The Human Impacts Database

A collection of useful numbers for quantifying the impacts of the human presence on Earth.

This quantity is a single measurement of the quantity at a given point in time (2010).


Value:		2.5 ± 0.6 % see this value in other units This is equivalent to... 0.025 ± 0.006 g protein / g protein feed
HuID:		22962
Relevant Year(s):		2010
Summary:		Feed-to-food protein conversion efficiency of beef, defined as the ratio of protein mass consumed by humans from beef to the mass of protein in the feed used to grow cattle for meat. This definition accounts for inefficiencies due to waste of edible material in the food chain. The value presented is obtained using the diet from the average American over 2000-2010, and the typical feed used to grow cattle in the US.
Method:		Feed composition data are derived from NRC data (National Research Council), and the mean American diet is the diet from the average American over 2000-2010 (US Department of Agriculture) with approximate loss-adjusted food consumption of 2500 kcal and 70 g of protein per day. The uncertainty band represents one standard deviation.
Source:		Shepon, A., Eshel, G., Noor, E., Milo, R. Energy and protein feed-to-protein conversion efficiencies in the US and potential food security gains from dietary changes. Environmental Research Letters (2016)
Dataset:		Caloric and protein conversion efficiencies of livestock (table_1_tidy.csv) global resolution
Original Data License:		CC-BY 3.0
Added By:		ilopezgo