18 Aug Emissions on farm vs off farm
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The Environmental Working Group breaks down the life cycle analysis of total greenhouse gas emissions for common protein foods and vegetables.
As expected, animal foods have significantly higher greenhouse gas emissions. Lamb, for example, has the highest because it generates methane through enteric fermentation and produces less edible meat relative to the sheep’s live weight. Most emissions from meat, dairy and fish occur during production. However, most emissions from plants are generated after crops leave the farm. This is primarily because of the energy needed to cook plant-based foods. For example, post-farmgate emissions account for 65% of dry beans’ total emissions and 59% of lentils’ total emissions.
This does not mean plant-based foods have greater net post-farmgate emissions. For example, 65% of dry bean’s emissions is post-farmgate, which equates to 1.3kgCO2e. On the other hand, while only 10% of beef’s emissions is post-farmgate, this is a larger total of 2.7kgCO2e. The key message is that the main sources of emissions vary among different foods, depending on production and food preparation methodology. This means it is inappropriate to only compare footprints at the production stage. A more holistic view of environmental impact is required for a fair comparison.
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Photo by Scott Goodwill on Unsplash
