Source record
Environmental footprints of beef cattle production in the United States
C. Alan Rotz et al. (2019).
Key findings
- US beef production: 21.3 ± 2.3 kg CO₂e per kg carcass weight at the farm gate.
Record
- Source type
- Peer Reviewed Study
- Study type
- Life Cycle Assessment
- Topics
- Climate & emissions
- Geography
- See study or jurisdiction in title
- Funding & conflicts
- Not recorded.
- Source quality
- Moderate evidenceImported from the dated research notes; original-source editorial verification remains pending.
Limitations
- Does not include all retail processing and distribution; carcass weight is not boneless retail weight.
Claims this source supports
EnvironmentStrong evidence
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.