Sustainable Meat: The Best and Worst Kinds, Ranked by a Sustainability Nutritionist

Living sustainably is more than just a passing trend. A report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows that online searches for sustainable lifestyle tips and products increased more than 70 percent between 2016 and 2021.

This momentum just kept growing through the Covid pandemic, too. Remember all those images of dolphins swimming in the Venice canals and the viability of Mount Everest from Kathmandu for the first time in decades? Research from Heliyon confirms what many of us suspected: The environment thrived just because human activity had gone on pause.

Yet, in and out of lockdown, our grocery lists and restaurant orders continue to wreak havoc on the planet. Today’s food systems contribute to at least a third of global emissions, according to a 2021 study published in Nature Food. The biggest culprit? Our appetite for meat.

Research suggests serious benefits would result if we were to all avoided meat just one day a week. But if, and when, you do indulge, how much does your choice of meat matter? The Healthy asked sustainable nutrition expert Dana Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, Senior Dietitian at UCLA Medical Center and author of Recipe For Survival, how to choose the eco-friendliest meats.

The worst offender: Beef

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Steak and burger lovers, heads-up: Not only is frequent consumption of beef not ideal for your health and longevity, the Nature Food research points to beef as the single biggest food-based climate change contributor by a landslide.

Research published in PNAS says beef production is responsible for between four and eight times the emissions of other animal meats. And compared to plant-based protein? One kilogram of beef needs “18 times more land, 10 times more water, nine times more fuel, 12 times more fertilizer, and 10 times more pesticides” than a kilogram of plant protein like beans, according to a report in Food Research International.

Or, look at it this way. It takes about 660 gallons of water just to make one hamburger.

Cows and steers also produce a ton of methane gas—a potent greenhouse gas that’s worse for the environment than emissions from vehicles like cars and planes, Hunnes says. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says the methane from cows alone accounts for 10 percent of greenhouse emissions.

The type of beef you buy matters, too. Ground beef is mainly leftover trimmings from more expensive cuts—so, it’s the demand for steak that drives current cattle-rearing needs. But if you simply must give in to that craving, Hunnes suggests looking for regeneratively farmed beef is better for the earth: “Those cows graze the land and eat the top of grass, leaving the roots in place to absorb carbon into the soil,” she explains.

Also not great: Lamb

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Studies show that, in general, sheep are less resource-intensive than cattle. Research published in Ecological Indicators says that producing lamb meat comes with a smaller land and water footprint than cattle require.

However, like cows, sheep are “ruminant” animals that are constantly producing methane through digestion—a process called enteric fermentation, Hunnes explains. Part of what makes this so problematic is that lamb produces about 50 percent more methane gas than beef, as a lifestyle assessment by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found.

So, if you’re trying to reduce your diet’s environmental impact, Hunnes says to eliminate beef and lamb first. Red meat’s no picnic for your health, anyway—here are 10 things that happen to your body when you ditch it for good.

Not quite as bad: Pork

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Because they’re not grazers, pigs require about half the amount of water and 28 times less land than what’s needed for cattle, according to the PNAS research.

Again, look for pasture-raised or ranched pork, Hunnes says. “Those pigs will be much more humanely raised and much more likely to be eating a natural diet like they evolved to do,” she explains. The worst products? Those raised inside warehouses—where their waste ends up in large cesspools that pollute surrounding waterways and air.

Two advantages to choosing “the other white meat”: Pork produces half the emissions of beef (and way less than lamb), according to the EWG; and their diets could actually help solve another problem: Food waste. While laws and regulations vary, farms in places like Maine turn waste from restaurant buffets and school cafeterias into dinner for their pigs. This practice prevents food waste from winding up in landfills—where it contributes to greenhouse gasses—and reduces the amount of land needed to grow food for our food.

Your best bet: Chicken

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If Hunnes had to choose the most environmentally-friendly meat? “It would probably be pasture-raised chickens that have room to roam naturally and peck at the ground for their food, eating whatever they want,” Hunnes explains. Chickens don’t digest through enteric fermentation, as cows and lambs do, and they require much less feed and water when they’re free-roaming.

If you can’t find pasture-raised chicken, Hunnes advises that the next best options are to look for products that are free-range, organic, or certified humanely-raised, she says.

Hunnes also gives turkey a nod, as they’re raised pretty similarly to chickens. And don’t worry, it won’t really make you sleepy.

Or, give game meats a try

While less conventionally popular, Hunnes says that game meats (think rabbit, duck, venison, or goat) are often environmentally friendlier than many alternatives. That’s because they’re often naturally raised, and in some regions—as is the case with deer in parts of the Northeast, for example—the hunting practice that yields the meat is part of a larger humane strategy to manage the population of their species.

Although, if you’re trying to cut meat altogether, check out these 15 best plant-based proteins that nutritionists recommend.

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