Meat Eaters Guide: Methodology - Environmental Working Group

Crop
Animal
Feed: Corn
Animal
Feed: Soybeans
Animal
Feed: alfalfa/hay
Animal
Feed: Orchard
grass
Rice
Dry Beans
(Average:
.80 CO 2 e)
Table 29. Production System and Primary Input Data for Feedstock and Plant Protein Products
Region/Production
System
kg CO 2 e/ kg at
farmgate (production)
Corn, Iowa Corn: .23
Corn, conventional
(double cropped), for
silage, Iowa
Soybeans, conventional,
USA
Alfalfa, conventional
(mixed irrigation), for
hay, California, USA
Orchard grass, conventional,
for hay,
California, USA
Average of 3 California
rice systems; long term
culture, flooded; rice
only rotation flooded; 2
year crop rotation
Average of 3 bean
production systems:
California blackeye
beans, doublecropped;
California
common dry varieties,
double-cropped ;
and Idaho dry beans,
center-pivot irrigation
Corn silage : .08
Primary Data Source
NASS data from N. Pelletier, et al,
“Comparative life cycle environmental
impacts of three beef production
strategies in the Upper Midwestern
United States”, Agricultural Systems
103, 2010.
Soybean: .59 USDA average inputs from S. Kim
and B. Dale, “Cumulative Energy
and GlobalWarming Impact from the
Soybean meal: .67 Production of Biomass for Biobased
Products”, Journal of Industrial Ecology,
Volume 7, Number 3–4, 2004.
0.13
0.28
(brown)
2.43
(white)
2.64
0.56
1.03
Univ of Calif., Davis, Agricultural Cost
and Return Studies
Univ of Calif., Davis, Agricultural Cost
and Return Studies
Univ of Calif., Davis, Agricultural Cost
and Return Studies
Univ of Calif., Davis, Agricultural Cost
and Return Studies
University of Idaho, College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences, Enterprise
Budgets
Environmental Working Group Meat Eaters Guide: Methodology 2011 45