If you want to turn climate policy into a bitter culture war, there are few more effective weapons than a Big Mac.
On one side, environmentalists will point out that the cattle we raise cause about as much greenhouse pollution as all the world¡¯s cars, trucks, ships and planes. On the other, irritated meat-lovers will call you a killjoy and warn that you don¡¯t win friends with salad. There¡¯s one place where the opposing groups agree, however: As incomes rise and allow people to buy more of it, beef-eating is such an irresistible habit that only implausibly radical behavioral changes can stop things spiraling still further out of control.
They¡¯re both wrong about that, though. As we¡¯ve argued in the past, the world is rapidly closing in on peak beef. It¡¯s possible that the carbon hoofprint of the global cattle herd is already in decline.
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