Salad chain says a cleaner farming method will offset adding steak to its menu. What is it?

Salad chain Sweetgreen is adding steak to its menu, a press release that led to sturdy reactions on-line, with shoppers wondering how that will have an effect on the corporate’s carbon impartial plans.

Founded in 2007 and referred to as a fast-casual spot serving salads and bowls, Sweetgreen says it will be carbon impartial via 2027 — which means it plans to offset its personal emissions via setting up methods that still take away carbon from the ambience.

But pork manufacturing is extremely resource-intensive and a contributor to local weather alternate. It’s the largest agricultural source of greenhouse gases globally, emitting huge quantities of methane into the ambience, and calls for intensive land use.

Sweetgreen’s rationale for the debatable caramelized, garlic-flavored steak menu addition this week contains the usage of regenerative farming. The chain additionally says carbon offsets are a part of its pledge to fight local weather alternate and cut back its greenhouse fuel emissions.

A Sweetgreen spokesperson referred request for remark to its menu expansion details.

What is regenerative agriculture?

Regenerative agriculture method farming and ranching in a method that now not most effective produces meals from a panorama, but additionally sees that panorama reinforce ecologically, mentioned Jason Rowntree, co-director of the Michigan State University Center for Regenerative Agriculture.

This method “minimizing disturbance, keeping ground covered,” Rowntree said, “improving biodiversity below and above ground through adding animals to your cropping systems or enhancing biology below ground.”

Many grocery chains and restaurants are starting to look to regenerative agriculture for animal proteins, grains and fruits and vegetables while meeting climate goals. Starbucks cited regenerative agriculture as a method it objectives to slash its carbon, water use and waste in part via 2030. Chipotle and Burger King have additionally dabbled in it.

“It’s all in what you do and how you implement it,” said Allen Williams, a farmer and founder of agriculture consultancy Understanding Ag. “It allows for the repair, rebuilding and restoration of our ecosystems — and that’s critically important if we want to mitigate climate change.”

Some experts question whether regenerative agriculture can offset all emissions from beef production in particular.

What are carbon offsets?

Companies, together with the ones in eating, additionally purchase carbon offsets. They purchase “credits,” as part of a voluntary and unregulated market for projects that claim to absorb carbon dioxide that otherwise would’ve happened.

These offsets are an effort to cancel out one’s own carbon dioxide pollution. But it isn’t an exact science.

Though companies including Sweetgreen should be applauded for their efforts, “We all know that the offsets schemes over the last few years have been really problematic, to say the least,” said Jonathan Foley, executive director of climate nonprofit Project Drawdown.

What can be done instead?

Even if a chain employs productive regenerative agriculture and offsets, experts say its use of plastic, paper or non-renewable energy could negate those practices.

So the priority should be focusing on a restaurant chain’s whole carbon footprint, fostering and improving landscapes that are more resilient for food security and improving water cycling, experts say.

“At the end of the day,” Rowntree said, “I think these challenges we’re going to see with aridity, with heightened intensity of rain events followed by longer periods of drought are probably agriculture’s biggest challenge moving forward.”

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press local weather answers reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at [email protected].

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