Beef Environment Cost 10 Times That of Other Livestock

Beef cattle are tough for the environment, and now that has been quantified by researchers at Bard College. “Beef cattle need 28 times more land and 11 times more irrigation water than pork, poultry, eggs or dairy,” points out research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reported by Matt McGrath for BBC News. “As well as the effects on land and water, cattle release five times more greenhouse gas and consume six times more nitrogen than eggs or poultry.” Reducing beef consumption reduces environmental harm, but the same is not true of reducing consumption of pork, poultry, eggs or dairy products; in fact, switching from beef to eggs delivers tremendous environmental improvement similar to a shift toward plants. The US data is applicable to other areas. The US, Brazil and the EU are the world’s leading beef producers; China produces most of the world’s pork and eggs; and India is the largest milk producer, but most of its milk products don’t cross borders. – YaleGlobal