Green house hamburgers
- Every food we consume incurs hidden environmental costs like transportation, refrigeration and fuel for farming, as well as methane emissions from plants and animals, all lead to a buildup of atmospheric greenhouse gases.
- Cows emit between 2.5 and 4.7 ounces of methane for each pound of beef they produce. Those emissions are equivalent of releasing between 3.6 and 6.8 of CO2 into the atmosphere for each pound of beef produced.
- Raising animals also requires a large amount of feed per unit of body weight.
- Producing a pound of beef protein for the table requires more than 10 pounds of plant protein
- Farms for raising animals produce numerous wastes that give rise to greenhouse gases.
- Taking such factors into account, producing a pound of beef in a feedlot, CAFO, generates 14.8 pounds of CO2 pound for pound
- Common meats cannot match the impact of beef
- Producing a pound of pork is 3.8 pounds of CO2 and 1.1 pounds of CO2 for chicken
- Solutions: improve waste management and farming practices would reduce carbon footprint of beef production
- Methane-capturing systems can put cows' waste in generating electricity
- Choosing food more wisely: locally produced food can reduce need for transport
- Eat less meat, particularly beef
- Give careful thought to diet and its consequence