A beef delivery startup is trying to change the meat industry by preserving bird populations on US ranches

You can tell if a cattle ranch produces good beef by looking for birds. That's the philosophy of Blue Nest Beef, an environmentally conscious company that delivers grass-fed beef to customers' doorsteps. Cofounder Todd Churchill inspects every cow at a ranch in Wessington Springs, South Dakota — and pays special attention to the nearby birds. As it turns out, the little creatures are a key indicator of a healthy ecosystem. "What we need is for the millions of people that love birds, and that want more birds, to buy their beef from the ranchers who want to use their cattle to create bird habitats," Churchill told Business Insider Today. Ecologist Josh Lefers, who conducts bird counts on ranches, said people have misconceptions about the environmental toll of the beef industry. "We've heard over and over again, and it kind of drives me up a wall, but that cows are going to destroy the environment, right? That if we have cows on the land, that they are definitely causing erosion, they're causing loss of biodiversity, he said. "But we really have to, as a country, come to grips with the fact that there is a place for cattle that are managed well." Birds need a variety of grasses for nesting, as well as nutrient-rich soil to supply their food chain. That means birds and cows living together is a sign of environmentally conscious cattle grazing. "We are completely invested in the idea that birds tell us where life is abundant," Churchill said. "If the birds want to be here, it's because here is better than any place else around." But these kinds of places are becoming harder to find. Grasslands are now the fastest disappearing habitat in the US, and bird populations are suffering because of it...MORE