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בדיוק כמו שסוג המכונית בה אנו נוסעים עשוי להיות קשור להתחממות העולמית, מחקר חדש מראה כי כך גם סוג המזון אותו אנו אוכלים.

חוקרים מאוניברסיטת שיקגו אומרים כי שקיפת דלק מאובנים (דלק שמקורו בשרידי צמחים ובעלי-חיים) במהלך ייצור המזון ופליטת דו תחמוצת הפחמן קשורים למשק החי תורמים לבעייה.

Researchers at the University of Chicago say burning fossil fuels during food production and non-carbon dioxide emissions associated with livestock contribute to the problem.

The study reveals the average American diet requires the production of an extra ton and a half of carbon dioxide-equivalent -- in the form of actual carbon dioxide and as methane and other greenhouse gases -- compared to a strictly vegetarian diet.

"We say that however close you can be to a vegan diet and further from the mean American diet, the better you are for the planet," explain researchers Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, assistant professors in Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago. "It doesn't have to be all the way to the extreme end of vegan. If you simply cut down from two burgers a week to one, you've already made a substantial difference."

The average American emits 1.9 to 4.7 tons of carbon dioxide by car a year. In 2002, fossil fuels emitted for food production equaled three-quarters of a ton of carbon dioxide per person -- equivalent to about one-third the average greenhouse-gas emissions of personal transportation. Researchers say livestock production and animal waste also emit methane and nitrous oxide, which are molecule for molecule far more powerful greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Earth Interactions, 2006;10:1-17

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