Re:Organic food worse for the climate
by mark_l_watson on Friday December 14, 2018 @07:55AM
(#18680465)
Sure, the article makes a good point on land use, but two things bother me here: 1) I think that people who favor organic food tend to eat less meat or are vegetarians or vegans. Don;t forget that a predominantly meat diet uses an order of magnitude more energy and water compared to vegetarian. 2) I think people should have the personal freedom to decide on organic vs. non-organic and on whether they eat meat. However, I dislike the huge US government subsidies for meat production: people should pay the real production costs for meat (I eat meat sometimes, full disclosure).
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Don't forget that a predominantly meat diet uses an order of magnitude more energy and water compared to vegetarian.
The articles does cover that as aspect well
“The type of food is often much more important. For example, eating organic beans or organic chicken is much better for the climate than to eat conventionally produced beef,”
Re:Organic food worse for the climate
by toasterlovin on Friday December 14, 2018 @10:46AM
(#18681602)
Plants have a 50x range in the amount of calories they provide per unit of resources. Grains, starches, and legumes are generally less resource intensive than meat. But most meats are less resource intensive than leafy greens and fruits.
If you want to lessen the environmental impact of your diet, then you need to optimize cost, not simply exclude animal flesh.