Revealing the 'carbon hoofprint' of meat consumption for American cities

A Nature Climate Change study led by the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota maps the per-capita carbon hoofprint of meat consumption across the contiguous United States, revealing wide geographic variation driven by livestock supply chains rather than simply meat-eating levels or transport. The research highlights that beef often dominates the hoofprint and that city-level emissions arise from production, processing, feed, and multi-county sourcing. Urban policies could achieve substantial cuts by shifting diets and strengthening links with distant rural producers. The work, published in Nature Climate Change (2025) by Benjamin P. Goldstein and colleagues, underscores the potential to halve urban hoofprints through coordinated actions across the supply chain.

Overview

The Nature Climate Change study led by Benjamin P. Goldstein of the University of Michigan, with co-authors from the University of Minnesota, maps what the authors dub the carbon hoofprint of cities. This per-capita measure captures greenhouse gas emissions linked to meat consumption (beef, pork, chicken) across the United States, not just at the household level but across the broader livestock supply chains. The researchers created city-level hoofprints for the contiguous U.S. and analyzed more than 3,500 locations, illustrating substantial geographic variation that transcends simple patterns of meat intake or transport distances. A striking finding is that Los Angeles, a city with high beef demand, sources meat from a diverse set of counties, with upstream inputs from hundreds more counties, underscoring the complexity of supply chains that connect urban buyers to rural producers.

“This has huge implications for how we gauge the environmental impact of cities, measure those impacts and ultimately develop policies to reduce those impacts,” - Benjamin Goldstein, Assistant Professor at Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability.

Key Findings and Why Variation Happens

One might assume that higher meat consumption directly translates to higher per-capita hoofprint. The study finds that the correlation is weak, and that emissions vary widely due to where and how meat is produced, processed, and sourced. The hoofprint depends on livestock production practices (beef versus poultry), fertilizer use, manure management, and the breadth of supply chains—from feed crops grown in dozens or hundreds of counties to facilities processing meat across multiple counties and states. The authors emphasize that there is no single emission value for the meat in our diets; emissions accumulate along diverse paths in different locations.

“There's not a single emissions value for the meat we consume,” - Rylie Pelton, University of Minnesota.

Supply Chains and Urban-Land Teleconnections

The research highlights urban-land teleconnections, where cities affect rural production well beyond their borders. For example, LA’s beef footprint involves processing in ten counties, with livestock raised in 469 counties and feed sourced from 828 counties. Such routes help explain why per-capita meat footprints diverge even among cities with similar consumption levels. The study aggregates insights across all stages of the supply chain, including feed production, fertilizer use, manure management, and long-distance transport, showing that urban emissions reflect a mosaic of rural production practices and geographic patterns.

“It is our hope that this study provides an example of how we can foster a better understanding between two different places: one largely urban and one distinctly rural where our food is produced,” - Joshua Newell, SEAS professor.

Policy Implications and Pathways Forward

Beyond mapping, the authors discuss policy relevance. They argue that reducing urban hoofprints could be achieved by combining multiple actions across the supply chain, including dietary shifts such as cutting beef consumption or substituting with chicken, depending on local contexts. The overarching message is that city-level policy can leverage insights about rural production networks to design targeted incentives, linking urban and rural communities to foster lower-emission agricultural practices and more sustainable supply chains. The authors advocate using hoofprint maps to identify leverage points for emissions reductions that align with local contexts.

“If we can identify those links, there might be opportunities for cities to engage with those distant locations, to help provide financial incentives and support in general to adopt certain practices that would ultimately help their own carbon footprint,” - Rylie Pelton.

Context and Publication

Published in 2025 in Nature Climate Change, the work represents a first-of-its-kind systematic effort to map urban impacts beyond city boundaries, illuminating the geography and production choices that drive the meat hoofprint. The study’s authors underscore the value of urban governance in shaping dietary patterns and supply-chain innovations to reduce emissions, suggesting a framework for city governments to collaborate with rural producers to lower emissions while maintaining food security and affordability.