Environmental Group Wants Cut in Cheese, Meat Consumption
July 18/Washington/Huffington Post -- A report published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization, claims to provide a comprehensive "cradle-to-grave" assessment of 20 popular protein-packed foods. The group took into account the environmental impact of production, processing, transportation, cooking and waste (20% of edible meat winds up in landfills), before reaching a relatively familiar conclusion: people should eat less meat and dairy. In particular, the EWG points to lamb, beef, pork, cheese and farmed salmon as the protein-packed foods that take the largest toll on the environment.
“Although this issue has been reported on for a long time, Americans continue to have really high rates of meat consumption, particularly children,” said Kari Hamerschlag, senior analyst at EWG and author of the new report. "As a country, we're producing and consuming 60% more meat per person than Europeans.”