Meat Can be Tough on the Environment

Four average-sized steaks generate as much greenhouse gas as an ordinary car traveling for 3 hours at 50mph. The meat also chews up 169 megajoules of energy, enough to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days. These were among the findings of Japanese scientists investigating the effects of beef production on global warming, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The scientists used a range of data derived from a single purchase of beef. Two thirds of the energy went towards producing and transporting cattle feed, and most of the greenhouse emissions came from the animals' digestive systems in the form of methane. A spokesperson for the National Cattlemen's Association insisted that innovations in feeding practices are reducing these methane emissions. (More global warming stories.)