One person eating just one less 150g serve of red meat a week* for 12 months can save significant carbon pollution (our estimate is about 195kg) and approximately 10,000 litres of water over a year as well.
1. Most of us can increase the percentage of vegetables on our plates or enjoy some all-vegetable meals while maintaining a balanced diet.
2. Look for nutritious plant-based options you can substitute for meats such as beans, chickpeas and lentils, and also simple taste treats like grilled mushrooms instead of steak
3. Buy recipe books for vegetable dishes and salads and make the best of the taste treats on offer
4. Substitute white meat (chicken or pork) and seafood for red meats like beef and lamb for some meals
5. You may also want to try kangaroo, which can be harvested sustainably. Kangaroo is widely available in supermarkets now and has much lower carbon footprint than other red meats
6. When buying red meat, look out for range-fed or grass-fed and organic labels. These will tend to have lower overall carbon pollution than grain-fed feedlot meat
7. On the take-away front, try to cut back on burgers and opt for salad options
8. Talk to others in your household about how you are incorporating CO2 pollution reduction into your diet and encourage them to join in (the more delicious your alternative meals look and taste, the keener they'll be, so make this an opportunity to develop your cooking skills and range).
*We recommend that anyone considering changing their diet should conduct their own dietary research and also seek appropriate medical or other professional advice to ensure they are making healthy food choices with the required nutritional balance. It should be noted, for example, that pregnant and breast-feeding women typically need to increase nutrient intake in key areas including dietary calcium and iron; and also that health authorities have a more general concern about the dietary calcium iron intakes of women in Australia and New Zealand.
The Department of Health and Aging , NHMRC 2003, Food for Health: Australian Dietary Guidelines for Australian adults says it is currently recommended that women who are between 19 and 60 plus have one serve of meat, fish, poultry & alternatives; who are pregnant, have two serves; and who are breastfeeding have one and a half serves. A serve is defined as one of the following: Meat, fish, poultry & alternatives; 65-100gm cooked meat/chicken (e.g. ½ cup mince/2 small chops/2 slices roast meat); 80-120g cooked fish fillet; or, as an alternative try 2 small eggs, a 1/2 cup cooked dried beans, lentils, chickpeas, split peas or canned beans, or 1/3 cup peanuts/almonds.
Another source of information is the National Health and Medical Research Council at this link http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/publications/synopses/nrvqa.pdf
Why is it important?
The average cow produces about 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its life, mainly in methane burps (it's true), which is more than running a medium-sized car for a year. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas pollutant, with about 21 times the impact of CO2 on the problem of global warming leading to climate change.
Balancing meat meals with vegetable options can be part of a healthy diet for most people and can help your budget too!
NOTE: Our core carbon calculation for this activity is that each 1kg of grain-fed feedlot beef has about 25kg of CO2 pollution embedded in getting it to your barbecue or frying pan. That means about 3.75kg for each 150g serve. A larger 400g steak would be about 10kg of CO2 per serve.
1 Million Women has assigned a 'campaign carbon value' of 195kg a year for one person reducing beef consumption by the equivalent of a single 150g serve per week. This is a conservative interpretation of our research into the carbon savings available in this area, with other respected sources estimating savings at up to 300kg a year for one person cutting out a 150g serve of beef each week, plus about 10,000 litres of water.