If you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint, you may want to change your diet. New research has concluded that raising cattle for beef is nearly 10 times more damaging to the environment than producing pork, chicken, or eggs. The study is the first to quantify the overall environmental impact of various livestock and draws on data collected by the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Energy, and the Interior from 2000 to 2010. Scientists analyzed land use, water consumption, and nitrogen pollution from fertilizers, as well as the greenhouse gases, such as methane, emitted by the animals. Researchers then calculated the amount of resources required to produce one calorie of each product. Pork, chicken, eggs, and other dairy products all have roughly equivalent environmental impacts, but raising beef requires 28 times more land and 11 times more water while generating five times more greenhouse gas emissions compared with other agricultural products. The message for the consumer is clear, Mark Sutton of the U.K.’s Center for Ecology and Hydrology tells The Guardian (U.K.): “Avoiding excessive meat consumption is good for the environment.”
I had heard this before.... so just cutting out meat on one day of the week is a worthwhile endeavor - but not easily done.
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