Americans eat beef in small amount

According to the New York Times, the Natural Resources Defense Council has reported a 19 percent drop in beef consumption from the years 2005 to 2014. While this doesn't allude to mindfulness about cattle's environmental impact, the Natural Resources Defense Council is claiming this gradual decrease as a victory against greenhouse emissions. Aside from growing fertilizer-heavy feed and transforming rain forests into grazing pastures, cows produce methane, which the New York Times notes is "25 percent more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. " Though the study didn't directly ask its participants why they've re-adjusted their eating habits, the article points to evidence from consumer research group Mintel. "Whether we realize it or not, Americans have been fighting greenhouse gas emissions with their forks," Sujatha Bergen, a policy specialist in the Natural Resources Defense Council's food and agriculture program, explained.

Less Beef, Less Carbon

As a result, the decrease in beef consumption documented in Less Beef, Less Carbon, has propelled a significant decrease in the per capita climate pollution emissions from our diet. Furthermore, changes to beef industry management practices could reduce the lifecycle climate change pollution impacts of beef. A new report—Less Beef, Less Carbon—released today by NRDC shows that between 2005 and 2014, we reduced our per capita consumption of beef by 19 percent. We rank fourth globally in per capita beef consumption, eating more than twice as much red meat as suggested by USDA's recommended dietary patterns. Less Beef, Less Carbon shows that we have already taken strong steps in this direction.

Diet, Including Eating Less Beef, Dropped Americans' Carbon Emissions by 9%

"One of the major things that's happened in the beef industry is we're producing more beef with fewer animals," Place explained. The carbon footprint of the average American's diet has shrunk by about 9 percent, largely because people are eating less beef, according to a new report. During that time, overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions averaged more than 6 billion tons a year. NRDC also looked at food that increased diet-related greenhouse gas emissions. Like beef, production of dairy products is resource intensive.


collected by :Lucy William