# 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
Canonical: https://thebalanceofhealth.com/claims/beef-produces-far-more-emissions-than-plant-proteins
Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## status

reviewed

## id

claim-beef-emissions-vs-plants

## slug

beef-produces-far-more-emissions-than-plant-proteins

## statement

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.

## shortAnswer

Beef is in a different league from plant proteins on emissions. Chicken and eggs sit in between.

## pillarIds

- environment

## topicIds

- climate

## keyStatisticId

stat-ghg-beef-per-100g-protein

## 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.

## rating

### strength

strong

### rationale

The ranking is consistent across hundreds of life-cycle studies and the gaps are very large.

## sourceIds

- src-poore-nemecek-2018

## 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.

## Original sources

## title

Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers

## url

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216

## doi

10.1126/science.aaq0216

## canonical

https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/poore-nemecek-2018-reducing-food-environmental-impacts

## status

reviewed