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We know that making greener food choices is a great way to live a greener lifestyle; here's some new info to inform your food-buying habits: according to a study out in the April 15 edition of Environmental Science & Technology by a duo of Carnegie Mellon University researchers, eating less red meat and dairy can be a more effective way to lower an average U.S. household's food-related carbon footprint than buying local food.
Food miles, the calculation derived from how far your food travels, and the notion of eating local food have become increasingly popular in the green scene, and, to be sure, it's a great way to go, but it's no silver bullet, say the researchers. They found that transportation creates only 11 percent of the carbon footprint generated by the average household's food consumption; growing and harvesting food, on the other hand, account for whopping 83 percent.
The reason? As we learned from eating a low-carbon diet, feeding and watering cows, which produce red meat and dairy, takes tons of resources, literally. One pound of beef requires 1860 gallons of water alone.
So what does that mean for you? By replacing one day's worth of calories from red meat or dairy each week with chicken, fish, or veggies, it'll reduce your food's carbon footprint more than eating an entirely local diet. And when you get your poultry, seafood and vegetables from your local farmers' market, all the better. Read more at Environmental Science and Technology, Grist and NPR.
Difficulty level: Easy
More local food reading in Planet Green and TreeHugger
Learn More About Eating Green
Join a Community-Supported Agriculture Co-op
Eat Locally and Ease Climate Change
Green Basics: Local Food
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