Reducing your CO2 footprint

November 10, 2006

Treehugger has an interesting proposition today:

…adopting a vegan or vegetarian diet would knock off an extra ton and a half of CO2 emissions. It’s true! One calorie of animal protein releases more than ten times as much carbon dioxide than does one calorie of plant protein.

I’m not a vegetarian or vegan, though I eat organic food when possible. It never occurred to me that eating meat contributes more to global warming than, say, tofu.

I cannot give up meat—my body would simply start to wither. However I think a great portion of us can cut back on our meat intake and be okay. If enough people were to cut out 25% of their meat intake, could you imagine the positive impact that would have on the environment and our wallets?

Update: I’m attempting the vegetarian diet. It’s already been a couple weeks and I don’t miss meat one bit. It probably helps that I eat like a bird.

Comments

don't go overboard on the tofu.

i know many people (myself included) who have a very difficult time digesting soy products in general.

tempeh is one of the more easily digestible forms of soy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh

it is a fermented food. in general all fermented food is _very_ nutritious in part because it is in effect pre-digested.

i know lots more.

i've eaten only organic for the last 15 years.

i was a vegan for 10 years.

i was very ill for 4 years in part due to digestive and nutritional issues--i became a bit of an amateur nutritionist during this time.

i now eat a varied diet that includes some meat and is still 100% organic.

i also use nutritional supplements.

if you have any questions ask away.

peace,
david

Posted by David M. Besonen

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