Your best, beef-free Instagrams tagged #NoRedOctober
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In 2011 alone, livestock pushed about 119.1 million tons of methane into the air. And although carbon dioxide emissions are far greater in terms of volume, know this: because methane captures way more of the sun’s energy, it’s actually a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Methane warms our atmosphere about 86 times as effectively. Plus! After about two decades it decays into…yeah, CO2. If this info is freaking you out, consider that cutting out beef can reduce your so-called methane footprint. That’s why we came up with a punny initiative we’re calling #NoRedOctober. For the month of October, we’re encouraging everyone to put aside their burgers, lamb chops, and steaks in an effort to curb those problematic cow farts. Think about it this way: if every American ate zero red meat during #NoRedOctober, that would be 2.1 billion pounds of meat saved during a single month, or about 460 million pounds of methane we’d keep from entering the atmosphere. Throughout the month, we’ve been looking at our beef habit from a variety of angles, including antibiotic resistance, the dietary need for iron, and how #NoRedOctober compares to Meatless Mondays. We’ve also encouraged you to take the #NoRedOctober pledge with us on Instagram. Below are just a few of the many mouthwatering images you’ve tagged. Oh, and if you need some recipe inspiration, our pals at Saveur have a list of 31 non-red-meat recipes to get you through the rest of the month and then some.

It’s no burger, but #noredoctober @popsci

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If you're thinking about consuming less red meat for No Red (meat) October and beyond, one of the best ways to reduce the amount of meat in your diet is to eat vegetarian for lunch. If you're used to packing a deli sandwich or chicken salad, this might sound like a bit of a challenge, but I've come up with a menu for lunch meal prep, which takes less than 35 minutes of active time, and yields several days of healthy, filling, delightful lunches. Visit the link in my profile for the recipes and grocery list. • • • • • #noredoctober #lunch #bentobox #tabbouleh #hummus #feta #carrots #vegetarian #healthy #recipes #savblogawards #eeeeeats #instafood #foodandwine #lovefood #omnomnom #familydinner #huffposttaste #f52grams #thekitchn #tastespotting #buzzfeast #foodgawker #forkfeed #yahoofood #huffpostgram #guardiancook #onthetable #beautifulcuisines #bhgfood

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A homemade tom kha gai for #noredoctober

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My favorite #noredoctober meal so far: sherry-braised chicken thigh savory pie.

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#noredoctober

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#noredoctober

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A perfect pair ? #amsterdam #foodporn #vegan #vegetarian #NoRedOctober

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Tonight's #NoRedOctober is creamy garlic shrimp pasta

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Livestock are responsible for 12 percent of the greenhouse gases that are helping warm our planet, and red meats are the worst offenders: cows in particular. Cows alone fart out about 154 pounds of methane every year, so our beef habit puffs about 5.5 billion pounds of methane a year into our planetary tab. What if we could reduce that by a 12th? If every person in America took turns stepping away from the burger for a month, we could keep about 460 million pounds of methane from entering our atmosphere. And again, that’s just from the cows. Sheep are inefficient fart monsters, too. That’s why #PopSci is trying this experiment, which we’re calling No Red October. Throughout the month, we’ll be posting stories about the effects of red meat on our world—from our planet to our bodies. The staff who choose to participate will be posting our non-red exploits all over instagram, with the hashtag #NoRedOctober, and our buddies over at @saveurmag are going to pitch in recipes to make sure we all stay fed. Use our hashtag to log your meals here on Instagram, and you could be featured on PopSci.com. {? @alextestere}

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