'Eat less meat' says carbon footprint burger chain (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

The BBC's Tom Burridge dines out at a Swedish fast-food chain that is trying to discourage people from eating too much meat by publishing the carbon footprint of each item on its menu.

As soon as I am through the door of the brightly lit Max Burger restaurant in central Stockholm, spokesman Par Larshans insists I eat not one, but two of their fast-food snacks.

The first is a falafel burger. The second is a half beef/half soya burger. They're tasty... but I'm a carnivore who is not planning to go vegetarian any time soon.



This - and the fact that calculating carbon footprints is a complex and costly process - is why two food organisations in Sweden are now working on a simpler label which they hope people will find easier to understand.

The labels will be called climate labels - not carbon labels - and are designed to set a simple environmental benchmark for food production in Sweden.
***
more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8395287.stm
Report airing on World News America, Tuesday, 8 December at 7pm ET / 4pm PT and again at 10pm ET/ 7pm PT; BBC WORLD NEWS - Wednesday, 9 December at 0000 GMT; BBC NEWS CHANNEL - Wednesday, 9 December at 12.30am






Note to Mr. Burridge -- Try a really well-made felafel burger, and you may not eat meat burgers again. "The Vegetarian Gourmet" in Pittsburgh made the best "burger" I've ever had!

[ZombieHorde]

1. I love food threads. K&R

[pelle]

2. Read more

Yes - we want to reduce the consumption of beef - see me on a
Canadian show that was broad-casted live on the 27th of
december. And you can also watch when Sir Paul McCartney
speaks about MAX in the European parliament on the 3rd of
december. Watch more on www.larshans.wordpress.com
 
Best wishes 

Pär Larshans
Director of Sustainability 
MAX restaurants - Sweden

[Canuckistanian]

5. Welcome to DU, pelle

And thanks for the link!

:toast:
:hi:

[pscot]

3. This will help people change their behaviour

The USDA should get behind this. Information is key. Many people want to do the right thing, but don't know what that is. I like this a lot.

[stuntcat]

4. yah! If people just knew

My best friend has sworn he'll always want MEAT (he's "manly" "Italian" blah blah blah..) He thought I was a vegetarian just because of the animals. But lately when I try to tell him about the real impact of the meat industry I can hear his wheels moving in his head. I told him yesterday how nasty fish farms are and I know he's not gonna stop eating it anytime soon but I also know he listened to me.
If people realized how dirty the industry was they'd demand it change, they'd understand why their meat should cost a LOT more that they're paying for it.

But people also forget, or just wait for other people to make the big changes. My husband watched Food Inc and understood everything in it, even told people about it later, around their dinner tables full of factory fed meat and monsanto veggies :puke:

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Get him to read Jeremy Rifkin's "Beyond Beef".

It kind of mixes in some side issues -- like the symbolic value of bulls in ancient mythology -- but is a good read overall.

If nothing else read what he has to say on ground beef. :puke:

[Lorien]

6. The USDA is run by ex Monsanto and beef industry employees

They don't care about health or the planet, just making corporations wealthier.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Currently, USDA grading of beef is concerned only with palatability and tenderness.

There are eight beef quality grades. The grades are based on two main criteria: the degree of marbling (intramuscular fat) in the beef, and the maturity (estimated age of the animal at slaughter). Some meat scientists object to the current scheme of USDA grading since it is not based on direct measurement of tenderness, although marbling and maturity are indicators of tenderness. Most other countries' beef grading systems mirror the US model. Most beef offered for sale in supermarkets is graded US Choice or Select. US Prime beef is sold to hotels and upscale restaurants. Beef that would rate as US Standard or less is almost never offered for grading.

U.S. Prime - Highest in quality and intramuscular fat, limited supply. Currently, about 2.9% of carcasses grade as Prime.<7>
U.S. Choice - High quality, widely available in foodservice industry and retail markets. Choice carcasses are 53.7% of the fed cattle total. The difference between Choice and Prime is largely due to the fat content in the beef. Prime typically has a higher fat content than Choice. The fat in Prime beef is also distributed evenly (also known as "marbling").
U.S. Select (formerly Good) - lowest grade commonly sold at retail, acceptable quality but less juicy and tender due to leanness.
U.S. Standard - Lower quality yet economical, lacking marbling.

more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef#USDA_beef_grades

The leaner the beef, the lower the grade. Definitely old school.

Perhaps a truly progressive administration could begin a process of revising these standards to address health and environmental concerns.