11 things you thought were green -- but there's a catch
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Grass-fed beef
Grass-fed beef is definitely healthier for you to eat (and grass is better for the cattle to eat, too), but cattle that are fed grass can create as much as 20 percent more emissions from burping and flatulence than grain-fed cattle. As a greenhouse gas, methane is 25 percent more potent than carbon dioxide, and cattle produce a lot of it. The bottom line: No matter how you grow the beef, eating vegetarian is likely better from a carbon point of view.
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Comments
I didn't know that about the increased bovine emissions from grass-fed. However, if you factor in all the fossil fuel used to work the grain fields (plow, disk, weed, plant, weed, fertilize, harvest, process, transport), I'm going to take a WAG that grass fed cattle still rule over feedlot cattle when it comes to footprint. No doubt, vegetarian can be more earth friendly, unless you start factoring in the methane in rice paddies, and require fresh produce year round (requires shipping/air.... More
Can someone tell me how they scientifically measure farts and other gaseous emissions? Is there some sort of fart catcher that scientists have that accurately measures this? It's unfortunate because grass fed beef is one of the obvious (and most logical) changes we can make and im afraid that this article will make gullible people think that they should keep buying corn fed beef because of farts.
Did you know that cars were once heralded as a SOLUTION to the air pollution problem...
What problem was that? Can you image the Brooklyn Bridge being covered 2 feet deep in horse manure?
"No matter how you grow the beef, eating vegetarian is likely better from a carbon point of view."
Is it really, though, when you factor in fruits and vegetables that are flown in from all over the world? I'd say eating local, whether its vegetarian or carnivorous, is the better option.
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