Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
retail beef, making meat seem relatively inefficient in com-
parison to grains, thus leading to a larger carbon footprint. So
common is this notion that some schools encourage “Meatless
Mondays” for the sake of the environment. The Meatless
Monday movement has even been adopted by the Norwegian
military. Moreover, there is scientific research showing that
vegan (and vegetarian) diets do result in a smaller carbon
footprint.
When dealing with issues as big as global warming . . . it's
easy to feel helpless, like there's little we can do to make
a difference. . . . But the small changes we make every day
can have a tremendous impact. That's why this Meatless
Monday resolution is important. Together we can better
our health, the animals and the environment, one plate
at a time.
—Los Angeles councilmember Ed Reyes, coauthor of a
Meatless Monday resolution in 2012.
However, equally prestigious research shows that vegan
diets can result in a higher carbon footprint. How can this
be? One reason is that some carbon footprint estimates are
wrong, or rather, interpreted incorrectly. The idea of livestock
production being a large carbon emitter began with a report
by the United Nations (UN) suggesting that livestock contrib-
utes 18 percent of the world's carbon footprint, more than the
transportation sector, thus giving Bill Maher reason to point
the blame at burgers instead of Hummers.
It turns out that this 18 percent estimate is fraught with
errors, or at least, doesn't represent conditions in the United
States (perhaps the results are valid for the world). For instance,
the UN did not account for the carbon emissions involved in
making the inputs used in the transportation sector, but they
did for livestock. This would be like saying the production of
tires requires no carbon emissions but the production of corn
