YouSustain

Action - Eat less meat

38% of members are reducing their footprint with this action!

The environmental footprint of eating meat has been studied recently with much more intensity. The general consensus is that meat-intense diets are responsible for more CO2 emissions than plant-based diets, although the exact amounts are still being debated. A recent study from the University of Chicago concluded that 'a person consuming a mixed diet with the mean American caloric content and composition causes the emissions of 1485 kg CO2-equivalent above the emissions associated with consuming the same number of calories, but from plant sources.'

In reality, Westerners, and especially North Americans, consume at least 10 times the meat per person compared to poor countries. This is not a sustainable level to maintain.

A reduction in meat consumption by 50% would have the effect of reducing almost 750kg of CO2 per year. This would be more than an equivalent reduction than walking to work instead of driving, for the average person.

The most difficult part, for most Westerners, is breaking the habit of defaulting to meat. As a first step, why not try reducing just for a week?

The cash savings are listed as zero because it would entirely depend on a persons own eating habits.

Known benefits and costs

Annual CO2 Savings150 - 1,485 kg
 330 - 3,267 lbs
Annual Cash Savings$0 - $0
Initial Cost$0 - $0
Time to pay for itself0.0 - 0.0 years
CO2 saved per year per initial dollar invested150.00 - 1485.00 kg

* These value ranges were taken from many sources including product documentation, published reports, and the reference material linked here.

Reference Links

The site admins voted these articles very good references
Environmental vegetarianism
Meat production 'beefs up emissions'

Recent Related Links

Links that were recently submitted related to this solution

The Breathtaking Effects Of Cutting Back On Meat

Great examples of how much impact we could make by cutting down on meat consumption only slightly.

When It Comes To Green, We Are Hypocrites

Eye-opening survey about what people think is important to do for sustainability versus what they are actually doing.

Becoming vegetarian will help save the planet: study

The most meat-loving nations would have healthier citizens and also would reduce carbon emissions, scientists said.

US Uses Less Water Now Than 35 Years Ago

Conservation and efficiency are attainable: a study shows the US uses less water than 35 years ago in spite of a 30% increase in population.

From Trees to T-issues: Raising Awareness on Our Beloved Trees

Collection of interesting stats on our use of trees and paper.

Vegetarianism as a Sometimes Thing

Interesting thoughts on reducing meat consumption to lower footprint

In Depth: Phantom Energy

Real measurements of the energy use of household appliances to track the biggest wasters.

Going Green--One Step at a Time - How To

A good step by step guide on reducing energy use in the house, with measured results.

Leaving PCs on overnight costs companies $2.8B a year

A recent study showed how much energy is wasted, and CO2 emitted, due to unused work computers at night.

Making the right choices to reduce water footprint

Great graphic showing the relative amount of water used by various actions and foods.

All related links