Carnegie Mellon Study

[Libra20]

This study came out a few months ago. I just heard about it. It says that eating less beef and dairy is one of the best things we can do to help out the environment.

"Dietary shift can be a more effective means of lowering an average household’s food-related climate footprint than “buying local.” Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more GHG reduction than buying all locally sourced food."

http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/2008/42/i10/abs/es702969f.html

Here's another couple recap articles about the study
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/31673/title/It’s_the_meat_not_the_miles
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421161338.htm

[lisas3575]

I don't eat meat and I try to buy local as much as I can. Maybe I get more karma, eh? :p

[SusanMac]

Consume less dairy? For shame! ;-)

[Libra20]

Consume less dairy? For shame! ;-)

Yeah, I like my dairy, too. But I have been trying to buy cheese from organic and small producers, so I think that is better than factory dairy.

[SusanMac]

I hear ya. Every once in a while I"m at Target & realize that I need milk. I cringe & try to avoid it, knowing that Target has shipped that milk across the country from some horrid factory farm, when cows are making better milk in the next town over!

[KAnn]

Thanks so much for these links! I missed this thread....I have been a vegetarian for 25+ years, but just began examining dairy the past few. With all my concerns about animals and personal health, this is a new viewpoint that may appeal to a larger audience.