Nowadays, when people look for protein sources in their diet, they often do not think about the weight of the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide generated by the production, transportation and consumption of something. In terms of protein sources, the carbon footprint varies greatly.

Husband meat such as beef and sheep meat, although rich in protein, its carbon footprint is extremely high. Because cattle and sheep are raised, they need vast pastures for planting feed, and the process of regurgitation also releases a lot of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. Therefore, eating more such meat is a huge burden on the environment.

In comparison, poultry meat has a slightly lower carbon footprint. Chickens, ducks and other poultry have a short growth cycle, take up less land and consume less resources, and produce less greenhouse gases.

As for fish meat, if it is caught in the wild, the carbon footprint may be relatively low, but overfishing is easy to disrupt the ecological balance. The carbon footprint of farmed fish varies depending on the farming method. Intensive farming or high carbon footprint, eco-friendly farming can reduce it.

Furthermore, plant-based protein sources such as beans and nuts have a very low carbon footprint. Pulses fix nitrogen, which is beneficial to soil fertility, and require less resources and greenhouse gas emissions for cultivation. Although nut cultivation requires specific conditions, its carbon footprint is also much lower than that of most animal proteins.

Therefore, in order to reduce the carbon footprint, the choice of protein source should be more plant-based protein, moderate meat consumption, and priority should be given to categories with low carbon footprint. In this way, it not only maintains health, but also protects the ecological environment, so that the diet and nature can coexist harmoniously.