Is climate-friendly beef even a possibility?

In today’s Big Story Podcast, if you know one food that’s bad for the planet, it’s probably beef. It’s one of the worst polluters in the entire food industry, and its popularity means the scale of the beef industry is enormous. So much so that convincing people to give up beef has been a staple of the climate movement.

But people who like beef don’t want to forego their steaks and hamburgers, so one of the world’s largest producers is now selling “climate-friendly” beef, and it’s been USDA approved.

Kenny Torrella is a staff reporter at Vox. In the United States, Torrella said the carbon footprint per pound of beef is lower due to improvements made in the supply chain.

“Even though we’ve taken those efforts and made those strides, you could still argue that beef is essentially the coal of the food sector,” said Torrella. 

So how “friendly” is it? Is it enough to offset the damage? And will we ever be able to enjoy both prime rib and a stable climate future?

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