Today many people around the world will be celebrating Earth Day, however the beef industry often becomes a target from initiatives recommending to eat less meat as a way to help the environment.

Olds College Plant Science Instructor and Chair of the Alberta Forage Industry Network, Christine Fulkerth, says there's actually a good story to be told about the environmental benefits of beef production as cattle play an important role in keeping grasslands healthy which store carbon from the atmosphere.

She says naturally occurring grasslands and seeded pastures are continually sequestering carbon and storing it in the root zone.

"They're (cattle) defecating on the land and recycling nutrients that way. They also separate the seeds from the grasses back into the soil profile as well. If you don't have grazers on there, the grasslands actually don't function properly."

According to the Beef Cattle Research Council, one hectare of native grassland stores the same amount of carbon as the emissions from about 150 cars in a year.

The Council also points to a 2015 Beef Science Cluster funded project to show the Canadian Beef industry's shirking "hoof print".

It show producing the same amount of beef in 2011 produced 15 per cent less greenhouse gases than in 1981.

They add, cattle support grasslands which are also home to many of Canada’s endangered or threatened species like the burrowing owl, black footed ferret, swift fox and prairie chicken.

"I think a lot of times people just see cows with the methane release in a negative light," Fulkerth said. "Cattle and other grazers are a vital part of grasslands in Alberta and the Prairies."

Fulkerth believes it's very important to educate people about these environmental benefits.

You can read more about the environmental stewardship practices producers use to protect the environment:

 

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