What's My Beef?

Eating cow is a big contributor to global warming

Unless you've been hiding out in a cave for the past five years, chances are you've heard that eating meat--particularly beef--has significant environmental impact. I fact, we wrote about it in our Global Warming issue back in 2007. It turns out that beef production can take credit for somewhere between 14 and 22 percent of all global greenhouse gases (yes, the bovine flatulence factor factors in--and it is not insignificant) being emitted each year. It takes somewhere around ten pounds of plant protein to produce one pound of animal protein. Would it be best for everyone to be vegetarians? Yes. Is it gonna happen? Likely not anytime soon. But reducing your beef consumption, eating local, and making conscious choices about what you put on your table and in your mouth are good first steps.

Greenhouse Hamburger

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READERS COMMENTS

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Elaina

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Posted: Feb 23, 2009 Elaina

Not really sure what you're trying to say. If we stopped eating beef wouldn't that increase the number of cows and thus the gas they produce? By your logic we ought to kill all the cows in the world and we'd instantly cut geengoise gases by 14 to 22 percent! Brillaint! Also, if we have to eat 10 times as much produce to get the same amount of protein wouldn't that present some problems in itself? Not to mention there aren't many plant proteins that are "complete" proteins like beef is
Posted: Feb 18, 2009 not convinced

It's actually the belching of cows that produces the methane gas, not so much the farting. And belching is less so with grass fed beef vs. corn fed. Also, there is a non toxic additive developed by a Japan based company that promises to reduce the methane produced by belching by 90%. Also, you're calling it beef-- but that's an oversimplification; part of the factor of beef production is rainforest destruction, so you need to be a little more erudite in your blogs, as you're misleading people. This blog would be interesting if you occasionally actually did some homework. Seriously, you have to distinguish between natural grassland raised cows and rain forest destroyed grassland cows to throw around statistics like that.
Posted: Feb 14, 2009 burpy