Reducing CO(moo) Emissions

Since I was a child, meat wasn’t really optional in my house.  We ate meat at almost every meal.  Because of this, meat has become a staple in my diet.  But as I get older, I’m learning more about where my food comes from and what affects it has on the environment.  When I learned how meat production is one of the leading producers of carbon in the world.  The animals themselves are producing very little of that carbon.  Most of it comes from their food and their land use.

Animals must be fed in order to live and grow.  This means massive amounts of food, like grains and corn, is being reserved for meat production.  Crops already have a carbon footprint, much lower than meat.  This along with transportation of the grain, this multiplies the carbon emissions associated with raising animals.  For each pound of food an animal eats, it accumulates the carbon released from producing and transporting that one pound of food.  With each pound of food consumed by an animal, the carbon used to produce the grains is now a part of the carbon footprint of the animal.

 

Along with this, most new farms, especially in developing countries, are being built of deforested land.  This not only means that carbon is being released by the animals, it also means that the trees that were previously there cannot absorb any carbon dioxide.  This is a positive feedback loop. The farmers are growing such a high density of crops that the land is becoming nutrient deficient.  This causes more forest to be cut down and more crops to be planted because people are afraid of not having enough crops, continuing the cycle of conversion of forests to farm land.

Because of the huge carbon emission due to meat production, for the The Sustainable Behavior Challenge I will be limiting my meat intake.  I am going to do so in small steps: first by reducing my consumption of the largest carbon producers, beef and lamb, secondly by eliminating meat completely from one day a week, and thirdly by eliminating meat for two or more days a week.