Washington, DC – September 10, 2024 – Human Meat Consumption – Cattle — Biggest Contributor to Record Methane Emissions in Climate, Reported By Scientists Today
Posted on October 10, 2024
Today’s alarming report from the Global Carbon Project, an international team of scientists, found methane levels now are projected at the “worst case scenario.”
Nevertheless, the chart accompanying their report shows cattle and manure at the very top level of these methane emissions, not fossil fuels, in terms of the largest source of the methane.
Consumers can help reduce climate change impacts, especially methane, by what they eat.
“That means consumers can help by reducing their meat consumption, especially beef, which is the largest contributor on the methane chart,” said Climate Diet Executive Director, Jane DeMarines.
In all food groups, Climate Diet, a nonprofit dedicated to creating awareness of how a person’s diet impacts on the environment, found that beef consistently sits at the top of greenhouse gas emissions.
This international research is not a surprise, and consumers can do their part by reducing or eliminating meat, particularly red meats, one day per week, Climate Diet suggests.
Consumers need to be aware that buying a hybrid may not be the most potent act in helping prevent continuing climate change impacts, but choosing a reduced-meat diet can produce a measurable and important effect.
“U.S. schools can play a part by producing school lunches without meat one or two days a week, creating a comprehensive, sustaining and measurable response, while educating the next generation,” said DeMarines.
Climate Diet produces recipes showing reduced greenhouse gas emissions from plant-based examples: climatediet.org/category/plant-based-recipes/.