There’s nothing better than having a little ice cream cone while you walk around in the sweltering summer heat or eating a whole pint on the couch while your AC is blasting.
But apparently ice cream is bad for the environment. I mean, what isn’t these days? Sigh.
It’s those farting and burping cattle again. But it’s the cows producing the most methane, which holds 80 times more heat in the upper atmosphere than other greenhouse gases. Natural forms of methane are the biggest contributors, with wetlands accounting for 40%, according to the International Energy Institute. Agriculture is at about 25%, followed by burning oil, natural gas, and coal.
Ice cream isn’t responsible for a huge amount of that.
Of the 26 billion gallons of milk produced in the U.S., 10% is for ice cream. Americans eat about 22 pints of the stuff every year.
But there are other hidden costs to the environment, like keeping it frozen; otherwise, it turns from ice cream to cream cream. Ironically, that requires burning fossil fuels, like coal and natural gas. We also create more heat by driving to get the ice cream.
But guess what? There’s more.
Here’s a little run down of what it takes to make ice cream and why these cold treats are not super wonderful for old mama nature.
Dairy
Dairy cows produce up to 320 liters of methane per day and, alongside bulls and feed production, require about 41% of U.S. land.
Fertilizers and pesticides used in all types of agriculture have been found in 90% of U.S. rivers and streams.
Dairy farm waste, including manure and fertilizer runoff, also contaminates water. A farm with 2,500 cows produces waste equal to a city of 411,000 people, like Tampa, Fl., and Minneapolis, Minn.
Deforestation
Ice cream ingredients like vanilla, cocoa, palm oil and sugar lead to forest habitat loss, with agriculture driving 80% of global deforestation.
All these ingredients use heavy pesticides and water. For example, it takes 1,500 liters of water to produce one kilogram of sugar.
Waste
Dairy production generates significant waste, with the dairy industry throwing out about 45 million gallons of milk per year.
But you can now find lots of sustainable options made from all kinds of stuff, including almond milk, hemp, and pea protein.
Read More
