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G_j

(40,366 posts)
Tue Jul 22, 2014, 11:09 AM Jul 2014

Studies Sound Red Alert On Beef’s Global Warming Toll

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/22/3462537/meat-greenhouse-gases-study-high-emissions-beef/

BY ARI PHILLIPS JULY 22, 2014 AT 9:27 AM UPDATED: JULY 22, 2014 AT 10:23 AM

The best way to cut your food-related carbon footprint is probably not to eat any meat, but if you’re not willing to go that far a new study breaks down the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) of different types of meat and beef is by far the worst.

Research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that livestock emissions are on the rise and that beef cattle are responsible for far more GHGs than other animals, including chicken and pork. Meat production’s heavy environmental toll is not new, but the scale is surprising: The study found that beef requires 28 times more land to produce than pork or chicken, 11 times more water, and results in five times more GHG emissions.

A similar study published in the journal Climate Change this week found that from 1961 to 2010 global GHGs from livestock increased 51 percent. Much of this is due to increased demand for meat, especially in developing countries. So even as developed countries curtail demand and become more efficient producers, the scale of the problem is growing along with global GHG concentrations.

“The developing world is getting better at reducing greenhouse emissions caused by each animal, but this improvement is not keeping up with the increasing demand for meat,” said Dario Caro, a researcher on the study. “As a result, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock keep going up and up in much of the developing world.”

Researchers found that beef and dairy cattle account for just about three-fourths of livestock-related GHG emissions, with 54 percent coming from beef cattle and 17 percent from dairy cattle. This is partly due to the sheer abundance of the animal but also from the higher levels of methane and nitrous oxide that they emit. Sheep comprised nine percent, buffalo seven percent, pigs five percent, and goats four percent.

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Studies Sound Red Alert On Beef’s Global Warming Toll (Original Post) G_j Jul 2014 OP
I wonder how much greenhouse gases were emitted by 60,000,000 buffalo. hobbit709 Jul 2014 #1
You're mistaken about Carbon-12 versus Carbon-14. MineralMan Jul 2014 #2
And what of the 7+ billion humans on this planet? MineralMan Jul 2014 #3

hobbit709

(41,694 posts)
1. I wonder how much greenhouse gases were emitted by 60,000,000 buffalo.
Tue Jul 22, 2014, 11:11 AM
Jul 2014

I'm more concerned with the C12 from fossil fuels than the C14 that is part of the natural cycle.

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
2. You're mistaken about Carbon-12 versus Carbon-14.
Tue Jul 22, 2014, 12:25 PM
Jul 2014

Carbon-12 makes up almost 99% of the carbon that exists on the planet. Every time a mammal exhales, the CO2 in that exhalation is also 99% Carbon-12 in its makeup.

Carbon-14 is the least common isotope of Carbon. Because it decays, it is used as a dating method for carbon based samples, but it still only makes up less than a tiny fraction of 1% of all Carbon. There is so little Carbon-14 out there that it barely registers at all.

See this link for more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-12

I'm not sure where you got confused, but Carbon-12 is the isotope of Carbon that is involved in all carbon oxidation processes, not Carbon-14. I'm afraid you're mistaken.

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
3. And what of the 7+ billion humans on this planet?
Tue Jul 22, 2014, 12:28 PM
Jul 2014

They're all carbon dioxide generators, too, along with the birds, other mammals, and every other form of animal life. All animals emit CO2. The information in your post ignores all of that, in an attempt to blame cattle for polluting the atmosphere. Every animal does the same.

7 Billion Humans +. Every one of them exhaling CO2 with every breath.

Similarly, all 7 billion humans also emit methane, just as do the rest of the animal kingdom. Every time you toot, you toot methane. And the more veggies you eat, the more methane your body creates.

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