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A study commissioned by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, Japan, and published in the Animal Science Journal, has found producing 2.2 pounds of beef generates more carbon dioxide than an average car does every 160 miles.

The report also showed that producing 2.2 pounds of beef also consumed nearly 170 megajoules of energy, most of it on producing and transporting cattle feed. It's the same amount of energy that a 100-watt light bulb would consume if it were left on for 20 days, the U.K.'s New Scientist magazine reported.

It looked at several aspects of beef production, but didn't account for emissions from farm equipment and transportation vehicles.