I am an international student studying in the United State from China, so my trip to go between China and the U.S. contributed a considerable amount of my high carbon foot print. Besides the transportation, however, most of my data are below or close to the average of my region. Although I am an average person in terms of carbon footprint, I still have some ideas to reduce my carbon footprint contribution.
    I can reduce the carbon I consume of the food. According to an article on http://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-protein-per-day/ people only need 0.8 gram protein per kilogram of body weight, and that is about 56 grams for each average sedentary man. If we include the study/working, exercise, and other activities will consume more energy, we will end up consuming about 1 gram per kilogram of body weight, and that is about 80 grams per day. However, as I estimate, I consume more than 100 gram of meat in average every day. Having extra proteins doesn’t necessarily mean that I waste them because extra proteins can get involve in the metabolism pathway and turn into oth er nutrients (carbohydrates, lipid, or nucleic acid), but why don’t we eat glucose or lipid directly from other source?  Simple biological concept suggest that energy lost after each level of consumer, and plants are the most efficient food for gaining energy. According to http://www.worldwatch.org/node/549 , it needs 550 liters water to make a loaf of bread, but it needs up to 7000 liters water to produce 100g of beef. If I can eat less meat, especially beef, and intake other nutrients from a more efficient pathway, for example plants, or product of plants, it will reduce my total carbon consume.

I agree that eating a lot of meat is not helpful toward the environment. When arguing the necessity of meat, many people claim that without eating meat one would not receive enough protein, yet meat has been referred to as simply a means of "cheap protein," meaning that the meat production system consumes resources at an inefficient level when compared with the actual energy acquired from meat. Meanwhile, there are many other ways to receive protein in a way more efficient, such as through nuts, seeds, dairy, beans, and spinach. Also, worldwide meat production has been predicted to double by 2020 according to this article found on the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment website: https://woods.stanford.edu/environmenta … nvironment The U.S. is the country with the second-highest levels of meat production (second to China), and therefore has some of the highest carbon footprints. As a vegetarian, I can attest to the fact that eating less meet certainly lowers carbon footprint levels.