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Meat Industry Research Paper

795 Words4 Pages

Should Americans be eating beef? This question is being considered now more than ever as more the effects of the meat industry on the environment are revealed. Studies have found approximately 20% of the United States methane emissions come from the meat industry, as well contributing to a number of other problems. With over 900,000 total heads of cattle farmed in the United States, the problem is not only the emissions, it’s the allocation of resources. The industry demands copious amounts land and water be devoted to producing feed for cattle. Though a drastic change, if America is to seriously reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions, its citizens must significantly cut down their meat consumption or totally refrain from its consumption. …show more content…

The amount of non-frozen freshwater in the world is a miniscule 0.3%, yet great amounts of it go to watering cattle. Instead of going to water some of the driest parts of the United States, such as southern California, Nevada, and Arizona, to provide municipal water, it goes to cattle. Our country continually faces devastating droughts that force people to live off strict water rations that can destroy crops, leading to economic ruin. America’s breadbasket should not be faced with water insecurity due to cattle farming. Cattle also need large tracts of land to graze which they leave barren and prone to erosion. Because it can take multiple seasons for range land to recover once it’s been overgrazed, America has countless acres of wasted land that cannot be used for agriculture. Land degradation also makes those living near the ranges prone to dust storms and erosion, since no grasses are left to hold together the soil. Both this and the water issue take more than one season to recover from, meaning the country has people without water or land to make their lives …show more content…

Over one third of U.S corn production goes back to cattle. Not only is this wasting land that could be used to produce food for american citizens, it supports an industry that is incredibly harmful to the environment. Just as the machinery and transportation equipment that is required for meat production, the equipment used to grow crops for cow feed also rely on fossil fuels and thus emit harmless greenhouse

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Paul Starobin’s “Pork: A Time Honored Tradition Lives On” discusses the control exerted upon local appropriations by the Legislative Branch. The author points the divide the practice of “porking” creates within the House, fiscal conservatives are fundamentally against it, while some democrats support the action. Those in opposed to the method find that it creates budget inefficiencies because the federal funding is being used to finance local projects and special interests, which is generally done for political gain. However, those in favor, believe, as elected officials, their duty is to fight for the benefits of the people and areas they were chosen to represent. In reality, there needs to be a healthy balance between the two sides, central

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699 Words | 3 Pages

Is eating meat a detrimental threat to the environment? This debate over meat’s involvement in the global warming crisis was what inspired Nicolette Hahn Niman to write, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma.” Niman hoped writing, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma,” would cause her audience to understand that eating meat, raised on traditional farms, was a superior alternative to vegetarianism. Niman supported her claim by explaining how industrialized farms and vegetarians produce more of the three greenhouse gases that caused global warming, than that produced by traditional farms. Niman’s article fell short of being effective due to flaws in her supporting evidence and conclusion.

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391 Words | 2 Pages

In “The Six-Legged Meat of the Future”, authors Marcel Dicke and Arnold Van Huis, believe the insects are going to become the new meat in place of pork, beef, or chicken. Dicke and Van Huis have researched the experiments and foods in the Netherlands to advocate their belief. These “insects are high in protein, B vitamins and minerals like iron and zinc, and they’re low in fat”(Dicke and Van Huis, para. 2). Also, most people believe that insects can have poisons, however, “less than 0.5% of all known insect species are harmful” (Dicke and Van Huis, para. 6).

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1493 Words | 6 Pages

Jane and Akiko: Fertility and DES In the novel, My Year of Meats! Ozeki portrays Jane Takagi Little and Akiko Ueno personal hardships of conceiving a child. The passage taken from chapter 11 describes Akiko being hospitalized after being “battered and bruised” by her husband and later became convinced that she was pregnant and “it was a miracle of sorts” (Ozeki 305-06). In the entry of the passage, Akiko’s states, “I feel wonderful…” gives the allusion of her almost mythical description of her conception. Akiko portrays herself looking at her “cleavages and shiftings.”

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289 Words | 2 Pages

The Meatpacking District became a very dangerous area once the automobile was invented because it interfered with the elevated freight trains. Because the trains carried merchandises essential to the lives of most New Yorkers, freight trains were given the right of way to stop wherever they please just to make a delivery. Thus, a ten-car train would be blocking traffic just to deliver the goods. It most likely took longer than 30 minutes to unload the train of the goods to whichever business it delivered to, so the traffic gets overbearingly crowded. Besides the terrible congestion, regular New Yorkers would be in this area because most markets would be located there, so that they could get fresh produce from the local slaughterhouses.

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795 Words | 4 Pages

The article was written in response to the statement farming and food production is leading to climate change. Niman, being a rancher who raises cattle, goats, and turkeys, effectively frames the situation logically by providing credible statistics and examples to help the reader better understand the impacts of different methods of food production. She does this by providing specific information regarding the greenhouse gases involved, being carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides. Niman, the rhetor, has written this article to try and inform the readers about the differences between traditional style and industrial style methods of food production. She has directed the article towards those concerned about the carbon footprint, we as individuals, are leaving

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1054 Words | 5 Pages

The U.S. agricultural industry can now produce unlimited quantities of meat and grains at remarkably cheap prices. But it does so at a high cost to the environment, animals and humans”

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843 Words | 4 Pages

Competing Businesses - “Wings, Beer, Sports!” There is a surprising amount of restaurants that serve wings in Hays (at least 13); however, they are not known for their wings. When someone goes to The Golden Q, they usually think of burgers. When someone goes to Pizza Hut, they usually think of pizza. Buffalo Wild Wings is the place known for “wings, beer, sports.”

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745 Words | 3 Pages

In Mark Bittman’s talk, entitled What’s wrong with what we eat, he discusses all the food we waste and how to reduce our food waste. Due to all the meat we eat, “livestock is the second-highest contributor to atmosphere-altering gases and produces more greenhouse gases than transportation” (Bittman). Livestock also contributes to land degradation, air and water pollution, water shortages, and loss of biodiversity. However, Bittman is quick to point out that the problem isn’t the cattle, but how we use them. We are producing cattle simply to eat and much of the meat they produce is simply thrown away if it is not purchased by a certain date.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

I did not understand the solution to the problem of being a “conscientious meat eater.” The authors never really stated or concluded an answer to the problem in the article. In the text it says “For many people who care about the environment and animal welfare, choosing to eat humanely raised meat seems like an option.” This argues that only an option to the solution is informed to the reader, and that there is no real solution to the problem at hand. The whole point of the article, “Is It Possible to be a Conscientious Meat Eater”, is to inform the reader about the issue about meat, but because there is no solution to his argument; it makes his argument less effect as a whole when persuading

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825 Words | 4 Pages

This documentary unfairly stated that cattle is the sole factor of our world’s environmental issues because they emit greenhouse gases and over-consume water. However, in reality they are not the only ones who are using water, creating greenhouse gas, and affecting the land and ocean. Our planet is facing a lack of water, and according to the documentary, the cows are one of the major causes of this. If the problem is water waste, then look at how we, the people, are using it. Almost everybody uses water to shower, wash dishes, and flush toilets everyday.

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736 Words | 3 Pages

Nutrition is extremely important in living a healthy lifestyle. Keeping an eye on our personal daily nutrition values and intake combined with daily physical activity are essential to a healthy and balance nutrition. In this paper, to compare and contrast my daily value totals as documented on 24-hour food log with the recommendation food intake based on the food tracker guideline. During the course of this comparison, I will determine whether my current diet is healthy or not, as well as my daily activity and how it affects on my future health and wellness. My food journal states that in a 2-day period I consumed around to 1400 calories per day ; 8 to 8 1/2 ounces of carbohydrates (refined grains); 1 to 1 1/2 cup of vegetables; 1/2 cup of fruit; 4-5 ounces of protein; 55 to 77 calories of

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312 Words | 2 Pages

Oftentimes, they get a job at a Burger Joint, where they learn how to listen to a boss, and how to work with others, but then they may also have to give up some extracurricular activities, study time and time with family. Not terrible things, but enough of a challenge that many families are helping their kids start their own businesses. Why? Let’s compare the lessons your kid is learning working at a burger joint verses starting a business.

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734 Words | 3 Pages

According to a study published in Nature, scientists believe by 2050 eighty percent increase in global greenhouse gases could be avoided, if human diets were equally mediterranean, pescatarian, and vegetarian. Truthfully, less animal products are what is best for the future of the planet, eliminating dairy and egg products would reduce emissions the most as confirmed by Marco Springmann

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812 Words | 4 Pages

Beef jerky is believed to have originated in South America in the early 1800s or earlier. Ancestors of the Inca Empire made a product similar to beef jerky, using the meat from game animals such as deer, elk and buffalo. They salted strips of meat and allowed them to dry in the sun or over hot coals for long periods of time. This method of drying allowed the natives an excellent source of food when fresh meat was not available. The dried meat, if properly stored, could be kept for very long periods of time.

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