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A study carried out by New Scientist has found that producing 2.2lbs of beef is more hazardous to the environment than a three-hour drive.
The research team investigated the levels greenhouse gases emitted throughout the process of feeding, raising, and transporting cattle to produce beef.
It was revealed that producing 2.2lbs of beef used up 169 megajoules of energy and produced over 80lbs of greenhouse gas; enough, the study says, to run a car for three hours or power a 100-watt bulb for three days.
It's claimed that the true effects of producing beef are greater still, as the study didn't include emissions produced by transporting the meat after slaughter, or managing the farm equipment needed to keep cattle.
Over a third of the energy went into making the animals feed, but most of the emissions came from the cows themselves in the form of methane - a far more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
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