Originally published at: Study finds vegan diets less polluting, more climate-friendly | Boing Boing
…
7 Likes
24 Likes
21 Likes
I found it interesting the difference between low meat diet and vegetarian is comparable to the difference between vegetarian and vegan, very linear. Except in the case of methane, where it’s clear the cheese-enthusiasts are killing the planet.
4 Likes
Even if one does not choose to go vegan, any amount of decrease in meat consumption reduces the environmental impact. And makes the next reduction easier. It’s not an all-or-nothing proposition, and stepwise changes have a clear impact. Other than that, yeah, anyone surprised by this result has not been paying attention.
23 Likes
Just for context, cattle and sheep account for ~30% of world methane emissions, and the cow population is somewhere between 2/3 and 4/5 beef cattle (yes, diary cattle live twice as long, but they also then get slaughtered for meat as well).
You’re not wrong, dairy is methane intensive, but beef production is the bigger offender here.
8 Likes
Doubly so. I only rent the methane.
9 Likes
I was surprised going from vegetarian to low meat means a 1.4x increase in methane, whereas going from vegan to vegetarian means a 4.6x increase in methane. But, true, going vegan to low meat is a 6.6x increase in methane, which is an even bigger number. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00795-w/tables/2
3 Likes
I wouldn’t be surprised if pork were a close second.
2 Likes
My understanding is that second is sheep, because pigs aren’t ruminants.
5 Likes
At least that’s consistent, 6.4=4.6*1.4
Though, I much prefer seeing emissions-per-kcal of a given food, because otherwise it’s harder to evaluate how much is varies between individuals within each category, or for me personally. That study seems to be a population level average of self-reported food consumption, then normalized to a 2000 kcal/day diet.
2 Likes
All true… although what would be most helpful and impactful would be for the modern food industry to change how it operates overall. Changes on the consumer end help, but it’s still primarily on the large producers who are doing the polluting in the first place to change their practices to improve things.
12 Likes
If the planet dies and I get my cheese, so be it.
I am now wondering what came of those initial studies that showed some seaweed supplement of the cow diet would reduce methane output.
Well, it’s something, it’s just not even remotely the 90-odd-percent reduction that was promised:
12 Likes
… from my cold dead hands 
oh dear i don’t actually eat cheese and that’s not even a good joke
4 Likes
Yeah, it’s a bit ambitious putting numbers like that out there when a 28% reduction in itself is astonishing and opens doors to further reduction via diet. Regardless of how much we might wish it to be, we are generations away from significantly removing beef from most peoples’ diets, so any bit helps.
That article also seems to indicate that breed and rearing techniques may contribute to the difference seen in other studies. This California study utilized the same measuring techniques and saw an 82% reduction. Perhaps it’s something that needs to be dialed in for each breed and methodology to reach maximal efficacy.
6 Likes
Finally something that might convince conservatives to become vegans!
9 Likes
Yeah, Rob did leave off an /s there. (Not that he’s ever used them, from what I remember.)
5 Likes
Like sarcasm’s any fun if you signpost it.
8 Likes
Yep.
Didn’t mean to say that he should have used one there.
We know Rob’s all about the fun!
2 Likes
