Greenhouse gas emissions are spiking – China's 2009 carbon dioxide emissions alone increased nearly 10 percent in one year, according to a BP report released this past summer – and global cooperation on the matter is nil (no legally-binding deal was reached at the United Nations' December Climate Change Conference in Cancun). Can swapping beef for tofu at the dinner table bring solace?

It can, somewhat. In 2008, the UN recommended that people go meat-free one day a week to help rein in global warming. According to estimates produced that year by its Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly a fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to meat production. Feeding livestock generates methane, which as a greenhouse gas is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide when it comes to global warming. Protein-rich soybeans, unlike cows and pigs, don't expel methane. But neither do chickens after being fed, nor small seafood like mackerel and herring.

Last February, an environmental study commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found that in certain instances, vegetarian food choices were potentially problematic. The study, done in the UK, focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through less meat consumption, but this aim was obscured in media reports. Instead, a minor finding that "highly processed meat substitutes" could cause more harm than good grabbed headlines.

There is a difference between "highly processed meat substitutes" and a traditional meat substitute like tofu, which has been part of the Chinese diet for at least a thousand years – although factory processing of soybeans into tofu does take some energy in the modern era. According to a 2008 Canadian study, converting a kilogram of soybeans into tofu contributes 150-300 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent to global warming. The same study found that processing chicken generated 2,500 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent. WWF's UK study discovered that pork's "total environmental impact" was 37.5 percent larger than tofu's. These figures don't necessarily offset the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

In the Netherlands, in spite of carbon dioxide equivalent differences between tofu and chicken processing, there is virtually no difference in their global warming impact when it comes to shipping either to stores, according to a 2008 study commissioned by the Dutch Government. But that figure doesn't take into account that most of Europe's soybeans are imported from South America. Statistics generated by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research show that of the 92 million hectares of soybeans cultivated worldwide in 2005, over 25 million metric tons were harvested in Asia, and more than 1 million in Africa, figures that are encouraging for potential local production, transportation and consumption. A solace come dinner time for sure.

Tech Bytes

➲ In December, MenAfriVac, a new, cheap meningitis vaccine was launched in Burkina Faso. Costing only 50 cents (U.S.) a dose and produced as part of an American technology transfer pact, it was supposed to be part of a continent-wide initiative to eradicate meningitis. But the project is struggling for funds, and only two other countries, Mali and Niger, may be able to distribute the vaccine. To target 25 countries by 2015, $550 million would be needed, according to World Health Organization representatives involved.

➲ The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) is planning to outfit the country's fuel tanks and fuel tank trucks with electronic tracking technology in an effort to combat fuel adulteration and theft that lead to large financial losses for the state. The previous method used to address these problems was marking fuel with chemicals. TRA's initiative to modernize the process with digital monitoring devices that transmit data to computers and mobile phones has the backing of the World Bank.

➲ Intel has set its sights on making Kenya a major information hub on the African continent. The computer chip manufacturer is investing millions of dollars to outfit the country's schools with wireless technology in 2011. Its partnership with Microsoft and the Kenya Institute of Education has resulted in the School Technology Innovation Center, based in Nairobi. The center is dedicated to research on emerging technologies.