News
A Revolution With Beans
Beans are a good source of protein, and if people in the United States would all eat more of them instead of beef, greenhouse gas emissions would be dramatically cut, according to research by a team of American universities.
The team headed, by Helen Harwatt from Loma Linda University, came to the conclusion that if Americans switched out beef for beans, the U.S. would "immediately realise approximately 50 to 75 percent of its GHG reduction targets for the year 2020."
Beef is the most greenhouse intensive food to produce, partly because the tremendous resources needed to sustain cattle. The production of beans creates about one-40th of the greenhouse gas. The study also suggests that the U.S. could achieve more than half of its greenhouse gas reduction goals "without imposing any new standards on automobiles."
Giving up beef entirely may not be for everyone. However, choosing to eat bean-based meals more often while eating fewer beef-based meals could be a great way to start a drastic reduction in beef consumption.
By starting to replace beef with beans, or even other plant-based foods, we can not only reduce greenhouse gasses, but we can make better use of land. The researchers also found that "substituting beans for beef would free up 42 percent of U.S. cropland currently under cultivation — a total of 1.65 million square kilometres or more than 400 million square acres, which is approximately 1.6 times the size of the state of California."
The team headed, by Helen Harwatt from Loma Linda University, came to the conclusion that if Americans switched out beef for beans, the U.S. would "immediately realise approximately 50 to 75 percent of its GHG reduction targets for the year 2020."
Beef is the most greenhouse intensive food to produce, partly because the tremendous resources needed to sustain cattle. The production of beans creates about one-40th of the greenhouse gas. The study also suggests that the U.S. could achieve more than half of its greenhouse gas reduction goals "without imposing any new standards on automobiles."
Giving up beef entirely may not be for everyone. However, choosing to eat bean-based meals more often while eating fewer beef-based meals could be a great way to start a drastic reduction in beef consumption.
By starting to replace beef with beans, or even other plant-based foods, we can not only reduce greenhouse gasses, but we can make better use of land. The researchers also found that "substituting beans for beef would free up 42 percent of U.S. cropland currently under cultivation — a total of 1.65 million square kilometres or more than 400 million square acres, which is approximately 1.6 times the size of the state of California."