Lamb vs Dried beans
Key facts
- Compared
- Lamb vs Dried beans
- Unit
- per kg of food
- Metrics
- Greenhouse gases, Land use, Fibre
- Source
- Poore & Nemecek (2018), via Our World in Data · USDA FoodData Central · Environmental bean figures use the broad other-pulses category; fibre is for dry kidney beans.
per kg of food
Source: Poore & Nemecek (2018), via Our World in Data: ourworldindata.org · USDA FoodData Central: fdc.nal.usda.gov · Environmental bean figures use the broad other-pulses category; fibre is for dry kidney beans.
Verdict
Beans have a much lower average climate footprint and add fibre lamb cannot provide.
Questions people ask
Why do sheep have such a big footprint?
They are ruminants, so they emit methane, and they convert feed to meat inefficiently while grazing extensive land.
Related comparisons
Data: Poore & Nemecek (2018), via Our World in Data · USDA FoodData Central · Environmental bean figures use the broad other-pulses category; fibre is for dry kidney beans. · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.
What the comparison can and cannot tell you
Check the denominator before interpreting a difference: a kilogram of food, a serving, a calorie and a gram of protein answer different questions. Equal weights are not automatically nutritionally equivalent meals. Keep the original source's system boundaries and preparation state when comparing values.
Environmental estimates depend on farming, processing, geography and the study's assumptions. A global average is not a measurement of your own purchase. Broad patterns can guide choices, but the size or ranking of a particular difference needs the relevant study rather than a blanket claim about every animal and plant food.
- Use the same unit and the same raw or cooked state for both foods.
- Check which impacts the source includes; carbon, water and land are separate measures.
- Do not infer a medical benefit from a lower footprint.
- Balance the replacement meal with suitable protein, energy and micronutrient sources.