Students from around the world calculated their class mean and standard deviations for their footprints and posted them on our world map.
Do you see differences across the globe? If so, why do you think those differences exist?
Did you use the calculator to try to reduce your footprint down to the average from a citizen of another country? What changes would you have to make to lower your footprint in this way? Are you going to try and take some of these actions in your daily life?
Student Footprints >
Carbon footprint
Should we eat less meat?
Meat is delicious and fuels the body with many nutrients, but the carbon footprint to make meat is immense. The livestock sector raising cows, pigs and chickens generates as much greenhouse gas emissions as all cars, trucks, and automobiles combined. If we decided to eat meat fewer times per week than we can improve our own carbon footprint which improves the health of our planet. I'm not saying to cut out meat entirely but to minimize the amount of meat you eat per week or month depending on how you would like to do it. This will help to improve your carbon footprint.
Yes. I personally have nothing against the consumption of meat, it's just that it should be monitored and consumed in moderation. According to the New York Times the process of this kind of agriculture alone is the cause of at least 40% of the worlds greenhouse gasses, and the U.S being responsible for 574 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions alone. The minimization of this type of process should be emphasized, to a certain extent. I'm not saying we should stop this process, I'm saying that we should just relax this process gradually with time so we don't put others out of work. With time we'll be able to improve the earth by improving ourselves and moderating the production and consumption of meat.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/clim … rming.html
I agree, personally I eat many types of meat to sustain a protein-packed diet. I personally like chicken the best out of all of the meats. Next time when my family picks out what meat we want to eat, I will consider the carbon footprint that goes along with it. For example, beef obtains the highest amount of CO2 per serving at 6.61 pounds of CO2 per serving, whereas pork obtains 1.72 pounds of CO2 per serving. Additionally, if I were to reduce my beef consumption and consume chicken then my annual carbon footprint would reduce by 882 pounds of CO2. So, when my family picks out meat to consume we need to consider the carbon footprint that comes along with it.
It is also helpful to add that you should not only pay attention to the QUANTITY of animal products that you consume, but the QUALITY as well. Meat is not all the same. There are practices of raising animals that emit much more carbon than others, most notably, the notorious CAFOs. I could go into other details about them, but i don't really want to, as that is not the focus of this post. I know they are cruel to the animals and those who work in them, but I will set that aside for now. The animals(even the ones that normally should not be fed it) are fed corn, often grown using petrochemical fertilizers that require about 4 calories of oil to produce a single calorie of corn. This multiplies as it travels up the food chain to big animals, as big animals are much less efficient at turning corn into meat. In addition, significant methane is released, not only in ruminants due to rumination, but also from most mammals by anaerobic decomposition of manure in large pits or "lagoons". Although buying meat from better sources does not eliminate problems such as rumination, it does remove the wasteful practices of the factory farm. Remember, however, that this has to be done in combination of consuming less meat, as cleaner ways to produce meat are much more labor intensive. At the very least, try to look not just for organic in supermarket labels, but look for signs of good quality food(for example, an orange color in egg yolks). Or, just go to the farmer's market. It will be more expensive, but remember that you're paying for healthier, better tasting food that supports local communities.
By the way, in that last post, I would only recommend looking for better food if you can afford it. I understand that not everyone can, and if that is the case, then buy what you can afford. However, if you can buy better food, I strongly recommend that you do. Remember though, that cheap food is only cheap because its true costs are hidden and it is subsidized by the government. Much of the USDA's system is made to only cater to the industrial system, and to push out those who don't fit for it.
I agree that people should eat less meat to reduce their carbon footprint. However, it is also important that people get the right amount of protein. According to "Protein Intake - How Much Protein Should You Eat Per Day?", the average man should eat more than 56 grams of protein per day to remain healthy, and the average woman should eat more than 46 grams of protein per day. While animal meat provides a lot of protein, there are vegetarian and vegan substitutes that one can receive protein from. For example, "The 17 Best Protein Sources for Vegetarians and Vegans" states that seitan, which is made from wheat gluten, "contains about 25 grams of protein per 3.5 ounces (100 grams)" (Petre). To summarize, in order to reduce one's carbon footprint and still receive a sufficient amount of protein, one can substitute vegetarian and vegan sources of protein for at least some of their meals that would have been meat.