Plant-based 'Beef' Reduces CO2 Emissions but Threatens 1.5M ag Jobs
Published:08 Aug.2022 Source:Cornell University
Plant-based alternatives to beef have the potential to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but new economic models show their growth in popularity could disrupt the agricultural workforce, threatening more than 1.5 million industry jobs.
By embracing meat protein alternatives, U.S. food production could reduce its agricultural carbon footprint between 2.5% and 13.5%, mostly by decreasing the number of cows needed for beef production by two to 12 million, according to new research published by Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University and international partners.