bemoreeco

What do we mean by hoofprint? Well anyone concerned about climate change would do well to limit their beef intake, argues Duncan Clark at BBCGreen. I like beef and as all ways as a family we buy Organic Beef. However, when we start talking about Organic / Eco living and our carbon footprint, is a conflict with what we eat. For example producing a single kilogram of the beef can result in a whopping 36.4kg of CO2 – the same as driving a gas-guzzling SUV for 50 miles. What are we meant to do eat less meat or become vegitarians.

Many of beef’s emissions come from growing cattle feed. It can take 10kg of beans or grains to produce just one kilogram of beef. Growing all this feed requires a great deal of energy – for making fertiliser and pesticides, powering farm vehicles and transporting the final crop to market.

So is it possible to get a pound of flesh without a tonne of guilt? In the case of beef perhaps not, although if it’s grass-fed it is a bit greener, since it reduces the demand for feed. But even the most overtly “ethical” beef available – organic, free-range, grass-fed, locally sourced – produces large quantities of methane.

So what are you going to go. I feel that if you are worried about your carbon footprint, buy local, organic and grass fed beef.

To read the full article at BBCGreen <click here>