Eat Local? Or Eat Differently? (broadcast Friday, May 9th, 2008)

A tasty selection of vegetables. Scott Bauer, USDA.

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, what you eat may be more important than where that food comes from, a new study finds. Writing in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, researchers report that replacing the calories from red meat and dairy products in one day's worth of your diet with calories from chicken, fish, or vegetables could have the same impact on greenhouse gas emissions as shifting to an entirely locally-grown diet.

"Eating local' has become an important concept among the environmentally conscious in recent years. The impact on greenhouse gas emissions of becoming a locavore, however, may not be as big as proponents would like. "Our analysis shows that despite all the attention given to food miles, the distance that food travels is only around 11% of the average American household’s food-related greenhouse gas emissions," said Chris Weber, one of the authors of the report. In this segment, Ira talks with Weber about the study's results and about the impact of dietary choices on greenhouse gases. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.