I love a good steak. In fact, I love any meat dish. I grew up in a family where meat was served every day of the week – I honestly can’t recall a single time when meat wasn’t on the table.

Over the last few years I’ve been hearing about the production of red meat and its high carbon emissions, but my love for red meat conveniently screened these emerging facts out of my consciousness. Until recently when I met and had a detailed chat with an expert on organic farming. Some research followed, and I must say I don’t like what I’m learning.

Some basic numbers: Average scientific estimates say that for every kilo of beef on the table, it takes 6 kg of grain, and another kilo of fertilizer, antibiotics and health treatments to get it to our plate.

Scientists at the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, Japan, conducted a wide scale research project in 2007 that took into account all aspects of beef production, including calf raising, animal management and the effects of producing and transporting feed. Their discovery: 1 kilo of beef releases greenhouse gases with a global warming potential equivalent to 36.4 kg of carbon dioxide. That’s the same as driving an average car 300 kilometers, or leaving a light bulb on for 20 days straight!

The majority of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are in the form of methane from belching cattle, but the production process also releases fertilizing compounds that can cause considerable damage in river and lake ecosystems. Research in New Zealand is showing worrying concerns that the massive increase in dairy farming is having some very undesirable effects on the underground aquifers that threaten the drinking supply of major cities.

And we haven’t even factored in the water consumption of the animals, which again adds more pressure on the environment. In total, it is estimated that livestock production globally is responsible for up to 10 percent of the entire planet’s carbon emissions.

So in an environmentally-conscious age, does this mean we give up eating red meat?

The ideological answer should be yes and the problem would go away. But that’s neither practical nor probable. More realistically, what we can do is change the way meat is produced.

Recent studies in Sweden and the United States estimate that by focusing on sustainable land management and organic farming methods, carbon emissions can be slashed by 40 percent and energy reduction by 85 percent. Feeding cows clover and alfalfa instead of grain would reduce emissions by a further 25 percent.

Capturing methane can also help to reduce emissions. Cow-produced methane can be used as a renewable energy source that, after a little cleaning, can be added into the natural gas pipeline. If Australia was to convert 10,000 average sized cattle farms to organic production, it would be equivalent to taking more than a million cars off the road.

In Australia we also have the huge potential of the relatively untapped kangaroo market. And given both New Zealand and Australia’s global leadership on agricultural technology, we have the capacity to roll out new methods and standards quickly. Organic methods are now becoming more and more popular across other agricultural products and organic products more than hold their own against their “less eco” competitors. What if Woolworths and Coles gave the Australian beef industry a suitable grace period to lift their game to meet a realistic organic compliance standard?

Now that would be progress. The result would be a healthier product, a cleaner environment and a much more sensible approach to sustainable land management. Taking a longer term view, the carbon sequestration improvement in the nation’s soils would increase to the point where many leading scientists believe it could have a greater impact on global carbon reduction than reforestation.

Whilst personally I do not want to give up eating meat, I would like to see either legislative or major corporate actions to ensure that all livestock production takes major steps towards sustainability. And I’m prepared to vote with my wallet and buy only organic reared meat until the big chains lift their game. If more of us do it, then maybe we can make a difference.