# The True Cost of Beef > Rising prices and climate concerns could end beef's reign the way electric cars are replacing gas guzzlers. - Title: The True Cost of Beef · The New Yorker | Shortify - Summary: Rising prices and climate concerns could end beef's reign the way electric cars are replacing gas guzzlers. Beef production causes more environmental damage… - Keywords: beef, cattle ranching, climate change, meat production, drought, robert f. kennedy jr., alternative meat, lab-grown meat, methane emissions, food prices, electric vehicles, brazil - Source: The New Yorker — https://newyorker.com/news/the-lede/is-beef-the-next-internal-combustion-engine - Author: Bill McKibben - Published: 2026-09-17T18:31:00.444+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: beef, cattle ranching, climate change, meat production, drought, robert f. kennedy jr., alternative meat, lab-grown meat, methane emissions, food prices, electric vehicles, brazil ## Beef suddenly becomes a star Robert F. Kennedy Jr. put beef at the top of his food pyramid and says he eats it twice daily. A large number of Cabinet members follow a meat and ferments diet. ## Beef's moment may be ending Like gas cars giving way to electric vehicles, beef could face a rapid decline. Cattle use 60% of agricultural land but provide just 2% of calories. ## Prices soar past seven dollars Hamburger meat is nearing seven dollars a pound nationally and exceeding that in many places. Demand from podcasters drinking beef smoothies plays a role. ## Drought devastates cattle country Multi-year dry conditions across Texas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma have limited grazing and shrunk hay supplies. Ranchers are forced to cull herds early. > Multi-year dry conditions across the Great Plains, especially in Texas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, the heart of American cattle country, have limited grazing ## Smallest herd since 1951 The total cattle herd is smaller than it's been since 1951, three years before Burger King was born. It takes years to rebuild even if drought ends. ## Input costs keep climbing Diesel is approaching six dollars a gallon. Fertilizer costs are up sharply, and the Ukraine war has pushed feed prices to three-year highs. ## Screwworm flies cross the border A flesh-eating parasite infected Texas cattle after Trump's spending cuts hampered monitoring. The flies lay eggs in wounds so larvae can feed on living tissue. ## No young ranchers stepping in The average cattle rancher is 58 years old. As older ranchers retire and downsize, there aren't enough younger farmers to replace them. ## Trump's Brazilian beef solution Trump met with Brazilian beef magnate Joesley Batista, who donated five million to his inauguration and was briefly jailed for bribing officials. ## Importing rejected industrial meat The EU just suspended Brazilian beef imports for failing safety standards. Trump will allow it in anyway, hoping to lower prices before midterms. > beef trimmings that will be added to fattier American cuts to make ground beef. They're small chunks of frozen meat that could have been kept in cold storage ## Imports won't help much A livestock economics professor says prices might drop by a quarter to 35 cents, not the dollar fifty people hope for. ## Lab-grown meat gets cheaper In the Netherlands, alternative meat prices are 30% below conventional meat. Asia is taking the lead in developing the technology. > I think we could be at taste parity with a lot of plant-based products. I think we can see the cultivated-meat cost of production really falling ## All meat is not equal Only 4% of Americans are vegetarian, but environmentally, different meats vary wildly. The UN says agriculture accounts for a fifth of climate emissions. ## Cows are the real problem It takes six or seven pounds of corn to produce a pound of beef. Cows belch methane, and a pound of beef produces up to 100 pounds of CO2-equivalent. ## Pork and chicken far better Lamb produces about a third as much emissions as beef. You can eat pork eight nights a week and do less damage than one steak dinner. > if you cross beef off the menu, you cross off most of the climate damage ## Like cars, not bikes Only 1% of American trips happen on bikes. Similarly, veganism may be optimal, but ground turkey fits better with most people's idea of dinner. ## Record heat is coming August tied for hottest month ever. 2026 will likely be the hottest year recorded, and 2027 will probably smash that record. ## Electric vehicles show the way Since the Iran war started in March, global EV sales surged 35%. Analysts suggest they'll outsell conventional cars by 2030. > Just because something's been normal for a very long time doesn't mean it's a lock to stay that way. ## Key takeaway Beef production causes more environmental damage than any other meat, and a combination of drought, high prices, and climate pressure may finally shift eating habits.