Notes- Beef production = 13x GHG emissions, potatoes = 57x
- Increasing population of people who eat meet, beef consumption rising - GHGs from car driven 1800+ miles = annual production of beef diet of average American - Improving waste management and farming practices is a solution to the problem |
SummaryWhat is happening in the U.S of A now is excessive amounts of GHGs being emitted as a result of beef production. As of now, beef production's GHG emissions are equal to that of chicken production times 13. The problem is only getting worse as time progresses. The growing population of people who eat meat is adding to the increase in beef consumption. However, we are not doomed. We can cut down on the GHG emissions by improving waste management and farming practices.
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ReflectionI didn't understand how beef production released GHGs at first. I thought it just took a lot of water. Part of this ignorance was due to me rarely eating beef in general. Reading this article reminded me of how mush methane cows release and where the other gases come from (as shown in the cow diagram below). I agree with the implementation of methane-capturing systems as a means to cut down on GHG emissions during beef production, considering that 32% of those gases come from the cows' waste. Knowing this, i am glad to see that this problem is not irreversible and relatively easy to get under control.
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