The article describes the entire process of generating beef (clearing very large tracks of land, feed and 'care' of the animals, transportation, etc) and arrives at the following statistics. Producing one pound (1 lb) of beef generates the same amount of greenhouse gases as producing (either):
*4 lb's of pork
*13 lb's of chicken
*36 lb's of asparagus, OR,
*57 lb's of potatoes!!!
So if you are concerned about greenhouse gas emissions (AND [formerly] high gas prices) you might already be cutting your annual mileage by a few hundred miles by using public transportation or walking/biking. But remember this statistic: cutting out all the beef in the average American's diet is equivalent to *not* driving the average car 1,800 miles/year!!!
Now before you post some anti-vegetarian comment below, chillax a second... I'm not suggesting you go vegetarian (if I did, I'd be a hypocrite). I'm not even suggesting you cut out beef all together, being an avid fan of the occasional In'n'Out burger and Korean BBQ!
But being engaged to a vegetarian HAS taught me a few things I never would have known as a carnivore: (1) When I have a vegetarian dinner, I DO NOT get hungry afterwards because of a 'lack of protein'; (2) When I eat meat that came from a small (local) farm I can TASTE the difference; and, (3) When I notice I haven't eaten meat in a few days it's such a pleasure to treat myself with it again!!!
So once again, DON'T go out and become a vegetarian right away (unless you really want to!); but DO think about how much beef you eat and where it comes from, and try to reduce your intake!!! Do we Americans really need to eat an average of almost 100lb's a year of beef?!?
[Note: I obtained the 92 lb/person/year statistics from 2007 statistics of the USDA, and the US Census Bureau.]
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