Claim
Per gram of protein, beef from dedicated beef herds produces roughly 25 times the greenhouse gas emissions of tofu and 60 times those of pulses; the ratio to peas is over 100.
Beef is in a different league from plant proteins on emissions. Chicken and eggs sit in between.
Why this rating: The ranking is consistent across hundreds of life-cycle studies and the gaps are very large.
Supported by multiple systematic reviews or large, consistent studies using different methods, with few plausible alternative explanations.
Explanation
Comparing foods per 100 grams of protein is fairer than per kilogram, because it accounts for what the food actually delivers nutritionally.
On that basis beef sits far above every plant protein, with lamb, cheese and pork following, and chicken and eggs lower still.
Limitations
- Beef from dairy herds has a lower footprint than beef from dedicated beef herds because emissions are shared with milk.
Methodology
- Global averages from a meta-analysis of around 570 life-cycle studies, re-expressed per 100 g protein.
Sources for this claim
Each source links to our record of what it found, its limitations and what we used it for, with a link to the original.
- 1Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers
Joseph Poore, Thomas Nemecek (2018). Science.
Cite this record
Per gram of protein, beef from dedicated beef herds produces roughly 25 times the greenhouse gas emissions of tofu and 60 times those of pulses; the ratio to peas is over 100.. The Balance of Health. https://thebalanceofhealth.com/claims/beef-produces-far-more-emissions-than-plant-proteins