A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home. This, according to New Scientist’s Daniele Fanelli, is the conclusion of a study out of the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan. The team looked at the effects of beef production on global warming, water acidification and eutrophication, and energy consumption. They focussed on calf production, animal management, and the effects of producing and transporting feed, to calculate the total environmental load of a portion of beef. They concluded that a kilogram of beef is responsible for the equivalent of the amount of CO2 emitted by the average European car every 250 kilometers (155 miles), and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days. The calculations did not include the impact of managing farm infrastructure and transporting the meat, so the total environmental load is even higher. . . Still want that burger? How about one of these instead? Yum yum. JULIA WHITTY
