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Pound of beef produces 36 pounds of CO2 emissions mongabay.com July 18, 2007
Ogino and colleagues assessed the impact of calf production on greenhouse gas emissions, water acidification and eutrophication, and energy consumption. They included the effects of the transportation of the animals' feed in their calculations. The researchers found that the production of one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef "leads to the emission of greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 36.4 kilograms (80 pounds) of carbon dioxide," writes Daniele Fanelli. Production also releases the equivalent of 340 grams of sulphur dioxide and 59 grams of phosphate, while consuming 169 megajoules of energy.
The study did not include the impact of managing farm infrastructure and transporting the meat, elements that would add further emissions. Ogino says that swtching to grass-fed beef, improving waste management, and "shortening the interval between calving" could reduce emissions and energy usage. New Scientist Magazine Related articles Cattle produce more global warming gases than cars. Livestock-rearing generates more greenhouse gases than transportation according to a new report from the United Nations (U.N.), which adds that improved production methods could go a long way towards cutting emissions of gases responsible for global warming. Can cattle ranchers and soy farmers save the Amazon?. Since the early 1970s, environmental groups have spent billions of dollars on conservation efforts in the Amazon, but have failed to slow the destruction of its rainforests. The reasons for land-clearing in the Amazon are compelling: cheap land, low labor costs, and booming demand for commodities driven by a surging China and growing interest in biofuels. Amazon landowners have seen their land values double every 4-5 years in areas that just a decade ago were pristine rainforests. The market is driving deforestation. Given this landscape, John Cain Carter believes the only way to save the Amazon is through the market. Carter is a Texas rancher who moved to the heart of the Amazon 11 years ago with his Brazilian wife, Kika, and founded what is perhaps the most innovative organization working in the Amazon, Aliança da Terra. Carter says that by giving producers incentives to reduce their impact on the forest, the market can succeed where conservation efforts have failed. Comments? News options
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