Food...

When it comes to global warming, what has a bigger impact: the meat we eat or all the driving we do?

Before you slice into that steak, consider this: how food is produced, not how far it’s transported is the main ingredient when it comes to global warming from food production, according to research released earlier this year. Christopher Weber and Scott Matthews, two researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, studied the greenhouse gases that were released during the growing and transportation of food in the U.S. They found that transportation accounts for 11% of food-related greenhouse gases, while how the food is grown, agriculture and industry practices—everything from methane and nitrous oxide emission from animals, fertilizers, and tractors—make up 83% of food’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Still, in the big picture, food is only part of the average household’s emissions each year. According to Erika Engelhaupt’s article in Environmental Science and Technology in April, food makes up 13% of total household emissions for the average family. Going locavore does have an impact, but not as much as you may think: given a car that gets 25 miles to the gallon for 12,000 miles each year, by eating local you’d reduce your emission by the equivalent of driving 1,000 miles less each year.

So, how to reduce emissions via your plate?

1. Change what’s on your plate. Once a week, instead of steak or cheeseburgers, have chicken or eggs for dinner. By replacing meat and dairy you’ll reduce the emissions equivalent to 760 miles of driving. Go vegetarian one day a week, and you’ll cut out an additional 1,160 mile-equivalents each year.

2. Reduce red meat in general. According to Weber, “there is more [total] greenhouse gas impact from methane and nitrous oxide than form all the carbon dioxide in the supply chain.” Cows burp methane, and their feed contains fertilizers that are eventually converted into nitrous oxide by bacteria.

3. Be picky about fish. If red meat was the big loser in greenhouse gas emissions, fish was a second-to-last finisher. In an ABC News report on meat and emissions in 2006 (Meat Eaters Aiding Global Warming?) fish was a dangerous choice because of all the energy it takes to catch.

4. A vegetarian diet is the most emissions-friendly. But, that doesn’t mean you’re carbon-free. In the produce aisle, try to avoid food that was brought in via airplane, as those are known for high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

Photo from Treehugger op-ed on food miles and fair trade.

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