Bovine vs. Beef

Main Difference

The main difference between Bovine and Beef is that the Bovine is a subfamily of mammals and Beef is a meat from cattle.

• Bovine

  The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, the yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship between the members of the group is still debated, and their classification into loose tribes rather than formal subgroups reflects this uncertainty. General characteristics include cloven hooves and usually at least one of the sexes of a species having true horns. The largest extant bovine is the gaur.

  In many countries, bovid milk and meat is used as food. Cattle are kept as livestock almost everywhere except in parts of India and Nepal where they are considered sacred by most Hindus. Bovids are used as draft animals and as riding animals. Small breeds of bovid, such as the Miniature Zebu, are kept as pets.

• Beef

  Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle, particularly skeletal muscle. Humans have been eating beef since prehistoric times. Beef is a source of high-quality protein and nutrients.

  Beef skeletal muscle meat can be used as is by merely cutting into certain parts roasts, short ribs or steak (filet mignon, sirloin steak, rump steak, rib steak, rib eye steak, hanger steak, etc.), while other cuts are processed (corned beef or beef jerky). Trimmings, on the other hand, are usually mixed with meat from older, leaner (therefore tougher) cattle, are ground, minced or used in sausages. The blood is used in some varieties called blood sausage. Other parts that are eaten include other muscles and offal, such as the oxtail, liver, tongue, tripe from the reticulum or rumen, glands (particularly the pancreas and thymus, referred to as sweetbread), the heart, the brain (although forbidden where there is a danger of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE, commonly referred to as mad cow disease), the kidneys, and the tender testicles of the bull (known in the United States as calf fries, prairie oysters, or Rocky Mountain oysters). Some intestines are cooked and eaten as is, but are more often cleaned and used as natural sausage casings. The bones are used for making beef stock.

  Beef from steers and heifers is similar. Depending on economics, the number of heifers kept for breeding varies. The meat from older bulls, because it is usually tougher, is frequently used for mince (known as ground beef in the United States). Cattle raised for beef may be allowed to roam free on grasslands, or may be confined at some stage in pens as part of a large feeding operation called a feedlot (or concentrated animal feeding operation), where they are usually fed a ration of grain, protein, roughage and a vitamin/mineral preblend.

  Beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, accounting for about 25% of meat production worldwide, after pork and poultry at 38% and 30% respectively. In absolute numbers, the United States, Brazil, and the People’s Republic of China are the world’s three largest consumers of beef; Uruguay, however, has the highest beef and veal consumption per capita, followed by Argentina and Brazil. According to the data from OECD, the average Uruguayan ate over 42 kg (93 lb) of beef or veal in 2014, representing the highest beef/veal consumption per capita in the world. In comparison, the average American consumed only about 24 kg (53 lb) beef or veal in the same year, while African countries, such as Mozambique, Ghana, and Nigeria, consumed the least beef or veal per capita.

  Cows are considered sacred in the Hinduism and most observant Hindus who do eat meat almost always abstain from beef.

  In 2015, the world’s largest exporters of beef were India, Brazil and Australia. Beef production is also important to the economies of Uruguay, Canada, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina, Belarus and Nicaragua.

• Beef (noun)

  the flesh of a cow, bull, or ox, used as food

  “beef cattle”

  “there was the smell of roast beef”

• Beef (noun)

  a cow, bull, or ox fattened for its meat

  “a beef sent to the abattoir”

• Beef (noun)

  flesh with well-developed muscle

  “he needs a little more beef on his bones”

• Beef (noun)

  strength or power

  “he was brought in to give the team more beef”

• Beef (noun)

  the substance of a matter

  “it’s more a sketch than a policy—where’s the beef?”

• Beef (noun)

  a complaint or grievance

  “he has a beef with education: it doesn’t teach the basics of investing”

• Beef (noun)

  a criminal charge

  “getting caught with pot in the sixties was a narco beef”

• Beef (verb)

  complain

  “he was beefing about how the recession was killing the business”