Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet

by Hannah Ritchie

The carbon footprint of meat – especially beef and lamb – really stood out. But it’s not just about climate change. Because food plays such a big role across many environmental issues, this single change has many positive spillovers. Whether it’s greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, or water pollution,ix the hierarchy is nearly always the same: beef and lamb are the worst, followed by dairy, pork, chicken, then plant-based foods such as tofu, peas, beans and cereals. This is true whether we compare them in kilograms, calories or protein. The differences here are not small. It’s not like we’re splitting hairs over using 100 metres squared of farmland rather than 99. It’s the difference between using 100 metres squared or 1. Literally 100 times the difference.