Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good steak every now and then. But, I refrain from eating red meat on a daily basis – I would have to say that my diet consists primarily of fish, tofu, chicken, fruits and veggies. This is mostly because I’m trying to eat healthier.
Anyway, it turns out that red meat (and dairy) ain’t so great on the environment, as I’m sure you all have heard. This article in the Science News was pretty interesting to read – I recommend that you check it out.
Basically, the takeaway is that “diet substance has a greater impact than diet origin on greenhouse gas emissions.” The article argues that buying local is great, as Paul pointed out, but from an environmental perspective, you get more bang for your buck by eating less red meat and dairy. “Transporting food to the consumer accounts for only 4 percent of food-associated greenhouse gas emissions, while [red meat and dairy] production contributes a hefty 83 percent.”
That’s a pretty amazing statistic.
Have any of you started consuming less red meat/dairy because of environmental considerations?
This is a very late post -but yes. I have. I first started eating less red meat simply because I couldn’t find it from organic, grass-fed sources (live in a remote part of Alasa). But continued to follow that lifestyle once I learned about what you are talking about here. It’s so funny that the things that aren’t very healthy in excess, like red meat and for some people (like me who have problems with milk in the first place!) dairy, sugar and so on, aren’t really all that good for the earth or humanity as a whole? I think mother nature had it right in the beginning before we stepped in a tried to make everything “better!” Not to say we haven’t made huge accomplishments by creating man-made things…but some things, like diet, should just be left alone.
83 percent is a pretty amazing statistic. I have not cut down one red meat consumption but I think that I will for both health and environmental reasons. Red meat is expensive. Maybe an environmental tax could be added to further reduce consumption. I don’t have figures but I read that far more food can be produced on the same acreage by growing crops instead of raising livestock. Any thoughts?