As the sun and the heat loom on the horizon, you decide to prepare a meal on your barbecue. If foods containing animal protein – like meat – are the ones with the heaviest environmental impact, how do they compare to the vegetables that accompany them?
Slide the foods of your choice onto the grid to compare their carbon footprint.
Obviously, the amount of GHG emitted by meat – particularly beef – takes a considerable place in the menu of a summer barbecue, while the environmental impact of a menu emphasizing vegetables and tofu is turns out to be much lower.
For proof: it will be necessary to grill 4 peppers to be equivalent to the emissions of a pork chop from Quebec. And to emit the same amount of GHGs as a serving of beef, it would even take 12 peppers – or 16 ears of corn. Or 31 half-packs of tofu.
The Sustainable Compass team, the research program of the International Reference Center for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG), estimates that meat and fish represent 36% of the carbon footprint of Quebecers, while they represent only 7% of the plate.
Conversely, fruits and vegetables, which account for 19% of the food purchased, produce only 9% of the GHGs linked to our food.
There are no comprehensive data on emissions associated with the production of many foods in Canada. The duty was based on the calculations of researchers in the United Kingdom to estimate the emissions associated with the production of vegetables, and on an American study for those of tofu. The data on Quebec meat emissions come from the Quebec Consumption Life Cycle Inventory Database (2020) produced by the International Reference Center on the Life Cycle of Products (CIRAIG), associated with the Polytechnic School.
The most ecological grill
Explore types of barbecues to compare the carbon footprint of using them.
In general, charcoal is the fuel that emits the most GHGs, far ahead of propane gas. To reduce its ecological footprint as much as possible, the use of an electrical device is to be preferred, since it emits only a tiny fraction of the GHGs produced by the combustion of coal or gas.
There are few reliable data on the emissions of the different barbecue models, and calculations of the To have to are based on several consumption estimates which may vary depending on the size of the grill to be made. A big family meal, for example, will require more use of the barbecue, more fuel, and will generate more emissions as a result. A Swiss study, for example, arrived at a figure for GHG emissions 40% higher than our estimates.
Fuel consumption for grilling has been calculated based on 30 minutes of use (including preheating), which requires burning approximately 1.5 kg of charcoal or 0.55 L of propane gas, according to estimates by Julie Labonté, owner of BBQ Labonté, in Drummondville.
These data were deemed credible by Louise Hénault-Ethier, professor at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS). The emissions generated are calculated from the database published by Transition Énergétique Québec.
Beef: the biggest polluter
Select the meat of your choice to calculate its CO emissions2 and the liters of water needed to produce it.
Alternatives for a “sustainable” diet
In order to limit the rise in global temperature, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stresses the need to change our diet in order to transition to a “sustainable” diet. Among other words, we will have to significantly reduce our consumption of meat and other animal products.
For Carole-Anne Lapierre, agronomist at Équiterre, it is not a question of drastically cutting her meat consumption to make a difference. “We don’t need a minority of people who become perfectly vegan, we need a majority of people who will go where they are most comfortable on the transition continuum. [vers un régime végétal]“, she argues.
On one side of the spectrum described by the expert, we would find people consuming meat at every meal, and on the other, people who have adopted a vegan diet. “In between, there are lots of things we can do, like meatless Mondays,” she gives as an example.
“Afterwards, I am not saying that meat should be stopped, also nuance Dominique Maxime, researcher at CIRAIG. I always think of the agricultural world, of the producers. Quitting red meat, which is often put forward, overnight is probably not a good idea.
He believes that consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint can certainly reduce their meat consumption, but also think about eating a little less in general. He also suggests substituting some of the beef consumed with pork or chicken, to start with.
According to the calculations of To have to, a meal consisting of a single Quebec beef steak cooked on a propane grill emits up to 10 kilograms of CO2 equivalent. If we replaced this amount of meat with chicken, the emissions would drop to 2.21 kilograms of CO2 equivalent. Reported on the number of kilometers traveled by car, this difference is equivalent to that between a journey of 60.6 kilometers and a journey of 13.4 kilometers.
For her part, Carole-Anne Lapierre observes that a “transfer” from beef to chicken has already begun on the menu of many. “It may be less true during barbecue season, but for health reasons, we have already started to make the transition, and it is also beneficial for GHGs,” she recalls.