**3.2 The economic and social impact of livestock production systems in the lower and higher income countries**

Previous researchers [6] reported that livestock such as dairy cattle were a source of wealth in the lower-income nations and regions. They mentioned that there was a link between livestock ownership, household economic status and social welfare. These workers also stated that dairy production made significant contribution to poverty reduction at both the household and community levels in lower income nations. Dairy cattle ownership was also linked to income-generating activity for women [6]. The female dairy farmers in various lower-income regions such as India and Pondicherry were reported to have the ability to borrow money, obtain employment, have the provision of meat, milk and cow dung for manure or fertilizer, and also had the ability to use cows as draft animals to help reduce labour requirement on their farms.

However in the higher income countries such as in the US, there was stated found the intensification and consolidation within the livestock production sector [6], and these enhanced food and nutrition security.

### **3.3 The role of beef cattle production systems in food security**

In a previous research [4], the importance of animal agriculture was stated to include the production of high quality proteins such as beef and milk for sustaining rural livelihoods and thereby contributing to food security. It was outlined that since the energy transformation efficiency in ruminants is very low, food security can be effectively promoted only if the major feeds given to ruminants (such as forage grasses and legumes) are not in competition with human food.

Beef and other beef products were further classified to possess the following qualities: They contain nutrients such as proteins and amino acids (essential amino acids particularly). These essential amino acids include leucine, isoleucine and valine needed for protein synthesis [13].

Some researchers [14] also mentioned that beef contain high amounts of glutamic acid, arginine, alanine and aspartic acid. Furthermore, protein ingestion from beef sources strongly increases muscle protein synthesis rates, and this effect was said to be due to the stimulatory effect of essential amino acids.

Beef was reported as a source of high quality protein and highly bio-available iron to enhance vitality in humans [15], and they contain lipids (polyunsaturated fatty acids – PUFA and saturated fatty acids – SFA).

### *3.3.1 Beef production under an intensive system (Argentinean perspective)*

In Argentina, beef cattle are mainly raised on grazing lands, and thus the country is known to be a good producer of pasture-fed beef cattle, supplied with grains as energy supplement to bring about the production of pasture finished beef [4]. Beef cattle production in Argentina was reported to entail two major activities, which are: the cow-calf were kept on less productive or marginal lands; and the steer growing and fattening on more fertile soils [16]. These outlined pasturefinished beef is reported to be more likely to be leaner with lower cholesterol concentrations than feedlot beef [17]. The above described beef cattle production system is presented in **Figure 1**.

### *Impact of Beef and Milk Sourced from Cattle Production on Global Food Security DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99322*

### **Figure 1.**

*The beef production system (Argentinean perspective). Source: [4].*

Most beef cattle production (more than 70%) in Argentina is mainly carried out under the pasture (cultivated) finishing system (**Figure 1**) [4]. This system is least dependent on grain cropping feedlot but relies on adjusted forage chains depending on rainfall, environmental temperatures and soil quality. This system could however be practiced in rotation with grain cropping forage chains such as legume based pastures (principally alfalfa) and small-grain winter annual crops (rye, oats, rye grass and triticale [4]. Most of the cattle fattening farmers are known to make strategic use of energy supplement when necessary, such as cereal grains (corn and sorghum). These researchers [4] also pointed out that feedlots are more useful in terms of land occupation and judicious land use, but less useful as regards environmental impact, competition with human diets and meat safety. The beef obtained from pasture finished beef cattle were also observed to be leaner and lower in cholesterol concentrations [17]. Therefore, in Argentina, beef production practiced under the pasture finishing system was found to give an improvement of the nutritional value and quality characteristics of beef and improved beef healthiness and global food security.
