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.
Tags: CO2, environment, footprint, GHG, meat impacts, meat-free diets, vegetarian
Food | eco-officiency November 8, 2011 | 
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