Beef Patty Emits 6.8 kg CO2e, Topping Bratwurst by 5.5-to-1 in July 4 Guide
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 3
Beef Patty Emits 6.8 kg CO2e, Topping Bratwurst by 5.5-to-1 in July 4 Guide
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 3
Summary
A quarter-pound beef patty generates about 6.8 kilograms of CO2-equivalent, while an equally sized pork bratwurst produces a little over 1 kilogram, according to a New York Times July 4 climate guide.
That makes one burger roughly equal to 5.5 bratwursts on emissions alone, excluding buns, tomatoes and other toppings.
More than $1 billion of beef was bought by Americans for last year’s July 4 holiday, far exceeding spending on pork or chicken even as the guide says nearly every alternative looks better for the climate.
The comparison uses global median estimates from a meta-analysis of hundreds of food-production studies, and the paper notes beef emissions vary especially widely by source and production method.
U.S. and European beef — and meat from dairy cows at the end of their lives — tends to emit far less than beef raised on deforested Amazon land in South America.