Beef or seafood: Which protein is the most environmentally friendly to produce?

Which food type is more environmentally costly to produce -- livestock, farmed seafood, or wild-caught fish?

In general, industrial beef production and farmed catfish are the most taxing on the environment, while small, wild-caught fish and farmed mollusks like oysters, mussels and scallops have the lowest environmental impact, according to a new study in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

"From the consumer's standpoint, choice matters," said lead author Ray Hilborn, a University of Washington professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.