When I was calculating my Carbon footprints I noticed that one of the categories I did not go over for my regions average, was food. Part of that was because my family grows our own food but I believe another reason my carbon footprint in that category did not exceed the average was because of my diet. I read in Vegetarian Society's article, "Reduce your Carbon Footprint", that livestock farming is responsible for 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions from humans and cows and sheep are also responsible for 37% of the total methane generated by human activity. This is significant because methane has 25 times the global warming impact of carbon dioxide. To add to that, fossil fuels are used to transport animals and to power the production of the feed. If more people were to cut meat out of their diet or reduce the amount of meat they consume weekly, the world would have better chances of combatting global warming.

Okay but meat is a big part of your diet

I agree that is why I suggested people should at least try to reduce meat in their diet. Yes meat contains essential amino acids but many people consume meat two to three times a day when it is only suggested, by several sources such as the American Public Health Association, to only eat meat once or twice a week. Some people are consuming too much meat in their diets to the point where it isn't healthy. If people became more aware about what they put in their bodies, we could create healthier communities and reduce our carbon footprints.

That is true. I do agree with that

I am a vegetarian for this reason. I believe that going without meat is sustainable to the environment. I have been a vegetarian for over six years. I am very healthy. So, what I am saying is that it can be done. You get more direct energy from grains and crops in general, in contrast to meat.  [Meat-Consumption-Jpg](//res.cloudinary.com/moot/image/upload/t_d3-gallery-s1/v1413230875/:footprint:WEor:meatconsumptionjpg.jpg.jpg)

The food part of my carbon footprint was higher than the average and the meat my family eats is probably the reason. Eating a vegetarian diet would definitely help to lower that part of everyone's footprint. Unfortunately, I am not much of a veggie eater. In fact, I hardly eat any veggies at all. When considering ways I could lower my footprint, I didn't even consider reducing my family's meat consumption. Challenge accepted!

You don't need to cut out meat entirely from your diet. In fact, because meat contains some vitamins and nutrients that vegetables may not necessarily have, it can be much more difficult to live as a vegetarian than you may think. Instead of cutting out meat from your diet, a great alternative is buying local meat. Purchasing local meats eliminates the large majority of that carbon footprint because after the animals are slaughtered they don't need to be transported to a factory and then to the grocery store. Thus, you can keep your diet the same and enjoy your meat guilt-free (as long as you don't have any quarrels over killing animals).

The amount of greenhouse gases that are produced through livestock farming, as displayed in the first post, is shocking. Another shocking factor of the pollution caused by livestock farming is the air pollution caused by the livestock's waste. The waste has to go somewhere, and when the cesspools where it is dumped become full, factory farms will spray liquid manure into the air, which becomes mist that is carried off in the wind. They do this to avoid exceeding the water pollution levels that are set by local governments. This waste that local residents and their families are breathing in is not only disgusting, bu also potentially harmful to one's health. "Studies have shown that [animal waste] lagoons emit toxic airborne chemicals that can cause "inflammatory, immune, ... and neurochemical problems in humans," as reported by the California State Senate. Cutting out or even simply decreasing our intakes of beef and dairy products can make an impact, and can redu ce the amount of harmful waste released into the air by the livestock industry.  http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used … vironment/

All of you make very good points. Planting, harvesting and eating home grown food is a great alternative to buying from the supermarket and it helps reduce our carbon footprint. By doing this, growing one's own food, you can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide that are byproducts of transporting and storing vegetables and fruits. A garden makes it possible to for people to regulate their emission of carbon dioxide, through their intake of vegetables and fruits that is. However, eating food grown at home also helps the environment in another way. This is by giving the potential buyer the choice between pesticides and organic food. Pesticides are pollutants and they release harmful chemicals into the air. But by planting a garden and harvesting one's own food, people are given a decision about helping and caring for their environment. This is helpful to the earth in the sense that it allows people to make the right decision and do well for the environment. If more people were to utilize space in and near their home to grow a garden and produce their own food, the world woul d be less polluted and healthier.

Onto the other topic of many of your comments, meat. All the ideas for a consumption of a different kind or amount of meat are admirable. However, I agree most strongly with the points made about purchasing local meat and reducing the consumption of meat. The reason I agree with the former is because by doing so the consumer reduces their emission of carbon dioxide and helps produce a healthier earth. They do this because the meat does not have to be refrigerated for long periods of time during transportation. When the meat is local, there is less energy that need to be used in transportation as well. My reason for agreeing with the latter is because by reducing the intake of meat, people can also use less energy and therefore produce less carbon dioxide. Livestock is the reason for a large part of our carbon problem and by eating less of it, we can help fix this problem. Overall by choosing the right meat to buy and consume, and eating less of it in general, we can help shrink our carbon footprint.

Hi! I'm Paulina from Mexico!,
I'm agree with you Borami, the production of meat contribute to increase our Carbon footprint, we can help it being vegetarian, but we have to remind that we need a portion of meat to balance our nutrition, we have to think about how we can help the meat production to make less pollution to produce and transpot  it and take a balance in our diet.

I also agree with Borami, the energy we spend raising cattle and other livestock for consumption is truly astounding.  Not only that, but the sheer effects it has on the environment may be subtle at first, but actually contribute vastly to global warming.  As mentioned by both Borami and Christina, the methane produced from all the wastes of the domesticated animals amplifies the effects of global warming, much more than the CO2 in our atmosphere.  Additionally, the runoff of the waste products pollutes waterways and can have negative effects on aquatic environments.  Additionally, the land mass needed to produce for example, cattle, is exponentially more than would be needed to produce a wheat field capable of providing the same amount of food energy.  This is because when you are raising cattle, you not only need land for the animals, but you also need land to cultivate the animal’s food.  If people were to primarily rely on vegetation for their diet, so much la nd would be saved, preserving the ecosystems that are destroyed in order to make way for both ranching and crop cultivation.

My family decided to start a "meatless Sunday" a few years ago, and if everyone were to start somewhere, such as one day or even one meal each week without meat, to reduce their meat consumption, we could greatly reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere due to livestock.

I agree with Borami, when i was reading the Scientific American " how meat effects global warming". It talks about how the production of meat emmits a large amount of  carbon and other green house gases. The main reason of all this emmision is beef or cattle. While raising cattle you clear many acres of fertile land such as forests. You cut down vegetation that was helping to keep this earths tempersture balanced. The cattle produces large amounts of mathane and carbon per day. Cutting back of completly cutting off meat would do the earth just as good as taking cars off the roads.