Here’s one way to make your wedding Lazy ‘n Green as well as Lazy’n Frugal – cut out steak from your meal. Offering chicken, fish or even pork will bring the price point down, as beef is usually the more expensive option. And eliminating beef helps the environment…a lot. A Japanese study for New Scientist magazine concluded that one kilogram of beef (four steaks) releases greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to driving a car for three hours. Researchers found that the gasses emitted in the chain of raising cattle required 169 megajoules of energy to produce 2.2 pounds of beef. Leave a 100-watt light bulb burning for 20 days and you’d use the same amount of energy. Over two-thirds of the energy used was just on producing and transporting the feed alone!
While I love a good steak every now and then, as consumers, our daily choices have an impact on our world. My suggestions – if you are going to eat beef, opt when possible for organic, free-range cattle, as other studies have shown that these grass-raised cows emit 40% less greenhouse gasses and consume 85% less energy.
Now that’s food for thought.
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That is certainly food for thought. I had my wedding in November and my guests dined on chicken and fish. Everyone loved it and it didn’t cost a fortune. You have really done your homework on this post and I love the great statistics. Great blog!
More than the scientific reasons behind cutting steak from the menu is the MOO-la (sorry, I could not help myself) brides save by cutting out steak from the wedding menu. My fiance and I saved about $20 per person by asking the caterer to use a pasta dish with another chicken dish instead of beef dishes.
Check out my blog here: http://ambergillette.com/charmed_city/blog/
Thanks for the kind words, Sarah! Glad you are enjoying the blog! And saving money whilst saving the planet is always a good thing. Congrats on your marriage!
That’s very ‘punny’ 😉
Good food doesn’t have to cost a lot nor harm the environment. I’m sure no one at your wedding was missing the beef.