Exploring the Environmental Consequences of Beef Production in Southern Africa

The consequences of beef production for the environment have been a hot topic in recent years.  The myriad of issues raised include: the copious amounts of methane released into the atmosphere by cattle, the large quantities of water and feed used to sustain cattle, and the amount of oil that is used throughout the commodity chain in order to produce such large quantities of beef. However, environmental discourses are often confined to industrial processing systems in industrialized countries. This paper shines a light on the unique environmental context of beef production in Southern Africa and the impact of conservation policies on producers in Southern Africa.  Specifically, the paper will explore the unique interplay of cattle rearing within an arid and semi-arid environment, the environmental issues relevant to smallholder and pastoral systems of production, and the issues that emerge from the interaction of livestock and wild animals.