According to England’s journals ‘The Telegraph’ and ‘The Daily Mail’, lettuce produces three times more greenhouse gases than bacon for the same amount of calories. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec.17 (Korea Bizwire) – Being a vegetarian might be worse on the environment than previously thought.
According to England’s journals ‘The Telegraph’ and ‘The Daily Mail’, lettuce produces three times more greenhouse gases than bacon for the same amount of calories.
A research team at Carnegie Mellon University compared the process of producing 1,000 calories of different foods. In other words, the amount of water, greenhouse gases, and energy requirements for growth, processing, distribution, sales and storage were investigated and compared.
Since lettuce is low in calories, a whole head of lettuce must be eaten to receive the same calorie intake as a slice of smoked bacon.
As a result, it is obvious that the output of greenhouse gases produced when transporting the large volume of lettuce is bigger than what is produced from bacon.
Since lettuce is often thrown away due to its short storage period, additional greenhouse gases are produced.
Eggplant, cucumbers and celery also turned out to produce more gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect compared to pork or chicken.
On the other hand, cabbage produced one fifth of what bacon produced, and broccoli produced only half.
According to England’s journals ‘The Telegraph’ and ‘The Daily Mail’, lettuce produces three times more greenhouse gases than bacon for the same amount of calories. (Image : Yonhap)
Meat, beef and lamb were found to produce more gases than pork and chicken.
The research team commented that “What’s good for the body isn’t always healthy for the environment”. They stated that those who plan diets should keep this in mind.
The results of the research were published in a recent issue of ‘Environmental System and Decisions’.
By M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
The researchers who conducted the study said the headlines mischaracterized their findings. All it did was point out that a few vegetables and fruit have a higher water footprint than meats, and it did not examine a vegetarian/vegan diet. Check this out: http://www.peta.org/blog/lettuce-clarify-bacon-isnt-good-for-the-planet-or-pigs/
This is nothing more than shameless click-bait and a complete distortion of what the meta-analysis actually found. The researches themselves have stated that the headlines are a total mischaracterization of their findings. None of the hypothetical diets analyzed were vegan or even vegetarian—in fact, two of them accounted for eating more fish and other sea life, which have a relatively greenhouse gas emission level. Many of the plant-based foods the researchers analyzed are responsible for far less greenhouse gas emissions than than pork, including kale, broccoli, rice, potatoes, spinach and wheat (among others). And vegetarian staples like grains and soy have some of the lowest levels of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. This explains it clearly: http://www.peta.org/blog/lettuce-clarify-bacon-isnt-good-for-the-planet-or-pigs/
This study is too flawed to be taken seriously. Even the study authors have said that the findings have been twisted and misrepresented. Nothing has changed. The researchers basically just found that lettuce isn’t as environmentally friendly as other vegetarian foods, such as kale, broccoli, rice, potatoes, spinach and wheat. They measured resources required per calorie, and most fruits and veggies have a far lower ranking than meat in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions. You’d have to eat at least two heads of iceberg lettuce to consume anywhere near the amount of calories found in two slices of bacon.
Bacon and other meats still contribute to climate change, pollution, deforestation, animal suffering, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other problems. If you’re looking for an excuse to eat meat, you’re not going to find it