Policy & Advocacy

Animal Agriculture - Know your cuts of beef

Image of Beef cutsMeat from cattle is called beef. Cattle provide a variety of delicious, nutritious cuts of meat, from steaks and roasts to ground beef, or what most of us call hamburger.

Some of the most popular cattle breeds include Black Angus, Red Angus, Charolais, Salers, Hereford, Simmental and Limousin.

Did you ever wonder where your favorite cut of beef actually comes from? This handy-dandy illustration shows you.

But cattle provide a lot more benefits to us than a tasty steak. In fact, 99 percent of every beef animal is used for meat or other products.

Cattle also produce a variety of by-products used in industrial, pharmaceutical and household items. Fats and gelatin are used to make soap, shampoo, cosmetics, desserts and many industrial products such as photographic film and light filters.

The pancreas and liver are used for medicines for diseases such as anemia and hypoglycemia.

Hide, hooves and hair are used in products such as sports equipment, leather goods and paint brushes. A football, frequently called a "pigskin" is actually made from cow hide. Did you know that the hide and hair from a beef animal typically weigh about 100 pounds?

Information provided by the Nebraska Foundation for Agriculture Awareness and the Nebraska Beef Council.