Whats at Steak?

Vegan, vegetarian, NO animal products! All diet trends that are becoming more common in society today, but are they more than just a fad? I love bacon, I wont lie, and I love a good burger, but I had to ask myself, why are all these people switching to a meatless or animal product free diets? The meat industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases in our atmosphere as well as deforestation, droughts and pollution from sewage and pesticides. In this reflection post I’m aiming to look at the facts of the meat industry and how they actually affect our climate, not only to learn more myself, but also to give a more clear general understanding of how all these things come into play.

The EWG (environmental working group), an activist group focusing on research and advocacy in areas such as agriculture, did a study on the different effects meat has on the environment. They studied the production and distribution lifecycle of 20 different agricultural products. Through this study they found that the meat industry uses huge amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, fuel, feed and water. But how do these processes effect the greenhouse gas emissions in our environment and how are they all interconnected in a “lifecycle”? Starting at the source, livestock are fed large amount of grains, like corn, which take an immense of land, fertilizer and water to be grown. To put this into perspective and numbers, the EWG estimates livestock feed requires 167 million pounds of pesticides and 17 billion pounds of nitrogen fertilizer. This process not only puts large amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, but also is creating food that could go directly to our large population to feed more people. Continuing on, because cattle ranching needs so much land, the affects of deforestation are tremendous. Forests are not only a carbon sink but they also provide important homes and ecosystems for biodiversity.

While all of these steps may seem very daunting, it becomes more clear as you read that the meat industry not only uses so many of our precious resources but continually builds on its negative impacts on the environment. To simplify the process I included a graphic below to compare how meat is produced.

Photo courtesy of: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/27/155527365/visualizing-a-nation-of-meat-eaters

While there are so many articles and propoganda out there about what we should and shouldn’t eat I think a couple things are important to consider when reading and making environmental decisions. A lot of these stats are daunting and it seems as if you as one person can’t do anything, but that’s not true! Even if you cut meat out of your diet a couple days a week, there is always something you can do to change your carbon footprint. I also believe it is imparative to stick to the facts and figures and not get bogged down in propoganda and flashy articles. I hope this article was helpful in gettting the facts straight in your mind and maybe even convincing you to at least cut some small portions of meat of your diet. Check out meat consumption per capita below to see where your country falls in meat consumption.