Vrulth t1_j2wi76g wrote on January 4, 2023 at 12:59 PM

Reply to comment by onewobblywheel in What is the lowest-carbon protein? by abercravest

Nope, rice farming is emitting less than beef, but it's not minuscule, around 4 times less, and it's a major source of emission worldwide. https://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/05/17/cows-rice-and-soil-are-key-to-farming-emissions-cuts/ (Start from here for more academic studies, but in short, rice farming is bad for the planet and so is rice consomption.)

onewobblywheel t1_j2xeop1 wrote on January 4, 2023 at 4:55 PM

>around 4 times less,

Does that mean 1/4 as much? You're implying that a 75% reduction isn't a HUGE difference? Maybe "minuscule" was a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

If we eliminate all rice farming (possibly the most widely consumed food in the world) what do we replace it with? Corn?

From the article: "rice contributes about 10% of emissions from the agriculture sector globally"

That sounds bad, right? But wait... "Rice paddies account for approximately 12% of the global croplands of the planet" -- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255623930_Rice_in_the_Global_Food_Supply#:~:text=Rice%20paddies%20account%20for%20approximately,%5B4%5D.%20...

So, 12% of our food production results in 10% of our emissions. That seems like rice is a below average emitter of carbon.

Check my math please.

CarryThe2 t1_j2wkd3a wrote on January 4, 2023 at 1:19 PM

Thing is you also have to grow food for the cow. About 10 times as much as you get out.

Vrulth t1_j2x3wam wrote on January 4, 2023 at 3:46 PM

Well rice is not grown for livestock feed.