DiscoveryNews: How To Eat Well And Save The Planet, Too

14th August 2011

Link reblogged from DiscoveryNews with 37 notes

DiscoveryNews: How To Eat Well And Save The Planet, Too →

Pound-for-pound, lamb is the worst carbon polluter, generating nearly 40 kilos (86 pounds) of CO2-equivalent for every kilo (2.2 pounds) eaten. The next most carbon-intensive animal — also a cud-chewing ruminant — on the list is beef, with emissions of 27 kilos (60 pounds) per kilo.

Looked at another way, eating a modest 110-grams (four-ounce) slice of braised lamb shank is the equivalent of driving a mid-sized car for 21 kilometers (13 miles). The same amount of beef works out to just over half that distance.

“If your family of four skips steak once a week, it’s like taking your car off the road for nearly three months,” Hamerschlag said.

Americans eat more meat — exceeding Europeans by 60 percent — than most other developed nations, with 100 kilos (220 pounds) produced each year for every man, woman and child.

Tagged: meat statistics carbon pollution