Is Eating Chicken Actually Better for the Environment Than Beef?

Many people have switched from beef to chicken in an effort to make more eco-friendly food choices. On the surface, chicken seems like a smarter option – chickens produce less methane than cows and require less land and feed. But when you dig deeper into the environmental impact of chicken production, the picture gets a lot more complicated. In many ways, chicken may be just as hard on the planet as beef.

The Rise of Chicken Consumption

Over the past few decades, chicken consumption worldwide has exploded. Back in the 1960s, the average American ate about 30 pounds of chicken per year. Today, that number is closer to 100 pounds. Globally, more chicken meat is now consumed than any other type of meat.

Several factors have fueled the growth of the chicken industry

• Health concerns over red meat have led more people to choose chicken as a leaner alternative
• Advancements in chicken farming have made it extremely efficient to raise chickens on a large scale
• The taste for chicken has spread globally as Western-style diets are adopted around the world
• Chicken is generally cheaper to produce than beef

But this booming chicken industry is taking a heavy toll on the environment in multiple ways.

Deforestation for Chicken Feed

The vast majority of chickens today are raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). They live in crowded indoor facilities and are fed processed grain-based feed.

A huge amount of this chicken feed consists of soybeans. The soy used to feed chickens and other livestock makes up 75% of the world’s soy crop. Much of this soy comes from South America where massive areas of forest and savannah have been cleared to plant soy.

In particular, the Brazilian Cerrado region has been decimated as soy cultivation expands to meet demand. Over 50% of the Cerrado has already been cleared, releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and threatening biodiversity. Soy expansion also drives deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

So while cows may require more pastureland, the land used to grow soy feed for chickens is placing huge pressure on fragile ecosystems

Pollution from Chicken Farms

Modern chicken farming is incredibly intensive, with some CAFOs housing over 25,000 chickens at once. Keeping so many birds in confined conditions creates an enormous amount of waste.

Manure from chicken CAFOs pollutes nearby land and waterways with excess nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients cause algal blooms and oxygen depletion, harming aquatic ecosystems. Storage lagoons filled with chicken waste have also been known to leak or break, releasing dangerous pollution.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

While cows produce more methane from their digestive processes, chicken CAFOs have a large carbon footprint of their own.

• Transporting feed over long distances generates CO2 emissions
• Waste lagoons emit both CO2 and methane
• Clearing forests for feed crops releases stored carbon
• Energy use for ventilation, heating, lighting in CAFOs causes emissions

One study estimated the chicken industry accounts for over 8% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions when all factors are considered.

Is Organic or Pasture-Raised Chicken Better?

Many people think switching to pasture-raised organic chicken is the answer. However, organic chicken still has environmental downsides:

• Organic soy for feed still requires land clearing and has related emissions
• Pasture-raised chickens require much more land area
• Organic chicken costs more and isn’t scalable to meet current demand
• Pasture-raisedmethods may still use some concentrated housing

While organic chicken is better in terms of animal welfare, wildlife impacts, water pollution and antibiotic overuse, it does not solve the core issues driving climate change and deforestation.

We Need to Reduce Meat Consumption Overall

The hard truth is that producing meat on a massive scale is inherently resource intensive. Whether cattle or chickens are involved, the process uses a great deal of land, water and fossil fuels.

Switching en masse from beef to chicken can’t deliver the greenhouse gas reductions we need. Even eliminating ruminants like cows only reduces agricultural emissions by 28% according to one study.

The most effective way to shrink the environmental footprint of our food system is to significantly reduce the amount of meat we eat, while adopting more plant-based sources of protein like beans, lentils and nuts.

We don’t necessarily have to go 100% vegan. But cutting back on beef, chicken, pork and other meats – even by 25-50% – can make a meaningful difference. Going meatless just one or two days a week helps as well.

Chicken may have a marginally lower impact than beef per pound produced. But with global consumption at an all-time high and rising, chicken is ultimately no panacea for the environmental woes plaguing modern animal agriculture.