A new study calculates the carbon footprint of lamb meat.
Photo by Lynda Van Kempen.
Each 100gm portion of lamb meat grown in New Zealand and
consumed in Britain produces the equivalent of 1.9kg of carbon
dioxide (CO2), a study concludes.
The AgResearch study shows 80% of those carbon emissions were
generated on the farm, which scientists say was "broadly
consistent with other international studies of products
derived from farmed, ruminant livestock."
However, productivity gains by sheep farmers in the last 20
years mean more sheep meat is produced now than in 1990, even
though the sheep flock is now 43% smaller.
The report, released yesterday, calculated the drop in
numbers reduced by 22% lamb's total carbon footprint over
that period.
The report was designed to benchmark lamb's carbon footprint
and identify areas that could be targeted to reduce the
sector's emissions.
It was funded by the Meat Industry Association, Ballance
Agri-Nutrients, Landcorp and the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry's greenhouse gas footprinting strategy.
Agriculture minister David Carter welcomed the efforts to
measure and improve the sector's carbon footprint, saying
primary industries could not manage their emissions if they
did not measure them first.
"New Zealand operates some of the most efficient on-farm
production systems in the world, but we are facing the
growing challenge of producing more food with fewer
emissions," he said.
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