Low-Energy Fridays: Happy Independence Day!
We hope you are all having a happy Independence Day! We have a fun cookout-related fact to share: Did you know that U.S. beef is among the least emission-intensive cattle meat in the world?
CO₂e in Cattle Meat Production
| Production (metric tons of meat) | Emission Intensity (kg CO₂e/kg meat) | |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 12,357,232 | 13.54 |
| Brazil | 10,100,000 | 39.99 |
| European Union | 6,923,681 | 17.96 |
| China | 6,721,394 | 19.59 |
| India | 2,516,140 | 100.87 |
Source: “Emission Intensities,” United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics, 2020. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/EI. Source: R Street Policy Study No. 289
The emission intensity of U.S. beef production is also declining, as noted in an excellent analysis from The Breakthrough Institute, which found a decrease of 38 percent from 1961 to 2022.
(Don’t worry, vegetarian friends—the United States is still climate-friendly in other food production as well.)
We hope that our readers celebrating ‘Murica with their cookouts today chalk this up as another win for the Red, White, and Blue.