Energy
Energy and Thermal Physics
The environmental energy costs of food
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
Vegetarian diets have a significant environmental benefit in terms of the energy costs of production. Just 4% of the energy transferred from the fossil fuels used to produce animal-based food typically becomes protein, but this measure is 46% for grains.
References
The environmental energy costs of food
D. Pimentel, & M. Pimentel, Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 78, no. 3, 2003, 660-663, pp. 661-662
