Beef vs Tofu
Feeding soy to cattle wastes most of its protein and calories. Eating the soy directly as tofu removes that conversion loss, which is why tofu's footprint is a rounding error next to beef's.
Per per kg of food
Greenhouse gaseskg CO₂e / kg
Beef
99.5
Tofu
3.2
Land usem² / kg
Beef
326
Tofu
3.5
Freshwater withdrawalL / kg
Beef
1451
Tofu
245
Proteing / 100 g
Beef
26
Tofu
17
Source: Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science · Our World in Data · USDA FoodData Central
Verdict
Tofu cuts emissions about 30-fold and land use over 90-fold versus beef.
Questions people ask
Doesn't soy cause deforestation?
Around three-quarters of world soy is fed to farmed animals. Tofu soy is mostly food-grade and often locally grown.