Beyond the Bite

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, July 8th, 2026. Food can bring communities together, create identity for different cultures, and satisfy an intense craving. Within the broader category of food, meat is one of the main highlights of a healthy and balanced meal. There are so many different types of meat that all have distinct flavors. In reality, not all meat is equal and these differences between meats go far beyond the flavor. Just as flavor differs between beef, chicken, and pork; the environmental impacts of raising and producing meat differs. In today’s edition of the Environmental Edit, we will discuss the environmental effects of different meats from the perspective of an “expert” (in today’s case: a pollotarian).

Before we dive into the specific types of meat it is important to go over the broader environmental effects on raising meat (it may surprise you how much this affects your very own community).

One of the many environmental impacts is the impact that raising cattle has when storms come along. Livestock protein production creates localized issues with manure management. Manure contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and bacteria that can be washed into local water streams with runoff from farm fields. This further leads to local water impairment and lifeless aquatic ecosystems. Manure can also impact us humans when manure leaks directly into underground aquifers. This can pose a direct threat to community members who source water directly from private wells.

To raise animals (ethically) lots of land is required. In fact, at least one acre of land is required to raise just one cow—to put into perspective, there is estimated to be about 1.25 billion cows in the world! Land for raising animals is a leading drive of deforestation in places where forests are cleared to create grazing fields for livestock. Raising proteins on these large amounts of land have an indirect relationship to their proportionate production. Raising livestock accounts for roughly 75% of global agricultural land despite producing less than 20% of the world's food calories.

Raising livestock on large amounts of land is a major environmental threat even when done ethically. Unfortunately, there are prevalent unethical practices for raising livestock, specifically Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Within these facilities animals are treated horribly: they are crammed with hundreds of other animals, hidden from natural light, and fed artificial grains. So, while CAFOs take up less land, they are a disgrace of humanity.

With livestock constantly being raised and killed, the entire process produces lots of gases. Methane from enteric fermentation (cow burps), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, and carbon dioxide from land clearing.

When it comes to raising different types of animals not all animals are equal in their environmental impact. To example this we will focus on the carbon cost in ounces of different proteins. As you can see by the chart above, beef is the worst option by far—producing 272.5 oz of carbon for just 0.69 oz of protein. On the contrary chicken is very efficient in that it only produces 48.03 oz of carbon for 0.71 oz of protein.  Earlier, I had mentioned that this topic would be credible since it comes from an “expert”. Well, that “expert” and pollotarian is me. A pollotarian is one that only eats poultry and no other meat. My decision to become a pollotarian came a few years ago after I learned about the environmental effects of raising and producing different meats.

To stay on topic with livestock, the heatwave that has been present all throughout Europe and the United States is killing our poor chickens. The recent heatwave—which highlighted the effects of global climate change—killed one third of a flock of chickens in France. Chickens are unable to sweat and are covered in feathers, so when it gets extremely hot, they start to pant. Panting leaves them dehydrated and snapped on energy; killing them. These chickens were meant to die for food purposes, unfortunately, they died because of climate change. This highlights a devastating full-circle moment; raising livestock accelerates climate change and the livestock are dying because of climate change.

Which potent greenhouse gas is released primarily through cattle burps (enteric fermentation)?

A. Methane

B. Carbon Dioxide

C. Oxygen

D. Nitrous Oxide

Correct answer at the end of the newsletter!

The most logically way to address this issue is to cut out meat from your diet. However, to address the elephant in the room, Americans like meat—a lot. To protect our environment and satisfy your cravings designate a couple of nights per week for a full-vegetarian meal. Another option is to cut out beef from your diet as often as possible—as it is the least efficient meat by far. When deciding between meats always remember that eating chicken is the most sustainable meat of all. It is always a better option to obtain protein from plants. Plants are consumed directly so they avoid the energy loss that occurs when calories are cycled through an animal. Plants also do not produce greenhouse gases; in fact, they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Additionally, transitioning from livestock to plant protein can significantly free up agricultural land which can be reforested to naturally sequester carbon dioxide and mitigate climate change.

Now that you know why there are more and more vegetarians, vegans, pollotarins, and pescatarians everyday it’s time for you to join the fun! The answer was A. Don’t forget to share this newsletter with friends and family to help build a sustainable future; just think of all of the possibilities if we free up all that agricultural land! That will wrap up this week’s edition of The Environmental Edit. Have an amazing rest of your week and maybe change those dinner plans for tonight!