Beef vs chicken: Which meats have the highest carbon footprint?

When we talk about reducing the carbon footprint of our food, one of the first recommendations that pop up is “eating local.” But surprisingly, transportation has a minuscule impact on our food’s carbon footprint.

‍

When looking strictly at emissions, what we eat is more important than where our food comes from.

‍

So even if you purchase your beef locally, it will still have higher emissions than chicken and pork.

‍

In fact, a 2020 study shows that if you walk to your local farmer and buy beef from them instead of beef grown in a beef herd, it will reduce your emissions by only 0.35%.

‍

This is the same amount that an average household can save if they replace their calories from red meat and dairy with chicken, fish, or eggs just one day per week.

‍

Beef's carbon footprint is the highest among meats

‍

According to a 2020 research conducted by Our World in Data, beef emits 25 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO₂eq) per 100 grams. Lamb follows with 20 kgCO₂eq, farmed shrimp with 10 kgCO₂eq, and cheese with 8.4 kgCO₂eq.‍

‍

Towards the end of this table, we find plant-based protein sources such as tofu (1.6 kgCO₂eq), beans (0.65 kgCO₂eq), peas (0.36 kgCO₂eq), and nuts (-0.8 kgCO₂eq).

‍

Yes, nuts have a negative footprint. Tree nuts remove more CO₂ from the atmosphere than what is emitted during their production, making them carbon-negative.‍

‍

In the middle, we have pork (6.5 kgCO₂eq), chicken (4.3 kgCO₂eq), eggs (3.8 kgCO₂eq), and farmed fish (3.5 kgCO₂eq) which have a lower footprint than beef and lamb.‍

‍

So if you consume beef, replacing some portions of it with pork, chicken, and eggs can help reduce your carbon footprint.

‍

{{cta-join2}}

‍

Why do beef and lamb have such a high footprint?

‍

Cows and sheep, also known as ruminants, have a unique digestion process. They don't need to chew their food thoroughly before swallowing. This process makes them belch out methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

‍

In fact, methane is no slouch in the greenhouse gas world. It's about 25 times more potent than CO₂ at trapping heat in our atmosphere over a century.

‍

But that's not all. Cows also need a lot of food to support their growth and reproduction, much more than other animals we raise for meat. To grow this food, we clear out vast areas of forests, accelerating deforestation and climate crisis.

‍

The meat industry also uses nitrogen fertilizers to supercharge plant growth. These fertilizers release not one, but two greenhouse gases: CO₂ and nitrous oxide, turning up the dial on global warming.

‍

While producers need to adopt better meat production practices, we can do a lot as individuals as well.

‍

As consumers in countries with more diverse food options, we can replace red meat with lower-impact options such as chicken or eggs and incorporate more plant-based sources of protein such as tofu, nuts, peas, and beans.

‍