Say it ain't so! Tofu, that seemingly innocuous staple of vegetarian cooking, could actually be worse for the environment than meat. At least, that's according to rampant media reports of a new study commissioned by WWF-UK and the Food Climate Research Network. Let's take a closer look…
The 86-page study, entitled "How Low Can We Go," was conducted by Cranfield University in the UK and found that tofu and other meat substitutes could be harmful to the environment due to issues like overseas deforestation, energy-intensive processing, and transportation.
But it also turns out the focus of the study was not squarely on tofu; rather, it addressed the UK food system and greenhouse gas emissions in a much broader sense. Few media reports mentioned the report's extensive look at the negative impact of livestock, especially when raised outside the local food system.
We actually have the The Atlantic's James McWilliams to thank for raising a critical voice amidst the anti-tofu frenzy. Though he took issue with the skewed media coverage, McWilliams did praise the study itself:
"How Low Can We Go" is an important piece of research. Particularly commendable is the attention it paid to the unintended consequences of eating less meat. The authors make the insightful point that reducing meat consumption is not, in and of itself, a green decision. How we replace meat matters, too. Basically, as the authors repeatedly stress, our meatless sustenance must be derived from a broad range of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and pulses. To illustrate this essential point, they noted that if UK residents reduced local meat consumption but substituted all those lost calories with highly processed meat substitutes, the effect could be worse than not giving up meat at all. This hypothetical scenario, mentioned on page nine, was by no means intended to support the argument that we'd be better off eating meat over tofu.
Where do you stand? If you've reduced or eliminated meat from your diet, have you replaced it with tofu or other meat substitutes? Are you concerned about tofu's carbon footprint (as discussed in a recent TreeHugger post)? Perhaps the idea of another environmentally harmful food is overwhelming. Or perhaps you're just doing the best you can without worrying too much.
Personally, I grew up with tofu as a staple food and don't think I could entertain the idea of giving it up completely. However, over the past few years I have consciously reduced my consumption of soy products. As a vegetarian who once believed I was immune to the types of issues that concern meat eaters, it has been challenging (in a good way!) to address the fact that vegetarianism isn't inherently harmless.
Related: Eating Less Meat: Is Fake Meat the Answer?
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It's important to remember that while soy production at its current scale is certainly unsustainable, however the scale of production is fueled by the meat and dairy industry as livestock feed. If soy was actually substituted for meat at scale, then the net land use would be greatly reduced. This is not to say, however, that soy isn't overused within vegetable-based diets, as there is plenty more options available.
I definitely eat a significant amount of tofu, probably 5 meals a week (usually with salad at lunch during the work week). Interestingly, on a recent trip to Southeast Asia I noticed that tofu is often found in dishes along WITH meat or fish, so it's really not treated as a meat substitute. I also eat a lot of beans, chickpeas, eggs, and cheese as protein sources.
I read the Atlantic's debunking of the "tofu is bad for the environment" spin on this as well -- interesting stuff. And I think there are other reasons not to eat meat than just environmental reasons!
www.vegrun.blogspot.com
More reason to eat game meat, imo.
There is really no "magic food" out there, it's about time that people realised that.
Eat local and mostly veggies -- the less processed the better.
Always remember too, the perfect is the enemy of the good. Just because you can't find a perfect solution doesn't mean you should ignore the things that are a little bit better.
Going 100% off meat doesn't automatically make anyone immune to environmental issues caused by over production of meat products. It's always important to consider how much environmental impact production, packaging and shipping cause if you really want to do the environment good.
I think fake meat can be an important transition tool to eating less meat. Fake meat allows people transitioning to cook in a way that is similar to what they are used to. This will allow people the time they need to learn a few new cooking techniques and also adjust to the new diet. I am currently trying to transition away from fake meats. For example when I make tacos I add a little bit of fake hamburger meat along with black beans, corn, peppers and some kind of grain like quinoa or brown rice.
I love tofu and barring any hidden allergy or sensitivity, I will continue enjoying it. Not all tofu is equal though. Organic is the only way to go as far as I'm concerned and I'm lucky enough to have access to somewhat locally produced organic gourmet tofu (Small Planet) in the Northwest. I generally avoid the processed meat substitutes, because aside from not being any better for the environment than meat, they aren't much healthier either. Eating consciously is about so much more than just cutting out meat and/or dairy from your diet. You really have to know where your food is coming from and consider the total cost, not just what you pay at the register.
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
I just try to do free-range & organic when possible. Isn't a lot of soy genetically altered?
In my book, as a someone who lives in a northern climate, the best solution is locally raised or hunted meat for my protein needs, supplemented with plenty of dried legumes like lentils, peas and beans. These animals eat primarily grass and weeds/trees and therefore this meat is not contributing to the global demand for soy. I believe grass-fed game and buffalo meat is the leanest source of iron and protein as well.
That said, I still occasionally indulge in some dessert tofu for a relatively low-cal dessert.
I live in a northern climate as well, I buy my soy from an organic farm a couple provinces away, and I use it like I would any pre-packaged, processed food- in moderation. I make seitan with organic wheat gluten just as often, and primarily get my nutrients from organic vegetables, legumes and pulses.
It's almost silly to have to point out that a crop can be farmed in ways that are positive or negative to the environment, and that it would be better to choose more positively. The difference between choosing animal products that are more positive and plant products that are more positive is not just a matter of degree, but also of kind. The animals definitely benefit from the latter arrangement.
I eat more dried beans than tofu just for this reason.
This may be a stupid question, but I have to ask. In the list of foods in the quotation, it mentions "pulses." I thought I was pretty good with food lingo, but I have no idea what a pulse is, outside of biology, food processors, and electromagnetism. What foods qualify as pulses?
That's if your only reason for choosing meat alternatives is environmental issues. We ethical veggies also choose tofu because it doesn't involve killin'.
I don't know. I'm up to here with omnis citing any impact associated with plant foods as a reason to choose locally-produced meat instead, as if the environmental issues are the only ones at hand, but more importantly, as if any significant part of the meat market is actually locally-produced or humanely raised. Boils down to those who overwhelmingly likely eat factory-farmed meat telling veggies we're wrong to make themselves feel better about their choices. Which is both tiresome and odious. You can't read the Amazon reviews of any book on omnivory vs. herbivory (no matter which side it's written from) without reading judgmental review after judgmental review from omnis aggressively arguing that meat's the right choice and veggies are deluded and ignorant.
@LitNerd: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_(legume)