New research from Carnegie Mellon University has found that eating lettuce is three times worse in greenhouse emissions than eating bacon.
Paul Fischbeck, professor of social and decision science said, “lots of common vegetables require more resources per calorie than you would think. Eggplant, celery and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or chicken.”
The results come from a study conducted by Fischbeck and fellow professor Chris Hendrickson in which the research team examined the food supply chain to determine how the obesity epidemic in the US affects the environment. Ph.D. student Michelle Tom was also an integral part of the study.
They examined how growing, processing and transporting food impacts the energy use, water use and GHG emissions.
The study found that sticking to a recommended diet of more fruit, vegetables, dairy and seafood is the most harmful to the environment. If everyone were to adopt the dietary plan as outlined by the US department of Agriculture, the study found that energy use would increase by 38%, water use by 10% and GHG emissions by 6%.
Results suggest that getting your weight under control by consuming fewer calories would have a positive effect on the environment.
“There’s a complex relationship between diet and the environment,” said Tom. “What is good for us health-wise isn’t always what’s best for the environment. That’s important for public officials to know and for them to be cognizant of these tradeoffs as they develop or continue to develop dietary guidelines in the future.”
