Steak...chops...burgers...ribs. Mmmm. Give me a minute. I know I was going somewhere with this.

Now I remember! Many of us can relate to Bebbo's plight today. Meat tastes good. Very good. But the process that starts with finding suitable land and ends with a cut of meat is one that produces a lot of greenhouse gases. In fact, it looks like meat production is responsible for 18% of all anthropogenic carbon emissions—more than the 13% produced by all our cars, trucks, planes, et al.

Part of the problem is that a lot of forest land is cleared out to make room for livestock and for growing feed. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 70% of former forest cover in Latin America has been cleared away to accommodate grazing. All those trees used to absorb carbon dioxide and are now actually releasing it.

Of course, not everyone (particularly those responsible for producing meat) agrees. Is it possible that the issue is not meat production, nor even how much meat is produced, but rather HOW the process happens?

Here's some meaty information on the topic...

WWF report

Time Magazine

Britain's Lord Stern wants people to give up meat to save the planet

Are some methods of meat production more climate-friendly than others?