Maybe because so much of it comes from New Zealand? (I suspect that locally-raised lamb doesn't leave such a large carbon footprint)

I try only to buy meat that was raised locally, but cheese...I had no idea! shucks.

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It might also be that cheese picks up some of the cow emissions. Even though dairy cows aren't raised the same way, the feed and some of the drugs are likely to be similar. Plus shipping and processing/pasteurizing.

Aww man. Not cheese now too! :( Bummer.

My area has a lot of local sheep ranches yet the grocery stores around here all carry lamb from New Zealand. The local lamb is half the price of the imported stuff (if you know where to buy it) but the stores won't carry the local meat. How dumb is that?

The graph is kind of deceptive because it is comparing equal weights (4 oz) where we usually consume foods in unequal portions. Milk is listed as 0.4 miles, yogurt as 0.6 miles and cheese as 3.4 miles. Using standard portion sizes, an 8 oz serving of milk would be 0.8 miles, 8 oz of yogurt would be 1.2 miles, and a 1.5 oz serving of cheese would be 1.3 miles, not as big of a difference.

I agree with mschatelaine.. Look at cheese labels before you buy! Sooo much of it comes from overseas! ...I wonder if they took into consideration ALL cheese, or just domestic cheese, because there are those cheese connoisseurs out there who buy the super aged cheese from super far away, and that certainly has a big footprint (I'm guilty of getting those cheeses sometimes too unfortunately).

Of course, we could research alternative fuels, production methods, etc. and still enjoy our meat.

This really feels like a bit of a copout to try and push vegetarianism. How about comparing something with more equivalency, like carbon/KCal? I know that 4 oz. of lentils is not going to fill me up like 4 oz. of grass-fed beef.

Eye opening for sure but what hits home for me is that making the concerted effort to cut out these things once or twice a week makes such a large impact. I'll never give up cheese or meat entirely but we have many more meatless meals/days than we used to. Over time, little efforts do add up.

While I agree with the study's general conclusions, I think @katilan is right about the comparison methodology. It uses "per kilo of food consumed" which doesn't match with actual consumption patterns. It would be better if the comparisons were standardized as per calorie or per serving.

i never even thought about this when i really cut down on meat. it was mostly weight loss/budget cuts related. this is a nice side effect though.

i live very near an independent farm/butcher shop, so i've been getting a lot of our beef from there. i wish this was an option for more people.

It's unclear to me if the methodology would hold for beef in the US. Typically, beef is fed on range land and then finished off in feed lots after reaching a certain size. I see confined feeding applying to only a limited portion of the beef life cycle unless looking at veal. I'm not familiar with lamb, but would assume similar practices based on the large NZ stations (ranches) and seeing pastured sheep in the US.

I guess the cheese makes sense, since you need the cattle to get the milk to make the cheese, so I guess it would include all of that cattle grazing in the process? Maybe the only reason it's not as bad as beef is because milking a cow doesn't kill it?

Yes I struggle to see how this study would stack up in locally raised and grown setting. In Portland, we can regularly purchase cheese directly from the farmer, who uses their local pasture to feed the animals, and also opts for the solar power energy offered by PGE.... I have trouble understanding how the footprint would be so large. I wish they'd given real examples, and more data to support the argument. It behooves studies like point out that there are two arguments to be made, purchase local & Organic whenever possible, even when purchasing locally investigate the practices of the people you regularly purchase from, and of course eat less meat. It's better for your health, and nicer to the environment.

I've been reading Apartment Therapy for awhile and finally signed up just so I can post a comment on this. Everyone needs to wake up to all the myths about dairy. I'm so happy this study finally revealed that cheese is just as bad as meat when it comes to its environmental impact! Vegetarians think they are not supporting animal cruelty by not eating meat but dairy is a direct link to the meat industry. This is why I have been vegan for 3 years now and have never felt better. Dairy cows are raised in the same disgusting, overcrowded conditions as cows are in slaughterhouses. We are not doing them a favor by milking them either, they are mammals just like us and only produc milk when pregnant. Therefore they are kept pregnant for as much of their lives as possible and their ofspring are either sentenced to the same hell as they are if they are female or sent to veal crates if they are males. Once they are too sick to produce anymore more milk which is usually in only about a few short years, they are sent to be slaughtered. Why does nobody get this? Dairy is just as bad as meat but people are only just now waking up to how horrible meat is for our bodies and the environment, so I guess it will take awhile for everyone to see that dairy is just as bad.

So how many carbon offsets do I need to buy to enjoy a cheeseburger now?

Matt Yglesias had a great post on this, where he noted that while lamb has a higher footprint per ounce, it's also much more expensive than beef. So if you have a fixed meat budget, it's not clear which one is better for the environment.

Huh. I generally try to buy local cheese just to support local industry, but it's nice to know there's a side perk to that habit.

Although I *refuse* to give up the California made Humbert Fog! :P It's expensive enough that I can't buy it all the time anyway.

@GoVeg: I usually try not to be inflammatory, but I feel that this is an important topic. I fail to see where you make the leap from carbon footprint to animal cruelty. I, for instance, buy my meats from local sources where I know the animals have been treated well. The chickens are cageless (and not just label-wise, which means nothing), the cows are grass-fed pasture cows, etc. Should I refuse to purchase Mr. Tudor's meats because his animals produce waste and he uses gas to drive to the farmer's market?

I also have contention with your notion that meat is bad for the body. Meat is, hands down, the best source of good fats and proteins. Eaten with a healthy supply of good vegetables and fruits, a diet centered on meat is optimal for maintaining physical fitness and form. I exercise regularly, and in order to get the amount of protein my body requires from vegan sources would be impossible. While not everyone requires my protein intake, it is hard to argue, for instance, that beans can be substituted for meat: beans contain large volumes of carbohydrates that get stored as adipose tissue if not burned quickly, while meat contains fats that get broken down slowly.

Personally, I feel as though the worst offenders of the farming world are the mass-producers of subsidized corn, wheat, and potatoes that get processed down into empty calorie foods, unnatural vegetable oils, processed sugars and starches, etc. that are pushing the obesity epidemic.

All in all, this is just my opinion, but I wanted to present a contrasting point of view for those interested.

Interesting points from both GoVeg and scotchncoffee. I have personal experience with a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and weight lifting. It is tough. Very tough. But I don't eat mammals (I'm more flexible when it comes to poultry and fish). I've started sipping protein drinks (totally not sustainable!) on my lifting days. Veggies are totally awesome, but it's hard to build muscle on veggie protein alone.

I think that if you are really committed to planning your diet and making the right protein and carbohydrate combinations you can easily get all the needed amino acids from plant sources. There are many body builders who are vegan and obviously have no problem building muscle on this diet. but when it comes to buying local and organic meat and dairy i think this is an exception to what the whole point of this study is. the majority of Americans are not buying their food from these farms so that is beside the point. And animal cruelty goes hand in hand with what this study is talking about. The reason that this industry is causing so much environmental damage is because of the huge amounts of animals that are being raised in very small quarters, which causes a huge amount of waste to be produced in one area. This causes a lot of environmental damage to the water and soil as well as the air and atmosphere in these areas where the animals are being raised. And because there are so many of them crowded into one place they are not living a very good life and are constantly sick and fed huge amounts of antibiotics to keep them alive. Which is another reason I believe meat and dairy is wrecking our health as a country because we are consuming so many antibiotics we don't need not to mention all the growth hormones they give them. There are so many negative sides to the animal agriculture industry that I really don't see how anyone can continue to want to support that.

@GoVeg: I see your point about the connection between mass animal farms and carbon footprint. This bridge was missing from your original post. Thanks! I think we are in agreement, then, over mass animal farms.

I still stick to my guns over meat being good for you. I went vegetarian with my only dairy as milk for a while, and the excess carbohydrates I got from plant protein sources required me to put in hours of body-damaging, intense cardio. Now I eat a high fat, high protein diet and the going is much easier: I do cardio only a couple times a week.

In the end, my big point was to demonize Monsanto-style corn and grain producers. Its this subsidized mass farming in general (not just meat) that is the real problem. What feeds all those mass animal farms, anyway? Corn.

Thanks for the food for thought,
scotchncoffee

@GoVeg

Most veal is not kept in boxes.Where do you live and get your information about livestock farming?

Most veal is immature MALE dairy livestock.

Milk is manslaughter.Sorry vegans.If you can't eat a cow,I agree with GoVeg,you have no 'right' or business eating milk products.

I am also sick of vegans supporting and encouraging commercial farming of any kind.It's all nasty any way you cut it.If you have issues with any segment of the industry,not eating milk products isn't going to help future generations.Good luck with that.

Not eating meat doesn't make people saints.Vegans are living in the same world as everybody else.Though they have been 'tricked' by the same consumer society as everyone else,into thinking they are making a difference.Lobby groups and advertising dollars will make your decisions,regarding the food on your table ,for you.As they always have.

How about the migrant slave labour used to harvest your food?Care to do anything for them.I didn't think so.

Food IS cheap.So cheap,in fact,that many people haven't a clue how to prepare and store it,never mind where it comes from.

I would like to second scotchandcoffee's remarks about Monsanto, and also hello123's remark that food is so cheap that people don't know what to do with it (storage, preparation, etc). I never made that connection, but it makes so much sense. Thank you.

Bless every person here for avoiding the seemlingly inevitable denier claims. Yay! Now onto the real topic. I understand all the cheese / beef etc points, but only one small side of the story is being told here. Deforestation not only destroys trees (that are crucial for absorbing CO2) but also can cause peat bogs to release methand (short acting, but think feedback effect). So add to this list: palm oil, corn, tea, sun-grown coffee and any other product that requires monoculutre destroying the soil and tons of deforestation. Solution: a varied diet, and knowing where your food comes from.

Methane, not methand. Sorry.

OMG! @Emmi

All commodities traded on the world markets.

Our food is our politics.We ARE what we eat.

Good to see other people with the same ideas. Unfortunately, as long as commercial farming produces cheaper products than local farming, most people aren't going to care that they are eating inferior, environmentally-damaging, soil-ruining junk. It saddens me to know that today's veggies are physically less nutritious than yesteryear's. While modern medicine may be prolonging our lives, we certainly aren't getting any healthier during those years.

I eat local farmed lamb (I'm in Australia so that's as easy as throwing a rock). I think that is probably less carbon foot print than eating turkey, here, as turkey would be imported massive distances - often from the US. I would not eat lamb nearly as much in the US, partly because it'd still be coming from AUS/NZ.

I don't drive, live in small apartments, have energy saving lighting and appliances, recycle and don't buy plastic whenever possible. I rarely ever fly, maybe 5 times in 50 years. I buy antique furniture whenever possible. I will eat whatever I like when I want it without guilt over it's carbon footprint. When it comes to food the only thing that counts for me is it's quality and presentation.

@Hello123 - yes, hopefully more people will connect with the anti-lawn movement and grow their own food! (And hopefully not get arrested like that poor woman recently) :(

@Goveg - I so agree with you about veal and livestock being bad for the land. I have to tell you though, there is more to nutrition than simply eating the right foods. There are 2 other elements called absorption and bioavailability. I'll use myself as an example, I was a vegetarian for 20 years until I became allergic to wheat. Absorbing enough iron and other nutrients is nearly impossible sometimes. I eat meat for my health - sparingly, but still. I eat it. I don't know many vegetarians at all or vegans who have actually tried a gluten free, vegan diet, but I'd challenge any critics to try it first. Anyway - reducing meat is great. But quitting is nearly impossible for some people, if they want to sleep less than 14 hours a day.

I meant to say, veal being cruel. Sorry. Long day. ;)

Organic turkey....there's another commercial farmed animal that isn't living the life of Riley.Organic farmers,all farmers,buy them from hatcheries then grow them out.A crueler or more heavy carbon footprint we won't likely see.The industry has to use artificial insemination to breed them and most livestock.Knowing how an animal is bred should be a prerequisite for anyone considering an organic purchase.Who is advertising 'organic' breeding?

I would urge people to apply this thought and fact,to any organic meat purchase.Raising it with an environmentally low imprint,does not organic make.As far as I'm concerned.

Want to see a true organic turkey?Check out a field during turkey hunting season.Only starving Pilgrims would bother with them.

@Emmi I'm all over growing in my front yard,on one of the busiest streets in Canada.So far...so good.People have been admiring and interested.Though it has taken a far share of work to make it 'pleasing' to the eye and not contaminated by the road.

I also work in a hospital part time.Yes...Drs are prolonging our lives.Statistically we are living longer and healthier.At a certain point that stops being true.If your taking life saving meds for 30 years,as many people will and do, disease 'gets' you later than sooner.

Buying local means leaving a smaller carbon footprint.It doesn't mean the food is any better.Organic isn't a 'get out of jail free card' for anyone.That's the problem for our modern society.We want absolution and it isn't coming anytime soon.It won't be had for anyone.

Starving humanity doesn't help the animals or the environment.Fair trade.....how is it fair when it exploits the hunger and labour of our fellow man.It's not fair to buy 'fair trade' coffee from a farmer that can't afford to buy their own produce.How insulting....and then criticize how they treat their mule.Who's the real ass here?I suppose it takes one to know one.

I don't believe I said that veal cows were raised in boxes, if I did I phrased that wrong and only meant that they live in cages so small they can't move or turn around, sorry about the confusion. And I am with everyone who is talking about the problems that Monsanto has caused and the huge mass production of corn and soy. Our whole agricultural sytem is completely destroyed and I'm not saying I'm only against the meat and dairy industry, they are right up there with the corn industry in my personal opinion. By focusing on consuming foods in their wholest form and avoiding as many processed and packaged foods as possible I feel better ethically that I am not supporting these huge corporations by not buying their products. Many people don't seem to make the connection when it comes to the fact that you are supporting everything these companies are doing by choosing to spend your money on what they are supplying. If we stopped supporting them then they would be forced to change to meet the demands of what the people actually want. It's just a matter of getting everyone to come together and understand this so the future of our food can be changed. And I definitely support everyone choosing to grow their own food! This is the best solution to the problem because then you can feed yourself and know what's going into your food. So bravo to everyone doing that!