Your Meat Is Green: Tips for responsible carnivores
By Roxanne Webber

There is no getting around it: Meat production has a huge impact on the earth. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that the livestock sector is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally, and that it affects water quality and biodiversity. Here are some ways to help you make decisions about meat that take into account both the welfare of the animals and the health of the environment.

1. Learn to Cook. You’ll be able to efficiently use the meat you do buy, and avoid processed food and takeout. You can get a good start with The Silver Palate Cookbook, Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook, and The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

2. Buy Humanely Raised Meat. The recent investigation by the Humane Society of the United States showed the brutal conditions still in place at some factory slaughterhouses. A report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that raising animals on a pasture instead of a feedlot decreased soil erosion and water pollution, reduced the use of antibiotics, and improved animal health and welfare.

3. Purchase Meat with Less Packaging. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that for most of the developed world, “packaging constitutes as much as one-third” of nonindustrial solid waste. Meat packaging contributes Styrofoam trays, plastic wrap, and paper products. Choose to purchase from places—like a farmers’ market or a butcher—that wrap meat just in paper.

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