Study Finds Meat and Dairy Create More Emissions Than Miles A
study in the April 15 edition of Environmental Science &
Technology by the prolific Carnegie Mellon University researcher
Christopher Weber found that food transport accounts for only 11
percent of food-associated greenhouse gas emissions, while
production contributes a whopping 83 percent. Specifically,
nitrous oxide and methane -- mainly byproducts of fertilizer
use, manure management and animal digestion -- make up a far
bigger piece of the emissions pie than emissions from
transporting our food from faraway places, the study found.
Weber and colleague Scott Matthews conducted a life-cycle
assessment of greenhouse gases emitted during all stages of
growing and transporting food consumed in the U.S. (using
Department of Commerce data) and calculated that the average
U.S. household generates 8.1 metric tons (t) of greenhouse gases
(in CO2 equivalents) annually as a result of food consumption.
By comparison, driving a car that gets 25 miles per gal