I have been a vegetarian for four years. I try not to talk about it that often because I do not want to fall into the stereotype of the annoying vegan or vegetarian. So anyways, not to be the annoying vegetarian but honestly people in the United States are eating way too much red meat. Climate change is a problem that needs to be addressed on multiple fronts and one way for a lot of people to help the climate is for people to slow their consumption of red meat.
It is no surprise that the US is one of the leading producers of greenhouse gases. In the US agriculture is the fifth largest producer of greenhouse gases with 9% of total emissions. Which may not seem like a lot but that 9% of emissions is still greater than Britain’s total emissions of greenhouse gases. In the US cows and other animals called ruminants account for two-thirds of those agriculture emissions. These ruminants such as cows, sheep, deer, and even giraffes release methane which they produce in their gut due to bacteria. They release this methane by burping and occasionally farting. Cows along with other agricultural animals account for 27% of methane emissions in the US. In the world cows and other livestock account for 14.5% of greenhouse emissions which is equal to the amount from cars, planes, trucks, and ships combined. The majority of that being methane due to cows producing it in their guts. Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. Methane is the second largest greenhouse gas emission in the US accounting for 10% of emissions, second after Carbon Dioxide which is responsible for 82% of greenhouse gas emissions. However according to the EPA “pound for pound, the comparative impact of CH4 [methane] is more than 25 times greater than CO2 [carbon dioxide] over a 100-year period” since it is more effective at absorbing heat methane is a worse problem.
Cows are causing this methane problem, so one route that people have taken is to stop eating red meat. People could still eat things like chicken, eggs, and pork, just not beef. If everyone in the US stopped eating red meat, the US would achieve between 46 and 74 percent of the greenhouse gas reductions needed to meet the target set by the Obama administration. It would also make farming easier since it would free up 42% of the US crop land. But while that sounds great, the best way to handle this problem is not for everyone to completely stop eating red meat, it is for everyone to limit the amount of beef they eat. Americans in general love meat and it is unrealistic for every single person to stop eating red meat. Americans eat 216 pounds of meat per person per year which is three times the global average. Red meat is also a cheap way for a lot of Americans to get a lot of protein. A lot of Americans do not have access to cheap sources of plant protein and red meat alternatives. Along with that it is also not a good idea to get rid of all of the cows. Cows and other animals are a vital part of agriculture and they are needed to be able to grow other crops. Cows can be raised on lands that are unsustainable for growing crops and they eat leftovers from farming that would otherwise go to waste since they are a grazing animal. They can also be used as a source of manure, which is used as a fertilizer and would probably be replaced with synthetic fertilizers that produce greenhouse gases if cows are no longer used in agriculture. So for every person in the US to stop eating red meat would not be the best solution and red meat can be a part of a person’s balanced diet if done correctly.
That’s why the best solution to this is to change the argument from wanting everyone to become a vegan or a vegetarian to having everyone make simple lifestyle changes. Such as implementing meatless Mondays like the meatless Monday movement has been trying to implement worldwide, or only having red meat a couple times a week and switching it for an alternative on other days.
People and companies are already making great strides towards making accessible alternatives to red meat. Beyond meat and Impossible Foods sell fake meat that is produced in labs. You can buy Impossible Foods products such as burgers and sausages at Burger King, Dunkin Donuts and even at the Disney Parks. You can buy Beyond meat at stores like Whole Foods, and it is sold in 38,000 locations in 20 countries. This fake meat is made from vegetables, starches, oils, and synthesized proteins. While they may not be way healthier than red meat but they are better for the environment. For example a Beyond Burger is estimated to have one-tenth the environmental impact of an actual burger and if the average American replaced one actual burger with a Beyond burger every week the impact would be equal to taking twelve million cars off the road. However fake meat is not for everyone, I have tried them and I think that they are good, but my sister thinks they taste like soggy bread. To address that companies have started to produce what is called clean meat, meat that is grown in a lab. It is created using stem cells and then grown to form muscle tissue and eventually meat. However it is still in the early stages of development and very expensive. The environmental impact is also unsure since there is a lot of energy required to grow it.
A good alternative to red meat is to incorporate more plant protein from beans, legumes, nuts, and grains. Not only is this a healthier option but also better for the environment, the average greenhouse gas impact in kilograms of CO2 of 50 grams of protein from beef is 17.7 but from beans it is 0.4 and from nuts it is 0.1. Meaning red meat impacts 44 times the carbon dioxide as beans and 177 times the carbon dioxide as nuts. Switching to plant protein can drastically lower the carbon dioxide impact. Producing a pound of plant protein in general takes less land, water, and energy than it does to produce a pound of meat protein. Plant protein can be incorporated into soups and pastas. Or if plant protein is not enough switching red meat out with chicken or seafood, especially mollusks, is a great idea. A climate friendly diet does not mean stop eating meat. It is about finding foods that are better for the environment like beef creates about 12 times the amount of greenhouse gases per calorie as poultry. Meaning chicken is a much better food for the environment and a good source of protein. There are still problems with ethical reasons due to animal welfare but on terms of climate change chicken is a great option. Which means people can still eat meat and care about the environment, it is just about switching out for the better alternatives.
Not only does limiting red meat intake help the environment but it also helps your body, the Lancet report says “The World Cancer Research Fund has said that limiting red meat to 3.5 ounces — a little less than a quarter-pound burger — no more than three times a week reduces cancer risk. Going lower than that, sticking to one 3.5-ounce serving of red meat a week, reduced related greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half.” The Lancet report recommends a flexitarian diet that is low on red meat, and with a lot of beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Decreasing the amount of red meat that a person has can indirectly help them by helping the environment but also directly help them by helping to improve their health.
A lot of people wonder how they as one person can do anything about climate change. While it is true that climate change is not going to be solved by one person, it is a huge problem, there are still things that almost everyone can do in their life to decrease the impact that they are having. It is all about little improvements in life, like only having a burger once a week or eating chicken instead of red meat, that when enough people do it it can have a big impact.
