Vegetarian diet should be worse for the environment than meat?

Researchers see increased environmental pressures from vegetarian diets
Are vegetarians responsible for climate change? Could widespread vegetables harm our climate more than livestock and meat processing? Researchers now claim that lettuce is three times worse at damaging emissions than hams.

For a long time, meat production was accused of producing very high greenhouse gas emissions. Is it possible that conventional lettuce produces higher emissions and needs more resources per calorie? This question was now the researchers of "Carnegie Mellon University" after. The current results could surprise most people.

Vegetarian diets are associated with greater environmental impact than often suspected. (Image: lassedesignen / fotolia.com)

Many vegetables produce higher emissions than meat
The connection between our diet and the environment is extremely complex. Switching to a vegetarian diet might not be as beneficial to our environment as we had anticipated for years, the researchers said in the study. Many vegetables would require more resources per calorie and produce higher greenhouse gas emissions than some types of meat. In other words, a diet with more fruits and vegetables could make global warming faster. The results of their research published the physicians now in journal "Environment Systems and Decisions".

Healthy eating has drastic consequences for the environment
In their latest study, the scientists investigated how much greenhouse gas emissions are produced by the production of 1,000 calories in different foods. Eating lettuce in this regard is three times worse for emissions than eating ham, said Professor Paul Fischbeck, one of the study authors. The problem is that lettuce contains so few calories that a person would have to eat two complete iceberg salads to get close to the calorie intake of two ham sandwiches, the health professional added. In their study, the researchers examined the effects of food through cultivation, processing and transportation, food distribution and household storage. In addition, changes in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions were also measured.

Eating less calories, according to the researchers, is causing people to lose weight in general. For this reason, less energy and nine percent less water are used and produced less greenhouse gases. Nevertheless, according to the scientists, the negative impact on our environment is much greater. Because fruits, vegetables, dairy products and seafood contribute to a 38 percent increase in energy consumption. In addition, our water consumption increases by ten percent. Greenhouse gas emissions would rise by six percent, the researchers added.

New dietary guidelines should be developed
Many widespread vegetables require more resources per calorie than you think. Eggplants, celery and cucumbers, according to the latest study results, are doing particularly poorly compared to pork or chicken. What is better for our health, must not always be good for the environment, report Professor Fischbeck and colleagues. It was important to be aware of these facts and compromises had to be found as to how nutritional guidelines should be developed in the future, the researchers said. (As)