Is it time to stop eating beef?Print
Did you know that the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gases than the entire world’s transport system?
The UN has estimated that producing 1kg of beef creates, on
average, the same amount of CO2 as driving 250km in a typical
European car. And CO2 is by no means the only greenhouse
gas released through the farming of cattle. No surprise then that,
according to the United Nations, "livestock is one of the most
significant contributors to today's most serious environmental
problems."
What's the beef?
The environmental impact of different types of meat comes down
to time. Tyically, the longer it takes to raise an animal, the more
energy is required and the bigger the CO2 emissions.
It's about 1,000 days before a cow is ready to be turned into
steak - that's two and a half times longer than the 400 days
required for pork and 20 times more than the 50 days needed to rear
a chicken.
Our hunger for meat is making matters worse
As many parts of the world become richer, hunger for meat and
meat products is growing. According to a report by the United
Nations, global meat production is projected to more than double
from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 million tonnes in 2050,
making global livestock the fastest growing agricultural
sector.
The large amount of land required to rear cattle also has an
environmental impact. Livestock now use up to 30% of the Earth's
entire land surface, which has contributed to deforestation. Some
70% of former forest land in the Amazon is now used for
pasture.
There's also the environmental impact of the vast quantities of
grain needed to feed the cows, not to mention the CO2
emissions that result from creating manure and fertiliser to grow
these crops.
There's more hot air
Cows have special stomachs to process the plant material they
eat. One of the by-products of their digestive process is methane
gas, which is exhaled at either end.
Like CO2, methane is a greenhouse gas. Research has
found that 200 cows produce the equivalent amount of global warming
potential each year as a family car being driven 111,850 miles. And
while CO2 emissions have increased by 31 per cent during
the past 250 years, methane, which has a higher warming potential
and a longer lifetime in the atmosphere, has increased by 149 per
cent during the same period.
Is it time to go veggie?
While eating beef has an impact on the environment, this doesn't
mean that we all have to turn vegetarian. Removing beef from your
diet could help you reduce your CO2 hoofprint, but there are other
ways you can make a difference.
Four ways to reduce your CO2 hoofprint
- Buying meat from a local farmer could reduce the amount of CO2
emitted from transport associated with its sale
- Eat less beef and the amount you eat each time. Instead, swap
beef for chicken. It requires less energy to produce and creates
less methane than beef[7]
- Opt for organic beef which is typically less reliant on fossil
fuel-based fertilisers and pesticides
- Buy meat that is reared on steep hills and mountains, such as
upland sheep farms in Wales. These rocky pasturelands can be used
for little else (and didn't cause any deforestation)
Key facts
- The UK per capita consumption of beef is 17.3 kg a
year
- The UN has estimated that producing 1kg of beef creates, on
average, the same amount of CO2 as driving 250km in an
average European car
