We’ve all heard about our carbon footprint, global warming, rainforest degradation, and the threats these have to everyone’s favourite floating rock, Earth. Even thinking about these issues can be a downer. As a campus full of millennials and gen-Xers, we know our future holds more radical actions to help our environment, but we’re all currently focused on surviving one semester at a time.
Here’s the number-one way for you to reduce your carbon footprint that won’t take up additional time or resources: reduce your cow intake. The financial cost is about the same and the environmental cost is dramatically lower.
Did you know that consuming cow meat is more environmentally damaging than driving a car? It’s not just the amount of land cows take up and the methane they produce, but also the amount of land used to produce cow food. Cow-food production is actually a main cause of Amazon rainforest degradation.
According to one study, it takes up to 105 kilograms (yes, kilograms) of greenhouse gases to produce 100 grams (you read right: grams) of cow meat. Shocking, right? So is the fact that most steaks are around 225 grams, meaning that every steak eaten costs over 200 kilograms of greenhouse gas. Burger patties weigh around 150 grams, equating to roughly 150 kilograms of greenhouse gas. Not great, right? Well, luckily, there’s an easy solution: opt for more sustainable meats or protein sources. Bird and pig meats do significantly less damage to the environment, and plant-based alternatives have even less of a negative impact.
It’s not just the cow meat that takes a toll; eating pigs and birds is less environmentally damaging than eating cheese and drinking cow milk. I’m not saying never drink another drop of cow milk or eat another steak, but at least think about the overall cost those products have on our world. Even reducing your intake will have a positive impact on the environment. Buying power and where you choose to use it makes a difference. Supporting cow-product production is supporting the environmental toll it takes, and moderation will help us all in the long run. We’ve got one planet, and when it comes down to it, Earth’s health is our health.