Reducing climate footprint through food choices

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Do Food Miles Matter? Reducing Meat & Dairy Consumption May Be Even

More Important

Red meat and dairy are responsible for nearly half of all greenhouse

gas emissions from food for an average U.S. household

By ERIKA ENGELHAUPT

Environmental Science and Technology, April 16, 2008

Straight to the Source

 

The benefits of eating locally grown food may not extend to curbing

global warming, according to a comprehensive study of greenhouse gas

emissions from U.S. food.

 

But it's how food is produced, not how far it is transported, that

matters most for global warming, according to new research published

in ES & T . In fact, eating less red meat and dairy can be a more

effective way to lower an average U.S. household's food-related

climate footprint than buying local food, says lead author

Christopher Weber of Carnegie Mellon University.

 

A relatively small dietary shift can accomplish about the same

greenhouse gas reduction as eating locally, Weber adds. Replacing

red meat and dairy with chicken, fish, or eggs for one day per week

reduces emissions equal to 760 miles per year of driving. And

switching to vegetables one day per week cuts the equivalent of

driving 1160 miles per year.

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11662.cfm