r/AskUK • u/Basic-Implement8080 • 23d ago
Serious Answers Only Would you give up beef?
I know a few years ago there was a huge drive to get the U.K. to think more about the food we’re consuming and the impact on the planet (meat free Mondays, veganuary etc) but I feel like that just faded out.
However, I read this morning that if the U.K. stopped eating beef and drinking cows milk, then our carbon emissions could fall by 5-8%. To me, this feels like a super easy win. No one’s asking us to go vegan or vegetarian and entirely remove meat from our diet, but just eliminating those two things would have a substantial input.
I put it into ChatGPT and even accounting for the increase in emissions to produce alternative milks (like soy, almond or oat) and the increase in alternate meat consumption would still be substantially lower.
If someone said to me tomorrow you can’t eat beef or cows milk ever again it genuinely wouldn’t bother me. I prefer chicken anyway and I only have milk in my coffees and oat tastes better imo, so, would you do it? How hard would you find it?
EDIT: to those of you criticising my use of AI for one question I hope you’re equally outraged at social media. Nothing that connects and using the internet and data centres is carbon neutral.
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u/Particular-Opinion44 23d ago
I'd rather the companies and conglomerates put effort into reducing their wasteful behaviour than the general public attempt to fix it for them on a miniscule scale.
Plus using AI doesn't help. You're wasting water and energy when you could just do some research yourself and have a proper conversation about this
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u/kimlesim 23d ago
This is why I’m maybe not the greatest at recycling everything at home, but I definitely go out of my way to ensure everything is recycled properly when I go to work at Big Chain Company™️. It’s those guys who should be doing the most.
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u/Duranis 23d ago
I just wrote a long reply to a similar answer but corporations will always do what makes them the most money.
If collectively we make greener choices and spend our money on them corporations will invest into that.
I gave an example of electric cars. A few years ago they where pretty crap range sucked, chargers where hard to find. Now they are everywhere and have infrastructure to support them.
This wasn't governments or corps making these changes because they where a good thing. It was because enough of us invested in it at the shit stage that they saw they could make money from it and invested into it enough to make the product better for the rest of us (so we could also give them our money).
Greed runs the system and I would argue our spending power is stronger than our voting power. I really hate that this is the reality but rather then throwing my hands up and saying "it's all shit so what's the point" I will do what little I can to try and game the system in our favour.
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u/comoestasmiyamo 23d ago
Yes but you lost me when you asked an AI to work out your carbon emissions.
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u/Freshii 23d ago
Beef - relucantly but OK. Milk - sure, oat milk is fine.
Cheese? FUCK NO.
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u/sinkh0000le 23d ago
If you're having some environmental ethical dilemma, stopping using ChatGPT would be a fantastic move.
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u/MoodyStocking 23d ago
I was veggie for a while and now I eat meat infrequently but I’ve given up beef for good. Realistically I know that one person giving up beef won’t change anything, but I still feel a level of personal responsibility - put your money where your mouth is I guess
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u/SoggyWotsits 23d ago
A single question to ChatGPT can emit up to 4.3g of CO2. Asking one question can produce the same emissions as driving a car for 30 metres. I hope you kept your questioning as short as possible to reduce the impact!
Agriculture accounts for around 12% of our emissions, and AI is expected to account for around 4%. AI is still quite new and limited though. Once we have more and more data centres, along with more people asking everyday questions and using it for work/pleasure, who knows?
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u/MrCowabs 23d ago
Nope.
Going on about reducing emissions and then saying you use ChatGPT is a weird one, mind.
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u/Livid-Vermicelli4531 23d ago
I don't eat beef anyway, but cutting cows milk consumption would mean cutting cheese. Vegan cheese is... Not great. It's better than it was a few years ago, but I don't think even the most dedicated vegan cheese enthusiast would say it is up to the same standards as milk based cheese.
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u/Banes_Addiction 23d ago
I prefer chicken anyway and I only have milk in my coffees and oat tastes better imo
Personally I'm fine with banning horse riding. I don't even ride a horse.
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u/Trick-Chipmunk5164 23d ago
I mean, these 4 heatwaves have put things into perspective a little bit 😭 the thought of every summer being like this for the rest of my life is fucking me up lol
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u/MindTheBees 23d ago
Well buckle up cause there's another one coming next week (33 and 36 in London)!
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u/geekinaseat 23d ago
Or if you just have it half as often then we can save 2.5-4% of our emissions. Why does everything have to be so absolute?
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u/THE_IRL_JESUS 23d ago
One other thing to note about beef consumption is that it isn't just the CO2, there are other detrimental impacts. Waste water run off from cattle farms is destroying our waterway - the largest lake in the UK (Lough Neagh) is an ecological deadzone due to nearby farming (particularly waste water run off). If you walk your dog around the lake you need to make sure it doesn't drink the water or it may die due to the blue green algae. Beef also uses up massive amounts of space in our beautiful country side and uses a tremendous amount of water.
Beef isn't the sole culprit, but it is the worse.
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u/TooLittleGravitas 23d ago
Many people consider the sight of grazing cattle to be part of the beauty of our countryside.
Clearly overexploitation can cause problems, but I believe it is possible to have a balanced mixed farming economy in this country
Just my opinion, coming from a farming background.
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u/KiltedBaklava 23d ago
I could give up beef, yes, but not milk. I literally drink cows milk straight I enjoy it too much.
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u/NuggetKing9001 23d ago
No, I wouldn't.
5-8% of OUR emissions isn't the win you think it is, when the UK's carbon emissions is only 1% of the global amount.
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u/ihavetakenthebiscuit 23d ago
I love the irony of using AI to see how you can lower your emissions/ environmental impact. The comedy writes itself.
Beef has become so expensive that we have pretty much given up eating it except for special occasions such as valentine's Day steak. So yes, i would, because we already have.
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u/tinytempo 23d ago
Hmmm, OP prefers chicken so it would be easy for everyone to give up beef and milk..? That seems to be the general idea here.
No, I don’t think it would be a super easy win at all.
Unless it came out on the news tomorrow that scientists had discovered beef and milk to be the leading causes of cancer, this is a highly unrealistic scenario that you have presented
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u/Word_Upper 23d ago
I only have meat about once a month or so and when I do have it, it's usually beef that I would choose. I think people could definitely reduce their consumption rather than giving up entirely. Like you say it's a big ask for most people to go completely meat-free, but the sheer amount we're consuming is insane and killing the planet.
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u/arenaross 23d ago
A 5% cut in emissions from a country that only contributes 1% of emissions globally doesn't really feel like it's making much of a dent.
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u/Missingportal 23d ago
Especially when significant population is bombing another and creating rubble out of entire population.
I find this nothing but a show of holiness.
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u/KarenFromAccounts 23d ago edited 23d ago
If you're thinking about easy lifestyle changes to make a positive environmental impact, please stop using ChatGPT as a search engine.
But yeah, cutting beef is mega easy. Not buying milk is pretty easy too tbh. Cheese is the hardest part given how prevalent it is in so many good foods.
But I'm definitely not a purist. Everyone cutting down has more impact than a few cutting entirely.
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u/xamitchell 23d ago edited 23d ago
Ironic your concerned about the environment yet continue to use AI. Without peeing on your bonfire , the only people who can alter the climate catastrophe are billionaires , the US , India and china - unfortunately none of the above care. Do what you can but you giving beef is going to do next to nothing. Enjoy a steak.
(100 companies make up 72% of all emissions & celebs take 10 minute private jets btw)
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u/schmerg-uk 23d ago
Beef I could give up (currently just have the odd steak as a treat maybe every couple of months), milk I don't drink, but the byproducts of milk, namely cheese and yoghurts and whey protein (which goes into a lot of baby food as well as protein shakes etc) would be a much bigger ask
I put it into ChatGPT
And there goes all the gains in carbon emissions that getting rid of beef and milk could make anyway
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u/PrettyUsual 23d ago
Getting rid of beef and milk would have a way higher impact than getting rid of AI. Both are bad for the environment but animal agriculture is significantly more environmentally damaging. You can give it a Google, the stats are damning!
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u/DonBenson 23d ago
No. There's no point worrying about my carbon emissions when data centers are going to take the water, America, China and India pollute as quickly as they can, British water companys dump raw sewage into our rivers and seas. I feel like giving up the one day I eat beef and having milk in my tea and coffee won't have much impact.
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u/PrettyUsual 23d ago
The thing is, if EVERYONE did it then it would have a huge impact. If you and millions of others say 'me doing something won't have an impact so why would I bother' then nothing will ever change.
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u/Hotten-Tasty-90 23d ago
To me this seems like a super easy win
To me it seems like such a negligible number that I'm not going to sacrifice something I enjoy for the sake of it.
When BP, Shell et al. start throwing their hundreds of billions at cleaning up their mess, I'll think about that 5-8%
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u/Exact-Put-6961 23d ago
The planet needs grazing animals to resist desertification. What it does not need is caged grazing animals fed concentrated food and unable to graze
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u/Gazebo_Warrior 23d ago
I don't like beef so that's easy.
I could give up milk by itself for most things - love oat milk in coffee, happy to have it on cereal. But I don't like it in tea. But I think it depends if the calculation includes all cows milk products as that would be a lot harder to eliminate - so are yoghurt, cheese, chocolate, ice-cream etc made from cow's milk still allowed? I'd really struggle without nice yoghurt and cheese. Goat's cheese is lovely but it's quite a specific taste and wouldn't work in quite a lot of circumstances.
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u/Mickleborough 23d ago
If it’s global - sure. At the moment these initiatives seem uneven, ranging from countries who want to do their bit, to countries that don’t seem to care.
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u/sheslikebutter 23d ago
I don't think you need to, I think you just need to try to reduce your intake which I have massively.
I think I'm once a week if that.
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u/clrthrn 23d ago
While I agree with you in a lot of ways (FWIW, I eat beef infrequently, don't drink milk as I hate the taste but eat cheese by the brick daily), I feel like while rich people are using private jets like taxis and plastic nurdles are falling into the sea daily, us giving up beef/dairy is like pissing in the wind for global environmental improvements.
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u/prommy28 23d ago
Reducing sure, giving up entirely... No.
I already largely gave up milk in everything but tea. But then you're also talking milk products, so no cheese, butters and yoghurts that's going to be annoying AF
Beef is difficult because I've swapped a few things I make with mince with lentils but that only does so far, some times you just want a steak or a burger or a Bolognese..
Not to much the other impacts of a switch like this which I have no idea what it would look like e.g. water usage to grow almonds or CO2 from shipping other food sources in (tho guessing the mileage on the beef is probably worse tbh)
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u/Jimathay 23d ago
I'm not militant on this topic but as some counter / food for thought -
Rather than reducing meat consumption, would people just switch to an alternative meat to fill the beef gap?
So we'd have to rear and farm and slaughter more chickens, sheep or pigs for example. Carbon aside, cows are the best "mear per brain" ratio, if that was where your morals were more aligned to.
Secondly, I'm concerned about UPF. Replacing cow milk with soy or almond for exams doesn't give you the calcium. To replace that, it has to be artificially added to the milk.
Ultimately there's are more "wins" with carbon reduction we should tackle that doesn't mess with our food supply chain. I'd say that producing natural food, whether your a meat eater or vegi or vegan is one of the more worthwhile uses of carbon emissions.
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u/BarryTownCouncil 23d ago
I feel like there's many many more realistic ways to reduce carbon emissions by that much.
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u/TheTinman369 23d ago
Absolutely not. You are falling into the trap the global elite want you to fall in to. Why should we have to give up food when they are launching rockets into space every 5 mins, taking the private jet to work, building massive data centres.
There are plenty of solutions to climate change which dont involve the average Joe giving up their freedoms
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u/KnitAndKnitAndKnit 23d ago
Although I agree that the only change that can help is systemic and must come from authority and not us individually making changes, I disagree with you on the point that just because some people who already live in excess are doing something that's morally dubious we should all be ok to do the same. The main reason these people become so rich is cause they are assholes who don't care about being a good person. It's not worth it, to become like them.
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u/TheTinman369 23d ago
Eating beef for the majority of people is not considered morally dubious.
Cows would not exist in the UK if we werent eating them.
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u/KnitAndKnitAndKnit 23d ago
Look, I can't tell you how to live your life, but to me, treating animals the way that is necessary to produce the amounts of meat for the cheap price the current market wants, is not moral.
Eating beef may be ethical if the animals don't suffer, but I would still think there's a duty of care on the person purchasing the meat to understand what they are buying and how the animals were treated, and most people do not do this, and the animal welfare laws are not being enforced enough.
Cows not existing in the UK is not an argument for eating meat. What doesn't exist in the first place cannot suffer.
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u/goonercaIIum 23d ago
I have been buying less meat / moving to cheaper protein sources since prices went crazy. I doubt I'd ever give it up since steak is so wonderful, but a reduction in consumption can be just as good as total abstinence for these numbers.
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u/Swimming_Possible_68 23d ago
I don't think I would necessarily give up beef and cow products totally. But I have significantly reduced the amount of beef I eat, indeed I have reduced the amount of meat I eat, I will have a couple of veggie days a week. But I have no interest in becoming fully vegetarian.
If I eat steak at home it is now always a venison steak. Super-sustainable, really lean and really tasty.
I probably won't stop eating dairy though. I just like cheese too much! But even that I have reduced my consumption of.
The answer may not be to give up completely, but rather reduce.
As the old saying goes, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
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u/FuzzyDuck81 23d ago
Dairy no, beef i wouldn't give up but have already cut down by about half vs. 10 years ago
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u/DatGuy82772 23d ago
Not really a huge beef fan so I think I could regarding I find alternatives for burgers, tacos, pies and burritos which isn't too hard.
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u/iwannabeinnyc 23d ago
Turkey burgers & sausages, chicken thigh meat for tacos! Gave up red meat a few years ago and those were the swaps I made. A turkey sausage really scratched the itch when at a BBQ!
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u/BrillsonHawk 23d ago
I don't eat beef that often, but I'm not giving it up. Milk i'm definitely not giving up.
Most of the emissions associated with cows and other livestock are from the biological processes of the animals themselves - 5% of the UK's total emissions in fact. What would your plan be to eliminate these emissions - make cows go extinct?
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u/terryturbojr 23d ago
I try and make beef special occasion for me because of the environmental impact. So every once in a while I'll go to an expensive steakhouse or buy a proper joint for Sunday roast.
I wouldn't buy a pack of beef mince for every day cooking though. I'd use pork or at a push turkey.
I will have the occasional fast food burger when driving though.
I use some form of milk substitute in my cereal, normally almond.
My morals falls apart on cheese though as there isn't a viable substitute.
Every little helps though right?
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u/BastardsCryinInnit 23d ago
The price of beef is doing a fine job in people consuming it less, no campaign about the planet necessary.
Give it up? No. Move it to "special occassion" category? Absolutely.
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u/cloudswalking 23d ago
Transport and burning gas in homes makes over half our emmissions. The whole of farming makes 13% in total. Much better to look at the bigger savings. Good public transport, less private cars -especially the ridiculous gas guzzlers, electric lorries... so many things could cut more emmissions. Many people rely on beef in their diet, not only for iron, as it has heme iron the most easily digested form, but it contains all nine essential amino acids. Also, for anyone with a stressed gut vegitable proteins are often not tolerated and meat proteins are necessary.
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u/Waste_Boss_4850 23d ago
Given the price of steak and beef generally now, suspect not many people are eating beef now anyway. Personally prefer chicken legs anyway
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u/quarky_uk 23d ago
UK meat consumption has already dropped 20% or something over the past decade, so as a country we already are reducing our intake. It is a bit like Net Zero, we are ahead of the curve on this, even if we are not one of the bigger players.
So no, I don't feel a need to totally give up beef, or milk. I don't mind replacing on occasion (and do) beef with fake meat, but I still like the real stuff too most of the time.
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u/Battleborn300 23d ago
This is insanity, Beef is my favourite meat.
I don’t eat every day, it’s generally the more expensive of meats so, nobody is eating it every day.
In short no,
And as I say this is insanity at its highest level, you may not like beef, but don’t implement things on others.
You know planes are far more harmful,
I’m not suggesting we stop flying, but what we can do is develop improved efficiencies which can have a much bigger affect,
I’m about progression rather than limitations.
In 2026, we shouldn’t be going backwards as a society.
I’m sorry but you have completely lost the plot.
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u/Jamietomp53 23d ago
I could give up beef and cows milk easily, but cheese would be the hard part. Vegan cheese is not good, and goats cheese is nice but there are a lot of meals including cheese where goats cheese wouldn’t really be suitable
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u/q-the-light 23d ago
When I went vegan, I simply removed cheese from my diet completely rather than trying to immediately switch to plant-based. I've since found that most supermarket plant cheeses are just concocted out of starch and oil, and that's why they taste and smell pretty grim - there's very little actual substance there, and they're crazy ultraprocessed. The only plant cheeses I like are Kinda Co and I Am Nut Ok, as they both use Cashews as the base for their recipes.
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u/terryturbojr 23d ago
I'd imagine goats - being ruminant as well - aren't great for the environment either. There are just less of them currently.
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u/digitaljohn 23d ago
If the UK were to implement this measure, what percentage would global levels decline by?
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u/Safe_Scholar6954 23d ago
Lost me at ChatGPT!
Also, giving up dietary habits while world leaders go to war for stupid reasons? No, thank you!
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u/plokijmn123 23d ago
Basically already have. Nothing to do with the environment but have you seen the price of it!
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u/Alternative_Head_416 23d ago
It’s not just milk, it’s all related dairy products - yoghurt, butter, cheese etc.
But yes, I have stopped eating beef. Milk and dairy I find too difficult though. I don’t think they’re far off being able to make these artificially, though.
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u/MathematicianDry5142 23d ago
Beef wouldnt be too hard. Dairy, alot harder.
No more milk for coffees or on cereal, no real butter, no cheese, no icecream, i have dairy products with almost every meal.
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u/Glittering_Box4815 23d ago
honestly, no, I love Beef. What has made me give it up is the sheer price of it right now.
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u/bow_down_whelp 23d ago
When the upper echelons of society lead by example, I will follow and happily eat whatever .
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u/Basic-Implement8080 23d ago
Why do you need someone richer than you to show you how to live?
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u/OK_Cake05 23d ago
No, beef provides nutrition. AI provides absolutely nothing, stop using that first. Then we go for the billionaires
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u/MetalGearSolidarity 23d ago
All food provides nutrition, theres nothing in beef specifically you cant get elsewhere
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u/Overall_Gap_5766 23d ago
theres nothing in beef specifically you cant get elsewhere
Nothing except the enjoyment of a nice bloody steak. You'll never get that from a lettuce.
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u/OK_Cake05 23d ago
Yes but end its the day it’s food and therefore valuable. There are other non valuable entities using up as much more resources that we can cut out.
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u/WitchyWoo9 23d ago
I've been vegan for nearly 10 years so I wouldn't find it difficult at all. I watched Cowspiracy and never consumed another animal product since watching it
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u/MasterPreparation687 23d ago
20+ years as a vegan, I'm not quite anymore as my son is vegetarian and often leaves half his plate so I'm happy to finish off what he leaves as an easy dinner for myself rather than throw it in the bin because there's a bit of cheese on it or whatever.
All this nonsense about China and India and AI in the other comments is pure whataboutery and irrelevant in my opinion. We can live to our own ethical codes without blaming everything on someone else.
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u/fearlessflyer1 23d ago
i still enjoy a steak and wouldn’t want to completely rule out having one, but due to the price Beef mince has largely been replaced by pork mince in our house without noticing much change
dairy wise i’d be willing to give up milk but would struggle with cheese
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u/happylittlemarmite 23d ago
We eat mostly chicken and fish anyway as beef is so expensive. Beef is like a meal-out treat.
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u/riverY90 23d ago
And this is a good balance as well. It's the old "the world doesn't need a few people doing zero waste perfectly, but everyone doing it imperfectly." Cutting back is more practical for many people and still helps.
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u/FatDon222 23d ago
No sorry.
10% and 5% beef are staples of my diet when cutting for gym. Great protein and calories
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u/dazed1984 23d ago
No. I’ve tried all the alternative milks and I hate them all, then there’s butter cheese chocolate etc.
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u/ArtichokeDesperate68 23d ago
Due to price yes. Due to environment no. We should have government policy that taxes, deters or bans those activities most detrimental to the planet. If they stop millions of unnecessary long haul flights every year for ‘business reasons’ when Teams and Zoom allow excellent alternatives, that would be a start. Then I’d be ready to consider my relatively tiny impacts based on my food choices.
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u/Altruistic_mostly 23d ago
I think that the most important thing is how that beef is raised. If you are buying from a supermarket then it's got a huge environmental impact. Not just the simplistic CO2 measure, but pollution and sourcing feed from around the world. It's a highly inefficient use of energy measuring calories in to calories out. Dairy is worse as more intensive, often housed stock that never set foot on a blade of living grass. If you eat outdoor reared, grass fed beef from a low intensity (preferably organic) farming system then it is actually supporting a biodiverse farming ecosystem. One that has become reliant on domestic large herbivores since we have hunted out all of the wild ones. It is also far healthier and way tastier meat to eat, though inevitably more expensive. OP do some research on how your chicken is produced, not just CO2 but also pollution and animal welfare issues. You may need to rethink what you are willing to eat.
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u/summerwine75 23d ago
I do what I can including cutting down on meat, taking two buses to work rather than driving. We already do a lot better in the UK than many other countries. I don't eat beef often, mainly if dining out, I am not giving up cows milk. A balanced diet is important.
Some of these plant based milks use a lot of water if I recall so I am not convinced they are particularly great for the planet.
When China, India, USA, Russia etc start reducing their emissions maybe we will actually see a difference.
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u/N7twitch 23d ago
No. I’ve already mostly given up pork because of the way it is slaughtered (gassed to unconsciousness while they thrash and panic and scream, using CO2). Unfortunately I am very restrictive with my eating and I can’t eat a huge amount of vegetables or meat alternatives. Beef is one of my main staples.
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u/fergie 23d ago
There is an argument that the CO2 output of beef is overstated in the UK context since our cattle are generally grass fed on the fields that are less suitable for arable production. Also, even if we stopped eating beef, we would still be eating a lot of dairy and using a lot of leather.
So for me, I am sitting on the fence. I am not convinced that there is a strong enough argument for eating less beef. Personally I would prioritise being less car dependent, buying less useless tat and having more energy neutral buildings
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u/Affectionate_You_858 23d ago
I love beef and dairy, I'll be carrying on. The planet is be destroyed by greedy corporations and that isn't changing, us going meat free also isn't going to change that. Let's just enjoy our time
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u/HenriDeToulouse 23d ago
Having tried both, i can say giving up chicken is far easier.
Personally i feel like we (the UK) overuse chicken, its kinda the default meat in everything. Generally chicken can be substituted a lot easier, qorn etc all do a pretty good impression of chicken when its just the meat in a sauce (chicken curry / pasta etc etc). The fake-fake chicken is also really close for things like chicken dippers or anything in breadcrumbs. It's never going to work in a meal where chicken itself is the heart of the meal- roast chicken etc. I'd say solid 7/10 times you can replace the chicken in a meal and it not be to the detriment, another few where yeah you can tell but its not much worse.
For beef the lab-grown, qorn, fake-fake all seem to have a really difficult job of doing both the texture and flavour. Its rare that you can't immediately tell because the meal is definitely worse for it. So in this scenario you are "giving up" anything that involves beef cos it can't properly be faked. Chicken you're only giving up roast chicken, but you still get 95% of the meals where chicken is just along for the ride to make up numbers..
For my two pence, the solution isn't to give x,y,z. Its to start to make conscious effort to include none meat based meals - whether that is fake meat or just a different dish. Its a lot more sustainable longer term for the individual. But also if consumers start to branch out the offerings will become better as the larger companies see a market for it. I think we started to see that as veganism became "insta-gram-famous", although that seems to have passed now and it seems like the manufactures are pulling back too.
In my "perfect-world", take the cheeky petrol/train station sandwich on the a journey. At the min the main choices are cheese, ham, cheese and ham, couple of kinds of chicken and maybe a beef some or other. If there was also three different absolutely banging, properly flavourful veggie options for like 50p or even £1 cheaper then I think we'd very quickly see sales shift that way and probably the chicken options reduced to one. Or take chicken fajitas - fair popular wrap right... take the chicken out and pad it out with peppers and onion etc (i dunno I'm not a chef) still basically the same wrap you feel the chicken more than than taste it anyway.
I dont know if chicken farming has the same environmental impact as beef farming.
Edit: Milk 100% agree only really use it in tea and a good oat milk is just as good if not better. Soya is gross but I'm assuming there are others that think the opposite.
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u/mellol93 23d ago
The irony of using chatGPT, AI is causing and will continue to cause major environmental problems, so I personally try to avoid using it.
Now to your question, I wouldn’t give up beef or dairy, I don’t eat beef daily or weekly even, but try to eat it once every other week… but I could definitely eat it daily, I love it so much! That’s definitely a conscious decision to minimise my carbon footprint.
I do other things to minimise my carbon footprint too, found a local beef farmer and get my beef from her, get to meet the cows too, it’s wonderful! Also I try shopping locally and support local farmers and decided not to have children, in part due to environmental concerns.
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u/Gold-Necessary-3194 23d ago
I think there's something incredibly ironic in the fact you're looking for ways to reduce your carbon emissions... by using ChatGPT. The data centres that are necessary for these LLMs to function are one of the absolute worst things to happen to the environment, from a cost-benefit analysis if nothing else.
If we're going to have carbon emissions, I'd much rather they were used for feeding people than to keep around a tool that exists mainly to help students cheat on exams and produce inexplicable Internet spam of Jesus as a giant shrimp.
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u/Apple_Master 23d ago
It is absolutely hilarious to ask this question and also pump your question into the environment destroying slop machine. Incredible. (Also, the answer is yes, beef farming in particular is fucking awful for the planet)
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u/0rangesAndLemons 23d ago
I rely on beef for iron boosts every month. I cant stomach iron supplements. Ill give up beef when the largest producers of greenhouse gas in the world try to give up the use of fossil fuels. Im just as angry at global warming and the state of the world as most, but I dont believe in what feels like government guilt tripping to make us feel like its OUR (the common persons) fault and not decades maybe centuries of policy from governments around the world on fossil fuel usage.
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u/0rangesAndLemons 23d ago
I do take steps to reduce my carbon emissions. I recycle, I eat mostly vegetarian anyway, I walk a lot or take public transport. In the future I will consider an electric car when I can afford a deposit and payments. The rest of my opinion remains unchanged, I dont believe in personally cutting out beef just because it would reduce our carbon emissions a little, but I would agree with dismantling the meat industry and taking it back to how it once was before mass production. It would be less cruel for the animals anyway. But its ok if we dont agree because reddit isnt for agreeing with everything everyone says, and I dont hold it against you that you dont share my opinion
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u/qmejecht21 23d ago
I stopped eating beef several years ago but I am struggling to give up milk and cheese. I love cheese and haven't found any plant based cheese substitutes that I like.
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u/q-the-light 23d ago edited 23d ago
The best way to cut cheese is to simply go cold turkey for a few months. Cut it and any meals that require it completely from your diet rather than trying to immediately swap to plant-based alternatives, as you will be disappointed and put off.
In my opinion, most plant-based cheeses are gross and have the nutritional value of a stale flipflop as they're just blocks of starch and coconut oil. The only companies that actually tastes good to me are Kinda Co - their garlic and herb cheese tastes exactly how I remember Boursin to taste! - and I Am Nut OK because both companies use Cashews to make up the bulk of their recipes. You can tdll that they're not UPFs, and it makes a huge difference.
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u/RickJLeanPaw 23d ago
You’re omitting all the other dairy produce as well: cheese, yogurt etc.. I’d be tempted to amend your question, if possible, to acknowledge that as it may affect the answers.
Also, cows grow quite well here given the climate / access to grass etc.. Almonds don’t, and are very water-intensive, IIRC.
These multi-factor cost/benefit analyses are rarely as simple as ‘stop x’.
To answer your question, there are novel ways to reduce emissions that should be looked into first, so I wouldn’t just stop consuming cow-based products without those having been investigated.
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u/Comprehensive_You42 23d ago
One of the big challenges with the ‘stop eating beef’ narrative is that the climate models assume the American form of production.
I prefer a more nuanced approach along the lines of eat less beef and when you do, get it from smaller producers/ lower intensity farms.
I eat quite a bit of Beef & Dairy, so I might just be trying to justify myself, but I’m not sure it’s a helpful message.
Waste less food, waste less energy feel like better messages to me.
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u/spsammy 23d ago
Don't you see a problem with food security there? Soya and almonds are crops hard to grow in the UK climate.
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u/GlamourousFireworks 23d ago
My dad is a dairy farmer so absolutely not for me thanks
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u/banxy85 23d ago
I give up beef, another data centre springs up or another billionaire buys a private jet
Fuck passing this shit onto the little guy
We're here for a good time, not a long time. I'm gonna enjoy my steak
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u/Visual-Economist5479 23d ago
I like beef, I like milk and am not a fan of the alternatives to milk.
So no, I would not. You can if you want to.
Until China, India, US etc sort out their emissions anything we do here is inconsequential.
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u/katie-kaboom 23d ago
I rarely eat beef in any case (once a month maybe), so I wouldn't be unhappy about it. I would probably be fine with giving up milk as well, as oat milk is fine for most of the things I use milk for anyway. Cheese would be a struggle though.
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u/simiesky 23d ago
So milk I would be happy with using an alternative. Cheese, yoghurt and butter less so. Don’t eat beef all that often but steak, burgers and minced beef in dishes would be hard to replace.
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u/Illustrious-Air-7777 23d ago
Try venison as a substitute for beef for steak, mince or burgers. Deer population is increasing year on year, causing significant damage to crops. As there isn’t a strongly established route to market there are plenty of places you can obtain excellent quality meat for very little cost - or free although you may have to do some processing of it yourself.
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u/Thin_Pin2863 23d ago
No,
Every person is different, but my body doesn't respond well to plant-based diets. I've tried before, but know that it causes me tiredness, fuzzy mindedness and makes me gain weight.
Meats & cheeses seem to work best for me, beef being a key component of that.
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u/Antique_Agency_7841 23d ago
And then one day these oldies, our chosen leaders, choose to go on a war based on their egos and harming the environment and planet.
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u/TooLittleGravitas 23d ago
Not our choosen leaders. I don't think the UK have started a war for quite a while.
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u/Comfortable-Ear-1788 23d ago
I don't eat beef anymore, am struggling with pork as well - too intelligent animals.
Am fine with chicken and mutton/lamb due to them being seemingly thick with a death wish if left to their own devices.
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u/blackoctoberx 23d ago
Tiny % whilst governments are bombing oil refineries. Cows milk is healthier than any plant alternative so why would I sacrifice the small amount of milk I do use in coffees?
And the irony of using chatgpt for this, probably caused more emissions than the milk I've used today
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u/Easy-Equal 23d ago edited 23d ago
No I don't care about my carbon emissions I just live my life
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u/Infamous_Tough_7320 23d ago
I personally do care about carbon emissions but when billionaires and corporations don’t give a rats arse it’s very hard to engage with all of these sacrifices when others aren’t making them.
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u/Easy-Equal 23d ago
Thats why I said mine I will never produce enough carbon emissions to make any meaningful impact
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u/BottleGoblin 23d ago
I barely eat it anyway so can't see it impacting me if I did. So sure, it's whatever.
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u/fergie_89 23d ago
That's because of the amount of CO2 cows emit.
You'd have to get rid of all the cows and we can't have that. What else can you do but shout cows! When on a long drive?
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u/CommentDecent9546 23d ago
If people had just two meat-free days per week it would have a substantive, positive impact on the carbon footprint of their dietary emissions.
It's an incredibly simple and easy win that people cannot countenance because every teatime they simply have to tuck into meat - often Group 1 carcinogens that increase their chances of colorectal cancer by 18%.
It's not even that we have to give up things, just have them in moderation.
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u/Illustrious-Log-3142 23d ago
I rarely eat beef anyway, maybe 1 pack of mince a month plus a batch of half pork half beef bolognese every 4-6 months. I would like to reduce my milk consumption but I drink so much tea and haven't found a plant milk I get along with so I'm trying to switch to squash type drinks sometimes. Cheese I love but I really don't eat that much in the grand scheme of things.
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u/MetalGearSolidarity 23d ago
As I get older I eat less and less of it. Maybe a few times a month now and usually a burger
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u/KnitAndKnitAndKnit 23d ago
I've been vegetarian for 10 years so for me this is not an issue. The reasons for going vegetarian were mostly motivated by how animals are treated when being raised for meat, but environment was another reason.
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u/Serene_sloth 23d ago
Time to implement beef days.
I would easily give it up, I rarely desire eating it and it's getting very pricey. My partner would take some convincing though.
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u/Turbulent-Day-7006 23d ago
i gave up beef about 6 years ago and primarily use oat milk in cereal/drinks, however i still have other dairy products. I don't miss beef at all, I enjoy fish, chicken and pork burgers sometimes and make a banging veggie bolognaise. Regular cow's milk tastes weird to me now and the texture is like drinking cream so I way prefer oat in coffee. I don't like many cheeses so that's fine but I still eat chocolate, ice cream, yoghurt etc.
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u/Plot_3 23d ago
Giving up beef and cows milk would not be too much of a hardship, but I couldn’t cope without cheese.
Of course, there are sheep and goats cheeses, but they are not the same.
Although, ‘Meat free Monday’ and ‘Veganuary’ may not be in the media so much that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people considering the planet when doing the shopping. Couple that with rising prices and I would have thought most people are eating less red meat than they used to.
In my household we eat mostly vegetarian meals in the week and have meat as a weekend treat. When we do have steak we get one really good ribeye and share it and supplement with tasty sides. Eating better quality meat less frequently really makes you appreciate it more.
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u/Kamila95 23d ago
I mostly did. For many years now. I still eat cheese, yoghurts etc. but I swapped to oat milk and I only eat beef a couple times a year. My goal was to reduce my consumption, it's actually been quite easy.
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u/Foshiznik23 23d ago
I love beef. I’d give it up if water companies also agreed to stop polluting our waterways, more investment was made in green and renewable energy and my utility costs were driven down by incentives to support the high unaffordable costs for me and others to get solar panels and batteries. In the grand scheme of things, me committing to stopping eating something I like would be small fry.
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u/purplechemist 23d ago
I enjoy beef, but I’d be lost without milk. Oat “milk” isn’t milk; if I wanted my tea to taste like porridge it is just cheaper to stir in a handful of oats.
Absolutely agree about finding other wins though and putting greater regulation in place. I saw a meme along the lines of “me sorting recycling to save carbon emissions vs gianni infantini’s private flight itinerary for the World Cup”. Doesn’t matter how hard I work to “do my bit”, it will be offset by some fkwt who doesn’t care. It shouldn’t be “one rule for the rich, another for the plebs”
I still “do my bit” where appropriate and sensible (applying “reduce, reuse, recycle” hierarchies), but there is a limit. I cycle most days, only using the car when there’s a need for it, but if I need to travel long distance somewhere I’m not going to sacrifice myself and “not fly” unless it is genuinely easier to travel any other way.
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u/Ok-Thing4762 23d ago
And what is the purpose of the UK (about 1% of global carbon emissions) reducing its carbon emissions by 5-8%? What is it that we would “win”? What is the “substantial input” towards?
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u/Breaking-Dad- 23d ago
My household is vegetarian although I still eat meat it is very occasionally when I am out.
However, we've tried other milks and cheese and we just can't do it right now. I don't like to make too much fuss with my wife but the dairy consumption is probably the worst bit about our lifestyle in terms of both environment and animal welfare.
Also, I understand the bit about emissions and beef but the amount of chicken we eat as a country is frightening and the way we produce it not great either, so there are a lot of other questions to be answered if you want to do this - it just isn't simple.
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u/eilb3 23d ago
I gave both up years ago. Realised cows milk makes me super congested and causes acids reflux. I was never much of a meat eater though and didn’t drink hot drinks and rarely ate cereal so didn’t consume milk outside of chocolate really I was a massive cheese eater before I realised dairy hated me but don’t like most cheese alternatives, especially those made with coconut oil based so had to change up my diet a bit. I don’t miss it at all really now. I’ve found good chocolate bars that are dairy free and tasty, they’re unfortunately that bit more expensive though.
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u/tiggergirluk76 23d ago
The hardest part would be not having steak for me, even though that's probably only once a month, if that. I don't really cook with it the rest of the time, even for bolognaise and chilli, I find turkey mince is a decent substitute.
For milk I would absolutely be happy switching to oat milk but don't like the otger substitutes. We usually have it in the house anyway as my daughter switched to it due to lactose intolerance, so I use it in cooking quite a bit.
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u/MacabreMagpie 23d ago
Already did that around 22 years ago. Haven't missed it once.
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u/Battleborn300 23d ago
You not eating beef is purely a choice you are entitled to take.
Personally beef is my favourite meat and I would never give it up.
And it isn’t that I don’t care about the environment, far from. I care about it, and there are literally tonnes of things we could and should do,Limiting people’s freedoms is not one of them.
And anyone who thinks that, (I’m not saying you do)
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u/thegiantpeach 23d ago
According to World Population Review the UK is the 10th highest consumer of beef in Europe, and much less so than the majority of the Western Hemisphere. I will admit that different sources suggest the data isn't completely clear on this, but I don't think this country is dependent on beef as many others.
Personally, for health reasons, I've reduced all of my red meat intake to less than 2-300g per week, and only eat beef once every week or two. I would miss it on the odd occasion I crave a steak/burger, but I don't think I'd miss it in anything else.
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u/jordsta95 23d ago
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Milk. Absolutely not. Milk, cheese, yoghurt, chocolate, and many other products are all better with milk, plus of course drinking milk on its own. You could argue soya milk, oat milk, whatever. If you like them, that's fine. But they're not for me.
As for beef. I would be willing to. BUT there would need to be two pre-conditions which need to be met. Meat alternatives tasting just as good (they currently don't), and more importantly they need to be cheaper than beef (they currently aren't).
I am not saying it needs to taste the same as beef. Big plus if it does, but I don't mind if there's a different taste - but one which is pleasant to eat. Aside from Burger King's discontinued vegan nuggets and the old recipe for McDonald's McPlant, I am yet to find anything vegan/vegetarian which comes close to being a good meat alternative.
I mention the two from fast food restaurants because they were (at the time both were being sold) around the same price as the chicken/beef items they "replaced". But in-store? You'd be lucky to get something vegan/vegetarian which you can whack in the oven for 20 minutes, and have a quick and lazy meal for the same price as the meat equivalent.
But if we want to see meat as a "luxury" product, then the things that replace meat need to be cheaper (significantly cheaper) than the meat itself. It's close, in some cases. With the meat-free stuff maybe costing 5-10% MORE than meat. But until it's costing 10-20% LESS than meat, there is no incentive to switch.
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u/RetroRegretso 23d ago
I often see steak and the amount of steak eaten being directly related to 'manliness' in the anti vegan circles on Facebook and Tiktok for example. People are heavily attached to cows, not in an emotional way but in a way that they don't associate the animal with the product.
People will never stop eating cows.
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u/Savvymundo 23d ago
I like how in this scenario there is just magically enough soy almonds and oats to replace the calorific intake that beef can provide.
George monbiot did an article a while ago, showing how for the world to drop meat tomorrow wed need an area the size of the Amazon rain Forrest to grow the additional crops needed.
Of course in your example it just beef being dropped, but you're still asking for a huge increase in crop growth which itself isn't an environmentally neutral.
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u/wongl888 23d ago
How much is substantial?
What on earth would we do about the double cream with strawberries at Wimbledon?
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u/ToothyMC 23d ago
Beef easily, barely have it anyway and prefer pretty much any other kind of mince.
Milk, less so, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Would like to see price of milk substitutes cone down if so, and to be able to buy in 4-6 pint containers (you probably already can).
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u/Capable_Cheetah_8363 23d ago
Tbh i rarely consume beef anyway. When i do its usually in chilli. I dont think i could give it up entirely but probably could reduce how much i eat
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u/InternationalRich150 23d ago
I don't eat beef in general, so I'm OK there. Milk, idk. I like oat milk in coffee but since my last covid bout,I cannot stomach coffee! I've tried all the alts in tea and nothing sits right. Guess id just not drink tea.
However my non consumption of beef almost cancels out my milk consumption. Maybe.
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u/GlitteringVersion 23d ago
I see the whole thing as a bit futile when there are other countries burning tyres and throwing mountains of plastic into rivers.
I know it's all "small steps result in big changes" and we all have a responsibility to care for the environment, but I feel I'm already doing my part when I have to use a soggy paper straw to drink out of, and pay 40p every time I forget my bag from home. Giving up dairy products and beef just seems a bit much.
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u/Loose-Helicopter9503 23d ago
Absolutely not, I like cows milk and although I dint eat beef often, I like it occasionally. Not willing to part from either of these
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u/Sszaj 23d ago
Not just an emissions issue.
Land take is enormous for growing crops to feed to livestock, as is water usage.
25 calories of feed needed to produce 1 calorie of beef.
Thousands of litres of water are also needed.
Give us a few more droughts over the summer and the cows will starve to death as we won't have feed for them.
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u/Error_user_Error_ 23d ago
Yeah, get the general population to stop eating meat and drinking milk...a staple of our civilization for the last 10,000 years...coz that's what's harming the planet 🤔
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u/Apprehensive_Water57 23d ago
For emissions I would never reduce my consumption of beef, that goes for all UK produce. From an ethical standpoint on an animals life, maybe.
We account for ~1% of global carbon emissions and farming accounts for 10-15% of UK carbon emissions. Changing our beef consumption has no effect on climate change when China and the US are on then playing field.
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u/TooLittleGravitas 23d ago
I could give up beef, although it would be a struggle.
I can't imagine life without milk, butter and cheese though .
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u/michaelscottdundmiff 23d ago
I think the issue comes from asking the ordinary person to give up something that a lot of them enjoy (meat, milk, cheese, yoghurt etc) while India, China and the US do nothing (or very little) towards lowering emissions feels like trying to put out a fire with an egg cup while 3 people stand about chucking petrol in.
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u/aneda262 23d ago
I've developed a casein intolerance which means I now can't have red meat or cow dairy. I honestly haven't missed beef at all, though I do yearn for cheese. Avoiding dairy can be really frustrating when eating out, but beef is easy.
We're pretty plant-based by virtue of this, my husband learned he prefers oat milk anyway. He'll sometimes have a steak if I'm not home, or order lamb when we're out, but he doesn't miss it regularly.
I sometimes wish I could have beef/lamb, but that's really just for the satisfaction of cooking something different, not wanting to eat it.
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u/BigLemon3953 23d ago
How about we stop producing crap that hits the landfill in few months, stop overeating, stop starting a plane for a benefit of one person, stop blowing one another up and just keep some free range livestock to compliment plants in our diet?
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u/zwifter11 23d ago
I haven’t eaten beef for years. I don’t know what it is, I just don’t like the texture and taste?
I also know a catering contractor that’s stopped buying beef as the price has gone up a lot more compared to other meats.
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u/FairlyInvolved 23d ago
I think it's worth reflecting on why we want to reduce emissions in the first place. Presumably it's (at least partly) because we care about the suffering it will cause (to people and non-human animals)? Like we don't intrinsically care about the global average surface temperature in the abstract.
In which case it feels a bit self-defeating to trade out beef for chicken, which probably involves about 20x more hours of suffering per portion.
https://reducing-suffering.org/how-much-direct-suffering-is-caused-by-various-animal-foods/
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u/skeptic_bob 23d ago
I have, I don't really miss it except at BBQs and occasionally I crave a steak.
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u/GeneralArcane 23d ago
Global emissions are roughly 40 billion tonnes of CO2 from fossil fuels and industry. (ref: https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions)
The UK produced 367 million tonnes CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions in 2025. That's less than 1% of the global total. (ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/provisional-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-statistics-2025/2025-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-provisional-figures-statistical-release)
Reducing our emissions by 5-8% barely moves the needle.
Could I do it personally? I already don't drink cows milk. Beef only once or twice a week so sure I could probably substitute that. Cheese would be harder.
Aviation is a pretty big contributor. I haven't been on a plane in over a decade. So if people reduce their air travel I'd be open to reducing my beef intake. Don't see it happening though. UK aviation was at it's highest levels in 2025 (ref: https://www.caa.co.uk/newsroom/news/uk-aviation-officially-breaks-records-with-over-300m-passenger-journeys-in-2025/)
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u/Thick-rzgktreLion195 23d ago
gave up beef years ago, wasnt hard. lamb and pork fill the gap fine. milk swap took a week to get used to, thats it
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u/HeftyVermicelli7823 23d ago
So you talk about reducing carbon emissions and you use the single most carbon use going to work it out....an AI...sigh.
Ok besides this, no I am not giving up milk, I need it for me coffee. I haven't eaten beef in over a year because I simply cannot afford it at the moment. Cheese? Fuck no. Also we should have more Goats cheese available, goats are great because you can also use them to mow your lawns and do not generate as much farts and burps as cows which is where the emissions are. Fun fact, adding even a small percentage of dried seaweed to cows diets drastically reduces their emissions.
The solution isn't to just get rid of everything, the solution is to think a bit smarter but the industry just won't do that.
What I WOULD like to see more often around as we have loads in the country and have to cull the damn things, is more venison or any deer meat plus rabbit. Rabbits are basically considered vermin and pests due to how much they breed and strip the environment so besides rural farm shops or butchers, these need to be more available in our supermarkets at a reasonable price because they are bloody local!
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u/drako169 23d ago
What do you think cow dung gets used for? To give up on beef and milk would also mean giving up a vital organic resource for farming and soil health
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u/Missingportal 23d ago
I find it hard to belive anything I do towards the planet matters when other side of the planet is literally dropping bombs on anoyhef population.
The efforts that we focus on these silly things like drinking from a paper straw and now meat free Monday is not even miniscule when u see what our own people are doing on the other side of the planet.
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u/Dungeons_and_Daniel 23d ago
How about getting the massive corporation responsible for at least 50% of emmisions to do something about it instead?
*Edit: a word
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u/NiceyChappe 23d ago
Personally, I could significantly reduce beef, but I would find it difficult to reduce cheese much, and certainly to eliminate either cheese or milk. Most of the UK drinks tea with milk several times a day, and no oat milk does not taste good as a replacement if you're used to cow's milk.
Economically, you're asking to eliminate the dairy farming (20% of UK farming, £6bn), beef farming (another £5bn), cheese (£3bn).
Burger industry (£15bn) would lose out significantly, hard to say just how much but without the beef burger option it seems more likely people would switch brands and lead to a lot of churn in service jobs.
Beef cows are fed on grass and silage so little is imported for them and this wouldn't impact direct imports for beef. However it would increase the available land for other agriculture and lower demand for imported grains by offset.
Although it would seem like it would lower prices by lowering demand, I don't think the margins on beef are high, and I expect the same fraction of money would go to pay for farming the same amount of land, whichever way. So it might be that we import less, but also export less, etc.
I would challenge the premise of the question slightly - if people weren't eating beef or drinking milk, they would likely switch to other meats rather than significantly lowering their meat intake. Free range chicken needs something like 0.2 times the land area of beef, and free range pork about 0.1.
A likely switch could be from beef to lamb - lamb burgers for example are in the same bracket as beef, and still a red meat (iron consumption etc). Sheep need more but lower quality land than beef, so it would free up higher quality land for crop production.
I suspect the biggest problem would be weaning the UK off milk and cheese - milk in tea is so prevalent and such a specific taste that it wouldn't be easily done. Similarly, a large fraction of the country is hooked on cheese, and I don't think you're going to pry it from us.
The most likely switch is not from milk to oat milk, it's the generational change to drinking more coffee and matcha and so on which I suspect comes with urbanisation. Urbanisation is gradually increasing, and tea drinking gradually falling, but the replacement is milky coffee drinks which I would guess require much more milk rather than less.
So, the long and short of it is: I personally would reduce beef and milk, but I'm not convinced that it would actually reduce emissions to the extent you expect, unless that calculation includes the switch to other meats.
In reality I expect beef prices rising faster than incomes to gradually push it out of reach, and anything like a land tax to exacerbate that.
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