Pros And Cons Of Cheeseburger Footprint

Anna Lappé’s book, Diet for a Hot Planet, discusses the impact that meat consumption has on the planet and our environment. It discusses how the global food system is a major contributor to climate change, producing as much as one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. She writes about how the way we farm, what we eat, and how our food gets to our tables all

“There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery.” -Charles Darwin. Veganism is a way of leaving which seeks to exclude all forms of exploration and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. In terms of diet, it omits any intake of animal produce, including meat, eggs and dairy. There are many benefits that come from a vegan lifestyle, some people want healthier skin or to loose weight. Others see the truth behind animal farms and slaughterhouses, the inhumane way they end the lives of thousands of animals.

Chicken, lamb, turkey, milk, pork, eggs, fish, etc., all contribute to the environmental problems facing the planet. The fossil-fuel energy consumption to protein output for these livestock are as follows: chicken has a 4:1 ration, lamb 50:1, turkey 13:1, milk protein 14:1, pork 17:1, and eggs at a 26:1 ratio. This averages out to almost eight-times more “fossil-fuel energy than production of plant protein” (Pimentel). In addition, each animal has its own benefits and downfalls. Pigs propose a lower carbon footprint but if raised in ideal free-range environments they can pollute the soil with nitrogen (Goffman 5). Chickens pose the threat of spreading bacteria through rivers and streams and spurring algal growth which create “dead zones”,

Following a vegetarian diet means eating no meat, and sometimes, no animal products at all. Many Americans scoff at the idea of cutting out meat from their diet, but Kathy Freston writes an effective argument on why people should be vegetarians in her selection, “Vegetarian Is the New Prius”. Her argument focuses around the negative effects eating meat has on the globe (like global warming), and offers another logical option: going vegetarian. First, Freston establishes her ethos by appearing as someone that is concerned about the future of the earth, and someone that has completed extensive research due to the statistics she uses. Next, she acknowledges the fact that there are other ways to slow down global warming-like buying a Prius-but

Brought up in the southern of China, I often heard about that people from there “eat anything with four limbs except tables, anything that flies except aero planes, and anything that swims except ships”. Nevertheless, I eat more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains but less meat to make careful choices for environmental protection. Similarly, Kathy Freston argues that animal agriculture is one of the top contributors to global warming. In her Huffington Post selection “Vegetarian Is the New Prius,” Freston lists how many emissions of greenhouse gases people make when they eat meat and illustrates the consumption of tree in animal agriculture. She effectively convinces her audiences that the livestock results in the most serious environmental problems and encourages people to lead a greener diet to protect our environment. However, ardent craving, poor health, and perpetual hassle and cost prevent all Americans from being vegetarian.

According to vegansociety.com, “ Veganism represents a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, other animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, other animals and the environment.“ People that follow this way of living are called vegans. The vegan diet is more a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than just a diet. The vegan life is the best way to live because it’s healthier, helps the environment, and is kinder to animals.

Eating less meat would benefit the the impact on global warming and increase food security (Sealing).

The excess of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere have led to a dramatic rise in the climate and the hottest recorded years the Earth has seen. To be specific, “the 25 warmest years on record have come since 1980 [and] the 10 warmest since global recordkeeping began in 1880 have come since 1996, (p 56)” which is nothing to boast about, seeing as this is also the largest population and most technology the Earth has ever seen. Moreover, in lecture, we went over the amount of greenhouse gases created solely by livestock and how being a society dependent of livestock for food is very negative. Livestock emit about 68% of all agriculturally produced methane(lecture) and methane counts for approximately 18% of greenhouse gases (p 57). That is not to say that livestock do not create a large amount; in fact, human-caused methane emissions are almost solely from agriculture. To combat this, Dr. Wailes proposed that instead of basing our diet on water-heavy crops and methane-emitting animals, we switch to much more sustainable foods. One example of this would be to eat bugs. Bugs contain much more protein by the pound and do not eat alfalfa, which is what causes cows and other livestock to emit greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Dr. Wailes also displayed a chart with three different “meals” which

Since the beginning of mankind, we have become dependent on animal products as a food source. As population increased, so did the production of animal agriculture and its profitability. Unfortunately, it has grown into an industry that is unsustainable for this planet and is demolishing our environment at an astonishing rate. In the academic article, ‘Cowspiracy’ Strips the Meat Industry Down to the Bone, Ford reports the shocking statistic that “even if all utilities were turned off and every fossil-fuel-guzzling system of transportation ceased immediately, environmental damage that results from greenhouse gases would be irreversible…even with humanity’s greatest efforts, the dairy and meat industries will still eventually destroy life on Earth”. As the environment is at its most crucial and devastating point, the major contribution that animal agriculture has on rainforest deforestation, pollution of our water, and global warming becomes undeniable.

Over 70% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels. Increase in technology (a.k.a electricity) leads to burning of waste. As well as the increase in population, leads to increase in food consumption, which greenhouse gas emissions generate from livestock, agricultural soils, and rice production.

Harvard Medical School defines a vegan as a person who does, “not eat meat, poultry, fish, or any products derived from animals, including eggs, dairy products, and gelatin.” (p.1). With veganism gaining more and more popularity in the media and in the western culture, debates have sprung up about whether or not this diet and lifestyle proves to be healthy. Countless studies and experiments have been conducted, and the results have shown that a vegan diet can prove to be a more beneficial diet then the standard American Diet. But, with large food corporations and drug companies in the way, Americans find it harder to switch to the plant-based diet. The vegan diet time and time again shows its outstanding power in reducing

For years vegetarian and vegan diets have been gaining popularity. This rise in popularity is due largely to the belief that a vegetarian diet has numerous health benefits and the animals being raised to be slaughtered are not being treated humanely. These are both good reasons for adopting a meat-free lifestyle, but there is an even more pressing reason. The current rate of meat consumptions, especially in developed nations, is consuming natural resources at a rate that is not sustainable. The amount of resources such as land, water, and crops consumed to support meat production is staggering. In addition to the resource consumption, meat production is also contributing to critical global environmental issues such as deforestation and ozone depletion.

Many people consider going vegan to reap the proposed health benefits of going without animal products in their diet. Some go vegan in support of protesting the inhumane treatment of livestock during the production of animal food products. While both of those arguments may be justified in their own right; a more recent argument is that all humans should take to a vegetable based diet to save our planet. Some propose that by consuming animal products we may be contributing to global warming. In George C. Wang’s article Go Vegan, Save the Planet, he suggests that we allow ourselves to be called to action as “global citizens” to address

Global warming is not seen as big problem in our culture today. In fact, around 1.6 billion people still don’t think climate change or global warming is even a thing. Animal agriculture has correlation with the highest sea level rise ever recorded in history along with, warming oceans, spiking global temperatures, declining arctic sea ice, shrinking ice sheets, ocean acidification and decreased snow cover every year. It only continues to get worse. The problem with this is that worldwide, 61% of the greenhouse gases produced on earth is from animal agriculture. The next closest being 18% due to fossil fuels (Climate Change Indicators in the United States). The answer is plain and simple, there needs to be regulations put on all meats to limit the amount produced year. Scientists believe that if people produced just enough or even a little more than we need for a meat diet, instead of producing 10 billion, producing 7.5 billion, the greenhouse gas from animal agriculture would be 26% less than it is currently. There needs to be a change in the way life is right now, because if the numbers keep increases the way they are, the earth will be like one big Chernobyl, poisoned by pure Co2. However, humanity has always found a way to survive, and this task ahead will prove to

Being brought up a meat eater, I was led to believe that the consumption of meat is essential. After becoming aware of the overcrowding confinement issue, I took to buying local meat thinking it was a better option and believing I was a better person for doing so. I was unaware of the effect of my actions until recently. My purchases of local meat were still increasing the greenhouse gas emissions, which occur during the production phase of our meat. Although I was shocked by this information, I still asked myself, ‘what’s the point?’, similar to the view of Michael