Beyond the Barnyard - Meat's True Footprint
Episode
12
Published:
Updated:
October 25, 2021
Grain fed versus grass fed? What about plant-based meat alternatives? Come along as we explore meat's carbon footprint and solutions for reducing it.
Grain fed versus grass fed? What about plant-based meat alternatives? Come along as we explore meat's carbon footprint and solutions for reducing it.
Look at how many servings of meat / dairy you have per week
Set a goal for how much you want to scale back your consumption
Try plant-based meat / dairy alternatives in their place
Reducing society’s meat consumption and its associated carbon footprint is going to take work
GFI is a global non-profit leading the way in identifying and advocating for solutions to accelerate meat alternatives
If you want to help speed our adoption of plant based meat alternatives, consider a donation
Plant-based and cultivated meat innovation | GFI
Electric Vehicles (EV) Sales up Big In 2021
Jan-Sep U.S. EV sales up 83% despite production delays
Analysts expect 2022 to be even bigger
Tesla still 70% of U.S. sales
$12,500 EV tax credit proposed in Biden’s Build Back Better bill
Sources
Production of food generates ~1/3 of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
Roughly 60% of those emissions are from meat and related animal products
Demand for meat expected to increase 50% between 2013 and 2050
Livestock - 14.5% of global emissions
GHG emissions per unit of commodity
Beef 71 kg GHG / kg (half of emissions are from methane)
Pork 12 kg GHG / kg
Chicken 10 kg GHG / kg
Cheese 24 kg GHG / kg
Beans 2 kg GHG / kg
Peas 1 kg GHG / kg
U.S. only has enough grassland to support 27% of its current beef production
Improved grazing and addition of legumes like clover could cut global livestock emissions around 8%
Eat more plant based
Average American eats 58 lbs. of beef / year = 4 x global average
Impossible burger – 89% less GHG emissions than equivalent beef burger
Original chik patties – 36% less GHG emissions than equivalent chicken patty
Reduce food waste
Estimated ~ 1/3 of food produced never gets to the table
8-10% of global emissions 2010-2016
Other advantages to plant based meat alternatives
Animal agriculture - 77% of land, but 17% of food supply
Saves water - 72%–99% less water than conventional meat (l-water/kg-meat)
Less aquatic pollution - 51%–91% (g-PO43-eq/kg-meat)
Sources
Beef Industry Tries to Erase Its Emissions With Fuzzy Methane Math (bloombergquint.com)
Environmental benefits of plant-based meat products | GFI
Fighting Food Waste Means Fighting Climate Change | UNFCCC
Organic meat production just as bad for climate, study finds | Meat industry | The Guardian