Fish or beef -which is better for the environment?

If you are worried about the environment and climate change but aren't quite ready to become a vegan or vegetarian anytime soon, you may wonder, which is better for the planet, fish or beef?

Climate Change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and people are looking at their diets and reducing meat consumption to improve their carbon footprint. Searching for alternative protein sources in fish should make sense; it shouldn't have as many emissions. Right?

According to Our World in Data, fish is not the best protein source for the environment. The specialized site made an index using data from various sources and considering the whole production process.

Beef and lamb are the worst protein sources for the environment. According to Our World in Data information collected by Green Queen, the lamb would be the worst choice as it produces roughly 50% more emissions than beef.

Image: Jose Ignacio Pompe / Unsplash

Pork stands in the middle of poultry and lamb. The data site explains that it produces around 4.6 kilograms of carbon dioxide for every kilogram of meat. Less than beef or lamb but worse than other options.

Out of the three, chicken and turkey are the best options, according to the chart. Poultry produces half the emissions of pork and a lot less than beef or lamb. Eggs are an even better option.

And what about fish? Tuna is placed just above chicken and turkey on the chart, but farmed salmon is below them. Then it is solved, right? Fish is better. Well, researchers think it is more complicated than that.

Farmed salmon is placed under chicken and turkey because farming fish is worse for the environment than caching wild seafood. According to Gizmodo, the sector generated roughly the same emissions as the Netherlands in 2017.

The wild-caught is the answer? Well, it depends. According to the magazine, while many kinds of wild-caught seafood are more climate-conscious, that's only the case for some.

If you are worried about plastic pollution of the oceans, wild-caught fish may not be the best option for you.

According to data by the non-profit Sea Shepherd collected by Green Queen, all commercial fishing methods leave gear in the water, making up almost 50% of ocean plastic waste.

There are also other considerations. Frances Withrow, a marine scientist at Oceana, explained to Gizmodo that the organization has battled to ensure fishing gear is more sustainable to cut down on bycatch, as sharks, dolphins, or turtles can get killed.

Overfishing is also a significant concern. According to Gizmodo, the United Nations has warned that a third of the world's fisheries are being used at unsustainable rates. The New York Times claims only 7% of the ocean is protected.

There needs to be more research on the emissions of fishing. According to The New York Times, experts determined the emissions of the trawling fishery, one of the most common styles, for the first time in 2021. The results are not good: it emits the same as the aviation industry in a year.

According to Gizmodo, those high emissions are associated with bottom trawling, especially the one dedicated to crustaceans, because the boats must constantly stop and start to set and collect traps, using a lot of fuel in the process.

A 2018 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change and collected by The Independent confirmed that information: lobster and shrimp fisheries can produce more emissions than pork farms. This type of seafood may not be the best choice either.

Image: wang xi / Unsplash

There is also less control in the fishing sector than in others. According to Gizmodo, World Trade Organization failed to reach a deal on how to cut subsidies to unsustainable fish farms that can also release diseases that kill wild fish.

The answer to the question, in simple terms, is yes. Fish tends to be more sustainable than meat on average. Still, there are better environmental options considering all its impacts on marine life, ocean pollution, or even greenhouse gas emissions.

Experts cited by Gizmodo and Green Queen agree that the best options are always wild-caught small fishes like herring and sardines. They are often less overexploited. Mollusks, like oysters, are also a good option because they are natural ocean cleaners.

Bottom line: although there are climate and environmentally-friendly seafood options, the authentic green protein sources will always be plant base, according to the Our World in Data chart, which places them at the top of the chain.