Charting the Course: Advancing Sustainable Beef Through Research and Collaboration

This special issue brings together 13 articles and perspective pieces examining research priorities and opportunities to advance sustainable beef. Together, the publications address sustainability challenges and opportunities across U.S. and global beef production systems.

The October 2026 special issue of Animal Frontiers, Volume 16, Issue 5, includes the following publications from the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB), the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB), industry experts, and researchers around the globe and across the beef value chain.

Introduction

• Advancing Sustainable Beef Through Research and Collaboration

Feature Articles

• Toward Lower-Emission Beef Production: Research Gaps and Opportunities
• A Research Roadmap for Grazinglands: Leveraging Scientific Evidence to Drive Beef Sustainability Outcomes
• Cattle Production, Water Resources, and Sustainability: A Review of Current Knowledge and Future Directions
• Innovation in the U.S. Beef Value Chain: A Sustainable Beef Research Roadmap
• Applying Landscape and Jurisdictional Approaches for Nature-Positive Outcomes in Beef-Producing Landscapes
• Harnessing Genetic Potential to Advance Sustainability in Beef Systems
• Beef in Nutritious and Sustainable Diets

Perspective Pieces

• From Roadmap to Action: A Pathway Toward Enhanced Resilience in the U.S. Beef Value Chain
• Split-Gas Biogenic Methane Accounting: Policy Design, Transparency, and International Coordination
• Defining the Value of Circularity in Beef Cattle Production Systems
• Cattle Welfare, Health, and Husbandry: The Sustainability Connection
• Innovative Financial Mechanisms and Investments to Drive Change in the Global Beef Sector