Evaluation of beef sustainability in conventional, organic, and mixed crop-beef supply chains.

Demand for sustainable meat with balance between environmental, economic and social (EES) aspects has increased recently. Brazil has promoted production of a wider variety of beef products and European Union is one of the target markets for Brazilian organic beef. This study aims to evaluate the EES performance of conventional and organic beef production. Accordingly, global warming, land occupation, energy consumption, operating profit and animal welfare were evaluated for different systems. Relevant indicators were measured using different methods, such as life cycle assessment, operating profit analysis, price volatility analysis, and qualitative scoring. Results confirmed a higher impact of organic beef production on global warming and land use due to animals’ longer grazing period. Animal welfare, however, scored slightly higher for the organic beef production systems. Organic beef showed a slightly higher profitability, but its economic sustainability is constrained by technical barriers and higher transaction costs.