Thursday 28 April 2011

Bugs for brunch

Swapping pork and beef for crickets and locusts could reduce livestock green house gas emissions by up to 95 percent.

A new study by FoodServiceWarehouse.com suggests that CO2 emissions from insects are a fraction of those from more traditional meats.

On average beef cattle produces 2,850 grams of CO2 per kilo of mass and pigs create 1,140 of the greenhouse gas (GHG).

In comparison, the same quantity of cricket produces 1.6 CO2, while locusts emit just 18 CO2 equivalent. Sun beetles weigh in with 122 CO2.

Ashley Howard at FoodserviceWarehouse.comsaid: "The farming of insects would be a more sustainable and affordable form of meat production. It may sound crazy, but with the huge impact that livestock is having on GHG - in much the same way as the burning of fossil fuels - we need to come up with other viable options.

"By presenting this data we hope we've at least raised some awareness to the effect that livestock production has on our environment."

According to the online restaurant supplier, livestock farming represents a huge portion of global warming, with 35-40 percent of the Earth's methane, 65 percent of nitrous oxide and 9 percent of carbon dioxide being attributed to the industry.