USA, January 21, 2009: [HPI note: Most publications covering global warming avoid any articles about the irrefutable link between meat consumption and CO2 emissions. It is significant that Scientific American, a respected magazine, finally ran an article about it.]
Producing beef for the table releases prodigious amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Pound for pound, the greenhouse gases from beef production contribute more than 13 times as much to global warming as do those emitted from producing chicken. For potatoes, the multiplier is 57. Beef consumption is rising rapidly, both as population increases and as people eat more meat. Producing the annual beef diet of the average American emits as much greenhouse gas as a car driven more than 1,800 miles.
According to a 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), our diets–specifically, the meat in them–put more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than either transportation or industry.
The FAO report found that current production levels of meat contribute between 14 and 22 percent of the world’s annual “CO2-equivalent” greenhouse gas production–with beef the worst culprit by far. Producing one pound of feedlot beef generates the equivalent of 14.8 pounds of CO2–vs. 3.8 pounds for pork and 1.1 pound for chicken. And the FAO data imply that the world average emissions from producing a pound of beef are several times those of feedlot-produced beef.
The lesson is clear: we ought to give careful thought to diet and its consequences for the planet if we are serious about limiting the emissions of greenhouse gases. (Click on the link above to read more of this informative article.)