Meat Impacts on the Environment

Eating meat has a large footprint on the earth. Here are some facts;

• Reducing meat production by 10% in the US would free enough grain to feed 60 million people. (Harvard Nutritionist, Jean Mayer)
• According to the USDA, growing crops for animal feed requires 80% of U.S. agricultural land and nearly half of the water supply. (USDA)
• More than 80 pounds of CO2 are released for every 2.2 lbs of meat consumed.
• Factory farms are responsible for 18% of green house gases worldwide. They are also the cause of 64% of ammonia emissions, the primary cause of acid rain.(Natural Home Magazine)

Although eating less meat overall will reduce CO2 emissions and help the environment, it is also important to know which meat or protein is better than others. E Magazine published an article, The Best Meat to Eat, which identifies chicken and turkey as two of the meats lower in GHG emissions. Lamb, beef and pork were rated higher in their environmental footprint.

If you would like to learn more about vegetarian and meat free diets, here are some good resources;

Vegetarian Times: They produce a monthly publication and a great source of vegetarian recipes.

Food Revolution: John Robbins, the heir to the Baskin Robbins empire is also a vegetarian and author of Diet for A New America.

Becoming a Vegetarian: A blog for those individuals and families who want to start transitioning off of meat-based diets.

The Carbon List: Understanding How Companies are Reducing Their Carbon Footprint

The Carbon list is a website to help people understand the initiatives that companies are doing to reduce their carbon footprint. The Carbon List is a way companies can communicate with their customers about their footprint in an easy and understandable format. It is intended to provide better transparency on companies carbon impact along with educating the public so they can make more informed choices about the lifestyle they lead.

All companies can sign up free. Once signed up the Carbon List will assist in communications about what their members are doing in the ways of reducing CO2 emissions.

Consider Purchasing Carbon Offsets for Work Travel

Starting to wonder how much impact all that work travel is having?  The average American commutes 20 miles a day, that’s about 5,000 miles a year, resulting in just over 2 tons of CO2.
Consider purchasing carbon offsets to counteract the carbon dioxide emissions of driving or flying home to meetings and conferences.  A carbon offset for the entire year’s worth of commuting emissions could cost as little as $45. According to the Colorado Carbon Fund, a Carbon Offset means “neutralize,” “balance,” or “cancel out.” Carbon offsets counteract these activities by funding projects to compensate for CO2 emissions occurring at another source.  These offsets help fund projects that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Though there are many organizations that offer Carbon Offsets, the Colorado Carbon Fund and Aspen’s Canary Tags are two great providers that use the proceeds for projects in Colorado.

For more ideas on how to reduce environmental impact with business travel, see the article entitled What you Must Know about Flying Green by Patti Prairie CEO of Brighter Planet.