Food safety and health issues are real but are not the only problems associated with the rearing and slaughtering of livestock for food. The industrial method of raising large numbers of animals in crowded conditions has tremendous environmental impacts and raises ethical questions about the way the animals are treated.

Although hamburgers are more often associated with sickness related to E. coli contamination than steak is, fecal matter can also contaminate the surface of a steak. Cooking the steak (even to rare temperature) will likely kill the bacteria, but if that same steak is ground up, the E. coli is evenly distributed throughout the meat and if the burger is not cooked completely, the consumer can become infected. This is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that all ground meat be cooked to an internal temperature of 71°C (160°F).