Vegetarians are killing the planet as lettuce three times worse than b

Lettuce is three times worse than bacon in greenhouse gas emissions, researchers have found. A diet based on vegetables and fruit may be more beneficial to the human body, but professor Paul

Fischbeck said: "Lots of common vegetables require more resources per calorie than you would think. Eggplant, celery and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or

chicken. "Eating lettuce is over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon." While it's usually accepted having a low-calorie diet has a positive effect

on the environment, the study has also revealed consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased energy use by 38 percent, water use by 10 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions by six

percent. The team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in America studied the food supply chain to determine how the obesity epidemic is affecting the environment. They specifically

looked at how food production, transportation, sales, service and storage have an impact on the planet. Michelle Tom, a Ph.D. student in civil and environmental engineering, said the balance

between having a healthy diet and a healthy environment is a lot more nuanced than previously thought. She said: "There's a complex relationship between diet and the environment.

"What is good for us health-wise isn't always what's best for the environment. That's important for public officials to know and for them to be cognisant of these

tradeoffs as they develop or continue to develop dietary guidelines in the future." According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one third of American

adults -- 34.9 percent -- are obese. In the UK, 64 percent of adults are classed as being overweight.