Next time you fire up a barbecue, consider the environment toll. Scientists from Manchester University have calculated that a typical family barbecue, consisting of cheeseburgers, followed by strawberries and cream, releases as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a 90 mile car trip.

The team factored in every component of the meal, and found that, unsurprisingly, burgers were the worst culprit. Not only does barbecuing them release CO2, but cattle belch out huge volumes of methane (a ‘greenhouse gas’), while producing the grain to feed the cattle (and to make the buns) sends out more CO2.

The team calculated that swapping burgers for chicken would reduce emissions to the equivalent of a 51 mile car drive. Eating vegetarian sausages, and forsaking extras such as cheese and cream, would bring them down to 33 miles!

Call me a killjoy but is it time to outlaw barbecues?