{
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Grazed and Confused? Ruminating on cattle, grazing systems, methane, nitrous oxide, the soil carbon sequestration question",
      "url": "https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/grazed-and-confused",
      "canonical": "https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/garnett-2017-grazed-and-confused",
      "status": "reviewed"
    },
    {
      "title": "Reducing climate impacts of beef production: a synthesis of life cycle assessments across management systems and global regions",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15509",
      "doi": "10.1111/gcb.15509",
      "canonical": "https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/cusack-2021-reducing-climate-impacts-of-beef-production",
      "status": "reviewed"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Well-managed grazing can store some carbon in soil, but not enough to offset cattle's own emissions, and grass-fed beef generally has higher emissions per kg than grain-finished beef.",
  "url": "https://thebalanceofhealth.com/claims/grass-fed-beef-remains-high-impact",
  "publisher": "The Balance of Health",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "record": {
    "status": "reviewed",
    "id": "claim-grass-fed-beef-still-high-impact",
    "slug": "grass-fed-beef-remains-high-impact",
    "statement": "Well-managed grazing can store some carbon in soil, but not enough to offset cattle's own emissions, and grass-fed beef generally has higher emissions per kg than grain-finished beef.",
    "shortAnswer": "Better, in some ways, but not low-impact. Soil carbon gains are real, limited, and temporary.",
    "pillarIds": [
      "environment"
    ],
    "topicIds": [
      "climate",
      "land-use"
    ],
    "keyStatisticId": "stat-grazing-carbon-offset-share",
    "explanation": [
      "Grazing cattle live longer and grow more slowly than grain-finished cattle, so they emit more methane per kilogram of meat.",
      "Grassland soils can gain carbon under good management, but the gain saturates after a few decades and can be lost again if management changes."
    ],
    "rating": {
      "strength": "moderate",
      "rationale": "The direction is well supported by reviews, but soil carbon estimates carry wide uncertainty and depend on local conditions."
    },
    "sourceIds": [
      "src-garnett-2017-grazed-confused",
      "src-cusack-2021-grazing"
    ],
    "limitations": [
      "Some specific systems on degraded land may perform better than averages suggest."
    ],
    "methodology": [
      "Synthesis of life-cycle assessments and soil carbon studies across grazing systems."
    ]
  }
}