Greening Of Meat Production

The New York Times reports that farmers in the Netherlands are making headway in reducing greenhouse gasses from the production of meat. According to the article over 18 percent of harmful gasses are caused by meat production. More than by cars, buses and trucks. This article adds some hope that through new methods we might still be able to enjoy our hamburgers with careful planning and management of feeds, waste disposal and limiting the cutting down of forests for grazing. Check out the article at www.nytimes.com. The photo is from the New York Times.

Green Hamburger?

Is their such a thing as a green hamburger? Recently I was involved in launching a line of cubicles that are green. I never thought I would say that. So why not a green hamburger?

Looking on google for a green hamburger doesn't yield much. There is an article on treehugger.com that looks into the carbon footprint of a burger. It is not pretty. To put this in perspective, the average American eats three hamburgers per week! That produces enough carbon as more than 7,500 S.U.V.s.

Much of this is due to the feed produced to raise a pound of beef. Also, the 600 liters of methane per day that a cow belches is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas according to Thomas Freidman in "Hot, Flat and Crowded", his excellent book on the coming green revolution.

But like the green cube, I am committed to either finding or creating a green burger. Certainly grass-fed locally produced beef is a start. Burger Joint and Burger Meister in San Francisco move in this direction with "naturally fed" beef from local sources. I reviewed Burger Joint and reviewed Burger Meister previously. But naturally fed probably also means grain fed. So I will be keeping an eye out for grass fed, locally grown beef. We will see if it tastes as good and if it costs anywhere near a traditionally produced burger.

If you know of any green burgers, let me know. We will continue our search for the World's Best Burger.

SRK