Global strategy expert Justin Sherrard argues cattle are the key to solving global malnutrition and climate challenges, provided the beef industry owns its data and narrative.
Drawing on his international work in climate, sustainability and animal protein, Sherrard says cattle are indispensable to a sustainable food system and that the beef industry must move from a defensive posture to a confident, evidence‑based leadership role.
Sherrard was the featured guest in “The Future of Beef Show” podcast, episode 18.
The current president of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB), Sherrard says cattle remain essential to feeding a growing population while working within environmental limits.
The podcast dives into everything from methane emissions and global food systems to consumer perceptions and nutrition.
Sherrard explains cattle have been cast as climate villains largely because of methane from rumination and a misplaced attempt to simply copy the logic used in the energy sector. In energy, the solution to reducing greenhouse gases has often been framed as “use less fossil fuel, substitute with renewables.”
That substitution mindset drifted into food policy debates because ruminants emit methane. He says the suggested answer has been: “Have fewer cattle, replace their products with something else.”
He argues this is a category error. Food systems are not interchangeable in the same way as electrons on a grid. Diets involve nutrition, culture, livelihoods and landscapes. Simply removing cattle overlooks the complexity of both human nutrition and land use.
Five key takeaways from the podcast include:
1. Cattle are Part of the Solution, Not the Problem.
“We are not going to create a sustainable food system without cattle,” Sherrard says.
Beef and dairy cattle are essential for converting nonarable grazing lands into highly nutritious food and must be seen as contributors to climate and food‑security solutions, not just methane sources.
Removing or dramatically reducing cattle, as some critics propose, ignores both their nutritional contribution and their role in utilizing lands that cannot be used for other forms of food production.
2. Beef’s Nutritional Value is Central in a Hungry, Undernourished World.
Any serious sustainability discussion must include beef’s nutrition role, not just its emissions footprint. He says the starting point for any sustainability discussion should be human nutrition.
He notes that approximately 700 million to 750 million people in the world still do not get enough to eat, and an additional 2 billion people lack critical micronutrients required for a healthy life and to fulfill their potential. In that context, he sees beef as uniquely valuable:
- Beef provides high bioavailability of essential micronutrients, meaning the body can use them efficiently.
- Nutrition, in his view, is not just a technical requirement but also about pleasure, culture and food traditions. A sustainable food system must respect these dimensions.
3. Sustainability Improvements Align with Producer Profitability.
He says “being better” means higher feed efficiency, better animal health and care, and stronger soil health and landscape management.
These practices reduce emissions while boosting productivity and lowering costs, improving both sustainability and ranch profitability.
4. Data and Storytelling Must Come from Inside the Beef Industry.
A recurring theme in Sherrard’s comments is that agriculture — and beef specifically — has historically been a poor communicator outside its own circles. He says this must change.
He warns that if the beef industry does not collect and share its own data, others will.
Sherrard says if outsiders collect the data and define the metrics, beef risks being misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented.
Producers and national roundtables need to share best practices, collect metrics and feed that information to groups like GRSB so the industry can show, not just claim, its progress.
He says consumer interest in how meat is produced has rapidly increased during the last decade. As more shoppers care about environmental and ethical dimensions, beef needs clear, credible, data‑backed stories to maintain trust, access to markets and, ultimately, its place on the plate.
5. Beef Needs a Proactive Seat at Global Tables.
Through GRSB, Sherrard and others are present at United Nations climate meetings, food‑systems summits and nutrition discussions to advocate for beef. If beef isn’t represented in these arenas, he says, others with anti‑animal‑ag agendas will fill the vacuum and shape policies, guidelines and consumer narratives without the producer perspective.
Sherrard’s view is that sustainability is not a passing buzzword or a threat to be endured, but a long‑term framework for keeping beef viable, valued and competitive in a changing world.
By following these strategies, he summarizes that the global beef system can move from being treated as a climate problem to being recognized as a key part of the climate and nutrition solution:
- Improving productivity and animal welfare.
- Managing grazing lands for soil health, biodiversity and carbon.
- Coordinating globally through GRSB and national roundtables.
- Owning the narrative through robust data and advocacy.
