Beef cattle are essential in the current discussion around food and fuel for three key reasons: 1) Cattle are able to utilize byproducts from ethanol production such as distillers grains, which allows the fuel and food industries to complement each other. 2) Using distillers grains in cattle feed reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline and improves the sustainability of the overall food and fuel system. 3) Cattle provide an important outlet for the large volumes of distillers grains produced from ethanol plants, helping the fuel industry maintain economic viability.