Temple Grandin: Her latest work, her thoughts on sentient beings and her famous 'squeeze machine'

Her career, which has seen the United States scientist become arguably the world's leading authority on the humane treatment of cattle, has always been founded in accumulating the evidence to prove her theories.

In the 1970s, when she was disguising herself as press to gain entry to cattle facilities where women were unwelcome and when her ideas on livestock handling so often involved going in the opposite direction of tradition, she learned the value of methodically collecting indisputable evidence.

So today, when she has something to say about livestock and the environment, based on observations from a 50-year career in livestock that has involved visiting cattle country the world over, Dr Grandin still does not presume to make her case without science.

Her latest paper, which argues grazing livestock are part of a sustainable agricultural future, brings together 100 references, which is possibly the most analysis yet on the topic of livestock being part of the cycle of life and a natural part of the land.

The paper makes the case that when performed correctly, grazing improves the land. Rotating cattle, sheep or other livestock between different pastures can improve both soil health and plant biodiversity, sequester carbon and reduce animal welfare issues.

The key is adapting grazing programs to local conditions. What works in one place may not in another.

"I've been on grazing land all over the world, including outback Australia, and it's the same story everywhere: there are vast amounts of land all over the world that can only be used for grazing," Dr Grandin said.

"Grazing makes it possible to produce food on land where it is either too arid or the terrain is too rough for growing crops.

"But I want to emphasis it has to be done right and for local conditions. The scientific research and practical applications indicate that both overgrazing and no grazing is detrimental to the land."

The paper says many people now believe that animal agriculture should be phased out and replaced with vegetarian substitutes.

The cattle industry was being 'unfairly bashed', Dr Grandin said.

"Some people think beef is wrecking the environment when in fact cattle are improving it. One of the biggest misperceptions is around carbon and methane emission. The more I heard these accusations, and the more I looked into the research and science available, the more it became evident there are big dangers in questioning the use of animals for food.

"When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, power and transportation are the problems, not cattle.

"I thought, I had better write a paper to put in one place all the evidence on this."

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Mary Temple Grandin, who today is a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, has made a living consulting on both livestock handling equipment design and animal welfare.

It seems obvious to all in the cattle business today, but she was the first to advocate for a curved design with no dead ends which facilitates cattle naturally following each other through yards.

Dr Grandin is credited with fundamentally changing the way animals are held and slaughtered and she has now penned more than 60 scientific papers on animal behaviour.

She has also worked extensively, and written extensively, on promoting a better understanding of autism.

At the heart of her message here, according to her website, is that "rigid academic and social expectations could wind up stifling a mind that, while it might struggle to conjugate a verb, could one day take us to distant stars."

Dr Grandin's autism and her ability to understand the way cattle behave are clearly intertwined.

The BBC Special 'The Woman Who Thinks Like Cow' and the 2010 Emmy Award winning movie Temple Grandin, starring Claire Daines, arguably made her both the most famous autistic person on the planet and the most famous livestock scientist.

She takes both in her stride and at 75 has no plans on slowing down in either area.

Asked how truthfully she was represented in the movie, Dr Grandin says it portrayed 'exactly how I think visually' and the feedlot and slaughter house projects she started her career on.

And the origins of her famous squeeze machine were indeed the humble cattle crush.

Dr Grandin invented the machine, also known as a hug box, while attending college.

It allows the user to apply pressure around their body. For autistic people, the application of pressure relieves high levels of stimulation of the senses and the squeeze machine initiated substantial work in using pressure as a stress reliever for those with autism, including the use of weighted blankets.

Dr Grandin said she no longer requires her own squeeze box - she is able to hug other people nowadays.

Dr Grandin has always maintained cattle are sentient beings.

That is still somewhat controversial in the beef industry but at this year's Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef conference, many were arguing it is a term beef producers need to embrace even though it has been somewhat hijacked by the animal liberation movement.

The science was unequivocal that animals have the ability to experience feelings and sensations, they said.

Dr Grandin believes small producers and independent ranchers will lead the way on both animal welfare and sustainability.

"Small producers innovate - that's what I've seen over and over in 50 years," she said.

"And that something originally fringe eventually becomes mainstream if the evidence is there.

"Nature can be harsh, so we must be kind to our animals and our land. We have a responsibility to give the animals we raise for food a life worth living.

"Grazing animals done right have a good life. Animal welfare and sustainability go together."