Per 21g Protein Serving (4 ounces)
Carbon
Footprint
Square
Footprint
Water
Footprint
1.93 kg CO2e
29.85 ft2
75.78 Gallons
Monthly Choice
Weekly Choice
Daily Choice
Best Choice
Food Waste
Consumers are estimated to waste on average 29% of all Pork purchased (USDA ERS, 2019).
Food waste increases the environmental impact of Pork by 40.8%
Consumers are estimated to waste on average 29% of all Pork purchased (USDA ERS, 2019).
Carbon Footprint
If you ate 4 ounces of Pork every day for a year, you would use:
79.1
Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent
703.6
kg CO2e
If you ate 4 ounces of Pork every day for a year, you would use:
79.1
Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent
703.6
kg CO2e
The Cradle to Grave Carbon Footprint of Pork is 17.00 kg CO2e per kg. The greenhouse gas emissions of Pork are 5.3 times higher than Soy.
- 93.29 g CO2e / g protein
-
16.11 kg CO2e / 2,000 kcal
-
17.00 kg CO2e / kg
-
7.71 kg CO2e / lb
-
182.2 g protein / kg (Source: USDA Food Data Central, 2019)
-
2,110 kcal / kg (Source: USDA Food Data Central, 2019)
Carbon Footprint of Gasoline: 8.89 kg CO2e / gallon
-
Based on EIA (2016)
Carbon Footprint of Pork at Retail Gate: 12.31 kg CO2e / kg
-
Global weighted average reported by Poore & Nemeck (2018). The study is the most thorough meta-analysis for the environmental impact of food published to date. The value represents 36 Life Cycle Analyses (LCA), and 75 independent production systems modeled, mostly in the peer reviewed literature. Individual LCA studies are weighted according to their representativeness of the country they were performed in, as well as that country’s global production. The study re-samples the dataset to fill in gaps for missing data and uncertainty.
-
Carbon footprint with climate feedbacks includes all on-farm processes, land use change, transportation for processing and delivery to retail, packaging, retail storage, and all losses from processing and food waste.
Carbon Footprint of Transport From Retail to Home: 0.44 kg CO2e / kg
-
Assumed 1 package (1 lb) purchased
Carbon Footprint of Cooking: 0.35 kg CO2e / kg
-
Cooked from 40 degrees fresh to 145 degrees (medium) internal for 9 minutes on a 1,600 g 12 inch aluminum frying pan on medium heat. For portions serving 5-7 people, a second pan is modeled and total food mass is assumed to be split between the two pans.
-
Serving size is 4 ounces (113 g).
-
Heat capacity of pork is 2.76 J / g*C (Engineering ToolBox, 2003)
-
Cooking time based on Recipe Tips (2020)
-
For energy use calculators and the proportion of US Household size used to determine cooking proportions, see the “Carbon Footprint of Cooking” page.
-
Source: Carbon Footprint of Cooking
Carbon Footprint of Consumer Food Loss: 3.80 kg CO2e / kg
-
The USDA ERS Loss Adjusted Food Availability (2019) reports a consumer loss of 29% for Pork in the United States.
Carbon Footprint of Disposal: 0.10 kg CO2e / kg
-
29% wasted
Cradle to Grave Carbon Footprint: 17.00 kg CO2e / kg
Additional Assumptions:
-
Energy use from refrigeration at home is not considered. The electricity load of a refrigerator is considered separate from the foods placed inside of it, because it is assumed that every household has a refrigerator, regardless of how much food is in it. The individual load of opening the refrigerator for one item has been estimated to be around 2 g CO2e / opening (0.02 MJ / opening; Terrell, 2006), and thus does not meet the cutoff for sensitivity of carbon footprints set at 2 significant digits for kg CO2e.
Square Footprint
If you ate 4 ounces of Pork every day for a year, you would use:
76
Parking Spaces Equivalent
10,894
ft2
If you ate 4 ounces of Pork every day for a year, you would use:
76
Parking Spaces Equivalent
10,894
ft2
The Cradle to Grave Square Footprint of Pork is 263.19 ft2 per kg. The land use of Pork is 6.2 times higher than Soy.
1.444 ft2 / g protein
249.47 ft2 / 2,000 kcal
263.19 ft2 / kg
119.38 ft2 / lb
182.2 g protein / kg (Source: USDA Food Data Central, 2019)
2,110 kcal / kg (Source: USDA Food Data Central, 2019)
Square Footprint of Pork at Retail Gate: 186.86 ft2 / kg
Global weighted average reported by Poore & Nemeck (2018). The study is the most thorough meta-analysis for the environmental impact of food published to date. The value represents 36 Life Cycle Analyses (LCA), and 75 independent production systems modeled, mostly in the peer reviewed literature. Individual LCA studies are weighted according to their representativeness of the country they were performed in, as well as that country’s global production. The study re-samples the dataset to fill in gaps for missing data and uncertainty.
Value reported includes on farm post-harvest handling and storage losses reported by Poore & Nemeck (2018). Land use required for seed and fallow land is added to the final yield to reflect all land required.
Value reported includes all processing losses and food wasted.
Original value reported as 17.36 m2 / kg
Square Footprint After Consumer Food Waste: 263.19 ft2 / kg
The USDA ERS Loss Adjusted Food Availability (2019) reports a consumer loss of 29% for Pork in the United States.
Total consumer food loss of 29% increases the Square Footprint by 76.32 ft2 / kg, or 40.8%.
Water Footprint
If you ate 4 ounces of Pork every day for a year, you would use:
184.4
Hours in the Shower Equivalent
27,659
Gallons of Water
If you ate 4 ounces of Pork every day for a year, you would use:
184.4
Hours in the Shower Equivalent
27,659
Gallons
The Cradle to Grave Water Footprint of Pork is 668.2 gallons per kg. The water use of Pork is 15.3 times higher than Soy.
3.668 gallons / g protein
633.4 gallons / 2,000 kcal
668.2 gallons / kg
303.1 gallons / lb
182.2 g protein / kg (Source: USDA Food Data Central, 2019)
2,110 kcal / kg (Source: USDA Food Data Central, 2019)
Water Footprint of Pork at Retail Gate: 474.45 gallons / kg
Global weighted average reported by Poore & Nemeck (2018). The study is the most thorough meta-analysis for the environmental impact of food published to date. The value represents 36 Life Cycle Analyses (LCA), and 75 independent production systems modeled, mostly in the peer reviewed literature. Individual LCA studies are weighted according to their representativeness of the country they were performed in, as well as that country’s global production. The study re-samples the dataset to fill in gaps for missing data and uncertainty.
Water use includes all irrigation water, water extracted for processing, and food wasted.
Original value reported as 1,795.80 L / kg.
Water Footprint After Consumer Food Waste: 668.2 gallons / kg
The USDA ERS Loss Adjusted Food Availability (2019) reports a consumer loss of 29% for Pork in the United States.
Total food loss of 29% increases the Water Footprint by 193.79 gallons / kg, or 40.8%.
Does not include water used for cooking.
References
Energy Information Administration (EIA; February 2, 2016). Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients. See Link to Source
Home Water Works. (2019). Showers. See Link to Source
Franklin Street. (May 23, 2019). How Large is a Parking Space? See Link to Source
Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987-992.
Recipe Tips. (2020). Pork Cooking Times. See Link to Source
Terrell, W. (2006). Energy Requirements of Refrigerators Due to Door Opening Conditions. International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference. Paper 836.
The Engineering ToolBox. (2003). Specific Heat of Food and Foodstuff. See Link to Source
USDA ERS: US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. (2019). Loss-Adjusted Food Availability. See Link to Source
USDA Food Data Central: US Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service. (April 1, 2019). Pork, fresh, composite of trimmed leg, loin, shoulder, and spareribs, (includes cuts to be cured), separable lean and fat, raw. See Link to Source
