Is your lunch destroying the planet?

[andrewducker]

From.

Comments

[pseudomonas]

I'd like to see the graph for per kg protein or per calorie. I suspect the ordering wouldn't change too much, but the differences would be somewhat less pronounced - especially the cheese/milk difference.

Also, I wonder what difference UK agriculture would make. I suspect that tomatoes would do less well, being frequently grown in heated greenhouses. Also not sure if widespread US factory-farming of cows makes a difference in terms of feed and so on.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Since I write this kind of stuff for work, I had a look at their methodology and it's a tad dodgy - either they made an error in the report, or they used the wrong Global Warming Potentials for methane and nitrous oxide, making animal rearing far worse by using the nitrous oxide GWP value for methane and vice versa. They don't include soil carbon changes from land use management and change (this is my research field) and their conclusion about US meat production not driving deforestation and environmental damage in other countries is out of date - vast swathes of Brazil are being converted to soybean production for the US market, causing major soil erosion as well as deforestation. US agriculture isn't a good proxy for the UK either -their agriculture is much more intensive than ours especially for beef production, leading to much higher emissions from manure, which I'm not sure are balanced out by the higher meat production.

It is true that meat and dairy have a bigger carbon footprint than veg products but I'm unconvinced that they haven't under-estimated the impact of tofu - soil emissions are a major part of the impact of soya production. And don't even get me started about palm oil - ripping up tropical rainforest all over SE Asia to grow that stuff is far worse than eating the odd burger.

[lpetrazickis.livejournal.com]

Huh. I would not have expected lamb to be more intensive than beef.

[simont]

I was briefly confused by the idea that "Farmgate" was some sort of scandal I'd missed about wasteful production methods and "post-Farmgate emissions" meant the level of emissions after everyone hastily sorted the problem out :-)

[bemused-leftist.livejournal.com]

Why would milk be so much lower than beef? Some beef is actually grass-fed (ie out on a range), but milk cows have to stay close to the barn (if allowed out at all).

[brixtonbrood.livejournal.com]

Also it's per kilo, not per calorie, which makes milk look good and cheese look bad.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

This report by WWF and the Food Climate Research Network includes figures for UK production (assessed up to the 'Regional Distribution Centre - so the green bars on the graph plus the processing and transport proportion of the yellow-orange bars)

Lamb = 14.61 kg CO2e/kg (so interestingly still the highest listed, although all sheep and goat production is lumped together)
Beef = 12.14 kg CO2e/kg (in comparison to world average of 32)
Pork = 4.45 kg CO2e/kg
Turkey = 3.76 kg CO2e/kg
Chicken = 2.84 kg CO2e/kg
Eggs = 2.94 kg CO2e/kg
Broccoli = 1.94 kg CO2e/kg
Tomatoes = 3.79 kg CO2e/kg

Not sure how their methodology compares to this, the land use change bit is a bit pants but only contributes a tiny proportion anyway, but at least it's using the right GWP figures and is for the UK.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

What if I drive the five minute walk to a shopping centre (the drive actually taking longer than the walk due to the slow process of finding a parking space) in order to buy a ready-prepared sandwich that has been shipped there from hundreds of miles away, made with ingredients from thousands of miles away?

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

"No agency of the United States government should be allowed to bailout a foreign bank or corporation without the direct approval of Congress and the president," Sanders said.

I'd say that current events would suggest that it is, in fact, great that they didn't need congressional approval.

[crm.livejournal.com]

ohh thanks for this! duley saved in preperation for a diet review.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

I'm going to lower the tone here...

The supposedly "low emissions" foods include beans, tofu and lentils. Have you ever shared a lift with someone who eats this crap? That'll reveal all you need to know about emissions...