Bacon lovers rejoice. According to a new study out of Carnegie Mellon University, eating fruits, vegetables, and seafood is more harmful to the environment than chowing down on a juicy BLT (hold the L and the T).
According to study co-authors Michelle Tom, Paul Fischbeck and Chris Hendrickson, this is because fruits, veggies and fish have relatively high resource uses and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per calorie.
“Eating lettuce is over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon,” says Fischbeck. “Lots of common vegetables require more resources per calorie than you would think. Eggplant, celery and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or chicken.”
However, this doesn’t mean you should cut these healthy foods out—just be aware of how your diet may be affecting your carbon footprint. When possible, buy in-season fruits and vegetables from locally sourced vendors: the environment—and your body—will thank you.
