fun with environmentalism
How a Diet Like Homer Simpson’s Can Save the Planet
Donuts and beer have less of an environmental impact than beetroot and cottage cheese
The Economist just launched what they call their banana index. It compares the environmental impact of various foodstuffs using the humble banana as a reference point.
For instance, it shows that producing a kilogram of potatoes has only one tenth of the environmental impact of growing the same amount of bananas. Producing beef, on the other hand, has 100 times the environmental impact of bananas.
Of course, a kilogram of beef has a lot more protein than a kilogram of bananas. But they looked at that as well. Spoiler Alert — beef is still bad for the planet even when you factor in protein and calorie count.
So far, so obvious.
But where did they get the data?
You know how when you buy something at the grocery store, there’s a list of ingredients on the label? Well, the boffins at Arkansas State University worked out the calorie count, amount of protein, and carbon footprint for more than 57,000 of these ingredients. Then they scratched their heads, did some math, and wrote a paper.
