Main Ideas
- Producing beef for the table has a surprising environmental cost: it releases prodigious amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
- Pound for pound, beef production generates greenhouse gases that contribute more than 13 times as much to global warming as do the gases emitted from producing chicken.
- Beef consumption is rising rapidly, both as population increases and as people eat more meat.
- Producing the annual beef diet of the average American emits as much greenhouse gas as a car driven more than 1,800 miles.
- According to a 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), our diets and, specifically the meat in them, cause more greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) to spew into the atmosphere than either transportation or industry.
- Meat production contributes 14 to 22 percent of the CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases.
- Half a pound of asparagus produces 1.2 ounces of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases while it's 3.6 to 6.8 pounds.
- One pound of beef protein requires ten pounds of plant protein.
- Improving waste management and farming practices would lower the carbon footprint from beef production. Methane capturing systems would also help, but both of these options are too expensive.
- Individuals can make a difference by making smart choices in their diet, such as eating locally. People can also choose to eat less meat in general, particularly beef.
- Improving waste management and farming practices would reduce the "carbon footprint" or beef production.
- Eating locally produced food and eating less meat could help lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Author's Main Idea |
Beef is bad because it release pounds of carbon dioxide.Hamburgers are big contributors to greenhouse gases.The FAO did research and found that the production of meat contributes 14 to 22 percent of the 36 billion tons of greenhouse gases the world produces. Transportation and refrigeration of food, and fuel for farming all lead to the buildup of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Ecological economists found that cows release about 2.5 to 4.7 ounces of methane for each pound that is produced. There are many solutions to decreasing the amount of greenhouse emissions from food, including improving waste management and farming practices and eating less meat and eating locally produced food.
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My Reflection |
The easy solution I find is for the public to give up hamburgers. They will be healthy eating fish and vegetables. Come people we will be solving two problems at the same time.Reducing Co2 and solving obesity. The problem with beef is that too much work too. You need to feed the cattle then making is fat it goes to the slaughter house poor cows! Anyway lets all reduce our diet by eating less beef . Once we do it will be easy to let go of the beef all together. Let's stop with the cattle slaughter and grow vegetables instead we be reducing alot carbon dioxide that is in the atmosphere.It's logical people get educated do not eat beef.
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