YouSustain

Action - Eat less meat

35% of members are saving 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.

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'

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