Red Meat
The Worst Offender!
The livestock sector is one of the top contributors to other environmental problems, including water pollution and the loss of biodiversity worldwide.
Land requirements to raise cattle are the cause of
extensive deforestation worldwide. Cutting down trees causes erosion,
increases flooding, and
releases CO2 into the atmosphere when the wood is burned or left to rot.
It takes 6 x more freshwater
to produce a gram of protein from beef as one gram of protein from beans. In many parts of the world, including places here in the US, there is already insufficient freshwater for crops and people.
Harvest from the
Needham Community Farm
A healthy choice for you and the earth!
Needham Community Farm Veggies
Animal-based foods put a lot more
stress on the environment
than Plant-based foods!
Because animal-based
protein has such an outsized impact on the environment, reducing your consumption of animal products is one of the most impactful things you can do for
the Planet!
Surprising Fact: If cattle were a nation, their country would be the third largest emitter
in the world, behind only China and the U.S.
Livestock accounts for
14.5% of GHGs emitted worldwide. Feed production and processing (includes land use change) and ruminant burps are "the two main sources of emissions, representing 45% and 39% of total emissions, respectively. Manure storage and processing represent 10 percent. The remainder is attributable to the processing and transportation of animal products."