Wednesday, 20 January 2016 11:41

Save the planet, eat meat

Written by Rural News Group

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

The Hound had a bit of a giggle when he saw a recent US study that reveals a diet heavy in some fruit and vegetables does the planet more harm than eating meat.

The study, published in the Environment Systems and Decisions journal, flies in the face of recent calls for humans to reduce meat consumption in a bid to help stem climate change. So just when we are told by tree huggers that eating truckloads of vegetables is the best way to help the environment, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have found lettuce was "over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon". The research group studied the impact per calorie of different foods against energy costs, water usage and emissions.

More like this

New Rural Recycling Scheme to Replace Voluntary Farm Plastics Programmes by 2027

Environment Minister Nicola Grigg has announced details of a new rural plastics recycling scheme.

Almond Hulls Trialled to Cut Dairy Cow Emissions in NZ

Almond hulls sourced from Australian orchards may have the potential to help New Zealand cows reduce emissions, boost milk yield and lower input costs.

New Rural Recycling Scheme to Boost Farm Plastic Recovery

The Government is introducing a new nationwide rural recycling scheme that will significantly increase the recovery of farm plastics from March next year, Minister for the Environment Nicola Grigg announced today.

Ballance Farm Environment Awards Launch on West Coast

The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.

Fonterra's New Roadmap Targets Climate, Nature, Animals

Climate, nature and animal wellbeing make up Fonterra's refreshed sustainability roadmap released last week.

Featured

LIC Elects New Board Member, Reports Strong FY25/26 Result

LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.

Southland Farmers Face Wet Weather Toll, Support Available

Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.

Feds Welcomes Labour Party Support For Sharemilking Law Review

Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.

How Wearable Tech Powers This 1,850-Cow Dairy Farm

For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.

Fonterra FY26 Results: $9.69 Milk Price, $3.4bn Profit

Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.

New Dairy Welfare Code Released, Takes Effect 2027

The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.