibiotics.
What about ‘organic grass-fed’ beef?
Although these terms suggest more humane treatment, the harsh truth remains: no matter how well an animal is cared for during its life, they will still face slaughter long before their natural lifespan ends. Moreover, food labelled as ‘organic’ is not strictly regulated in Australia, meaning products labelled as such may not be entirely free from chemicals or live up to the claims they make.
Research continues to reveal the negative health impacts of eating red meat regularly, especially processed red meat. This includes a higher risk of heart disease, cancer and obesity.
Another concern is the use of growth hormones, given to 40% of farmed cows to speed up weight gain. While they are banned in the EU due to health risks, they are still legal in Australia. We are what we eat; what we feed and how we treat the animals we eat directly impacts the quality and safety of the food we consume.
The widespread use of antibiotics in farmed cows is a serious threat to global health. In crowded feedlots, 90% of cows receive antibiotics to prevent illness. This overuse leads to antibiotic resistance, where infections become harder to treat because standard antibiotics no longer work. Studies have shown that 55% of beef samples from Australian supermarkets contain bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics.
It's important to understand that most human disease originates in animals. Intensively farmed animals present a significant risk of spreading disease to humans, particularly during live export. Cows experience severe stress when they are transported over long distances, which weakens their immune systems and increases the likelihood of spreading infections. In order to stop the emergence of pandemic viruses, the largest and oldest group of public health professionals in the world, the American Public Health Association, has called for a moratorium on factory farming for nearly two decades.
