Beef impact low in Europe, highest in S America

[Bogweevil]

Climate change food calculator: What's your diet's carbon footprint?

Check the environmental impact of what you eat and drink.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Still Farming]

Whats their carbon footprints per burger ?

 

[deleted user 837354]

This assumes that the product is reared on deforested land.

That is no the case across all of South America. Some farmers keep their cattle on large tracts of Cerrado- natural grassland/savannah type landscapes where it would be similarly low-impact to a hillside in Devon or a range in Australia.

 

[kfpben]

The water use figure for Oceania is the definition of a meaningless average.

Waikato in New Zealand- masses of natural rainfall and year round grass growth.

Outback Australia- a searingly hot desert.
Both are in Oceania

Shows how really important details can get lost in averages.

 

[texelburger]

We seem to be missing a trick,emissions from Agriculture is relatively low compared to industry, transport such as flying ,cargo ships,lorries and cars and yet we seem to grab all the headlines.I also think any research that is published must ,by law,state who has funded it.Might make interesting reading.

 

[Still Farming]

This assumes that the product is reared on deforested land.

That is no the case across all of South America. Some farmers keep their cattle on large tracts of Cerrado- natural grassland/savannah type landscapes where it would be similarly low-impact to a hillside in Devon or a range in Australia.

Untill it goes on a plane or boat to get somewhere?

 

[deleted user 837354]

It is a load of nonsense because you can't draw conclusions from pieces of research that focus only on a single aspect or single system. The beef industry in most countries is as similarly complex as it is in the UK. In America you will have everything from a family farm who runs 1000 cattle on the prairie all year round to a feedlot in California that houses 120,000 cattle and feeds them on maize silage. A holistic view of an operation is needed because otherwise policy is misguided.

If the focus is put on carbon in the UK then it is possible that moves will be made to de-intensify the beef industry, which will mean a lot less beef from a lot more acres. You can argue the environmental impact of that either way in my view and the same would be the case in many other countries.

Lastly, I would question the majority view that agriculture is automatically a low carbon industry- is a shed full of 100,000 broilers low emissions? They produce ammonia and NOx by the truck load and consume vast quantities of feed daily no?

 

[Still Farming]

It is a load of nonsense because you can't draw conclusions from pieces of research that focus only on a single aspect or single system. The beef industry in most countries is as similarly complex as it is in the UK. In America you will have everything from a family farm who runs 1000 cattle on the prairie all year round to a feedlot in California that houses 120,000 cattle and feeds them on maize silage. A holistic view of an operation is needed because otherwise policy is misguided.

If the focus is put on carbon in the UK then it is possible that moves will be made to de-intensify the beef industry, which will mean a lot less beef from a lot more acres. You can argue the environmental impact of that either way in my view and the same would be the case in many other countries.

Lastly, I would question the majority view that agriculture is automatically a low carbon industry- is a shed full of 100,000 broilers low emissions? They produce ammonia and NOx by the truck load and consume vast quantities of feed daily no?

So many variables.
Like an accountant -put anything?
If grown,sold ,processed and public buy and eat local that's the best it can be.

 

[M-J-G]

Untill it goes on a plane or boat to get somewhere?

A plane yes, but large scale shipping is very efficient.

 

[Still Farming]

A plane yes, but large scale shipping is very efficient.

Yes .
Collectively, as per an individual item to all that the carbon footprint is high.
It's all to do with how it is calculated and way looked at.

 

[caveman]

A plane yes, but large scale shipping is very efficient.

What's the impact of building, suppling, running, handling, transporting, storing, maintaining, replacing all those chiller/freezer boxes?

 

[Still Farming]

What's the impact of building, suppling, running, handling, transporting, storing, maintaining, replacing all those chiller/freezer boxes?

There is thousands of ways to interpret what ever way you want too.

 

[M-J-G]

What's the impact of building, suppling, running, handling, transporting, storing, maintaining, replacing all those chiller/freezer boxes?

I'm not sure of that, I'm guessing that will be reflected by some extent in the cost of shipping which is pretty low.

I am always careful when it comes to using the carbon footprint of food from other countries as a marketing tool, mainly because it can often be be lower, making that a thread that I think is best not pulled.

 

[Still Farming]

Or turn blind eye too is it ??

 

[M-J-G]

Or turn blind eye too is it ??

Not at all, I'm just guessing that with all of our machinery, sheds etc. that we won't have a particularly good carbon rating when it comes to meat products, so it might not be the best idea for a marketing tool.

Best to be certain that you use the least criticised brand of soap before you stand on the soap box

 

[Still Farming]

Not at all, I'm just guessing that with all of our machinery, sheds etc. that we won't have a particularly good carbon rating when it comes to meat products, so it might not be the best idea for a marketing tool.

Best to be certain that you use the least criticised brand of soap before you stand on the soap box

Yes.
Some get green payments ,but burn 1000's ltrs diesel in process daft the lot of it?

 

[som farmer]

we are an east target, how much notice would they get if they told people to stop taking forieng holidays by plane ? they would be ignored !!!

 

[Still Farming]

we are an east target, how much notice would they get if they told people to stop taking forieng holidays by plane ? they would be ignored !!!

Or say that is private travel and does not apply ???