Gender gap revealed in impact of car use and meat consumption

New research suggests that car use and meat consumption contribute to a gender gap in greenhouse gas emissions. A French study of 15,000 people found that men were 26% more likely to pollute by eating red meat and driving more often.

Cars and meat are the main contributors to the gender gap in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study, The Guardian reports.

According to a study of 15,000 people in France, men pollute 26% more than women through transport and food. After accounting for socioeconomic factors such as income and education, the gap narrowed to 18%.

Eating red meat and driving cars explained almost all of the 6.5-9.5% difference in pollution, which remains after accounting for men consuming more calories and travelling longer distances, the researchers said. The researchers found no gender gap in flying, The Guardian reported.

“Our results show that traditional gender norms, particularly those that link masculinity with red meat consumption and car use, play an important role in shaping individual carbon footprints,” said Undine Berland, an economist at the London School of Economics and Political Science and co-author of the study.

Studies of gender differences often struggle to decide which factors to consider, since seemingly independent variables are often confounded by gender differences. For example, men need to consume more calories than women, but they also eat disproportionately more than women. They also have higher average incomes, which itself correlates with higher emissions.

A previous study in Sweden found that men's spending on goods resulted in 16% more emissions than women's, despite the same monetary amounts.

Marion Leroutier, an environmental economist and co-author of the study, points out: “I think it’s quite striking that the difference in carbon emissions from food and transport use in France between men and women is roughly the same as the difference we estimate for high-income people compared to lower-income people.”

The most effective steps a person can take to reduce their carbon emissions include giving up their petrol car, eating less meat and not flying.

But attempts to challenge car culture and promote plant-based diets have sparked a furious backlash from pundits who see it as an attack on masculinity. The term “soy boy” has been used by far-right figures including US Vice President JD Vance and misogynist influencer Andrew Tate to paint “progressive” men as weaklings, The Guardian notes.

Soy is a common source of protein in vegan cuisine, but three-quarters of the world's soybeans are fed to animals for meat and dairy production.

French researchers have suggested that gender differences in emissions may explain why women tend to be more concerned about the climate crisis, arguing that the higher personal costs of reducing their emissions may lead men to avoid confronting the reality of the climate emergency.

But the researchers added that greater concern about climate change may encourage women to do more to reduce their emissions. “More research is needed to understand whether some of these differences in carbon footprints are also due to women’s greater concern about climate change and their higher likelihood of adopting climate-friendly behaviors in their daily lives,” Leroutier said.