Eat beef only once a week and reduce C02 emissions by 3,028 pounds and save 207,920 gallons of water. According to New Scientist Magazine, every one kilogram of beef produces the equivalent of 36.4 kilograms (80 pounds) of C02. Based on the numbers from a 2003 study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the average person eats 44 kg (97 pounds) of beef per year, averaging out to .1025 kg of beef per day (.266 pounds) and 1601.6 kg C02 per year (3,531 lbs). There are approximately 52 weeks in a year. If you eat beef only once a week, assuming that you stuck with the average serving of .266 pounds, you’d be eating 6.2685 kg (13.832 lbs) of beef each year (.1025 lbs X 52), resulting in 503.0305 lbs of C02 (6.2685 lbs of meat X 36.4 lbs C02 = 228.1731 kg C02 X 2.2046 lbs = 503.0305 lbs C02). This means you’d be saving 3027.85 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere (3530.887 lbs C02 – 503.0305 lbs C02 = 3027.85. Approximately 2,500 gallons of water are used to produce one pound of beef. That is 242,500 gallons of water per year (97 lbs X 2,500 gallons). Eating beef only once a week uses 34,580 gallons of water. That saves 207,920 gallons of water each year. CC water savings are listed in savings per month (17,326.667 gallons saved per month).

The world's meat consumption has quadrupled between the early 1960s and 2007 to a total of 284 million tons per year. A conservative estimate is that Americans, on average, consume about a half-pound of meat every day (.266 of that is beef). Statistics show that America's 300 million people, about 5 percent of the world population, consume 15 percent of the world's meat and a whopping 25% of the world's beef, by growing and slaughtering 10 billion animals per year. This is like a community of 100 people and 100 cows in which 95 people share 85 cows, but five super rich people consume 15 cows.  

The energy, money and trees (cut down to make room for grazing) needed to raise cattle is nothing compared to the annual 75 million tons of methane burped up by the world's 1.3 billion cows...and methane traps 23 times more heat inside the Earth's atmosphere than carbon dioxide.  United Nations' scientists conclude that eating animals causes 40 percent more global warming than all planes, cars, trucks, and other forms of transport combined, which is why the Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook says that "refusing meat" is "the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint." This isn't actually new information. Albert Einstein said that "nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

Check out http://www.goveg.com/order.asp for a free vegetarian starter kit.

Sources:

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/78/3/660S#T1

http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0718-beef.html

reference link: not provided

4 Comments

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thecitizen says:

Worldwide livestock emits 18 percent of greenhouse gases, more than the transportation sector all together. 

posted 12/04/08 at 12:54 AM

 

argam says:

If every American had one meat-free meal per week, it would be the same as taking more than 5 million cars off our roads.

posted 10/01/07 at 04:27 PM

 

vince says:

It's true.. the impact is amazing.  It's why it's so hard to answer the question whether you're vegetarian for ethical reasons.  There are so many good reasons to be vegetarian that it's like asking whether you you have sex for relgious reasons.  Here's a sadly funny post about meat eating today:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/51139 

posted 09/29/07 at 12:47 PM

 

thecitizen says:

Wow! Way to put this Creative Solution into perspective.  Right now this has the most drastic effects of any solution posted.  I'd love to see the numbers for full out vegetarians!   Great Creative Solution Alex, this is going to really jump start the CC Effect, especially for water saved.

posted 09/22/07 at 01:03 AM

 

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