Beef Vs Environment

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The production of beef is closely linked to climate change. To begin with, cows produce a lot of methane through enteric fermentation. Secondly, carbon dioxide is released during the transportation of beef. Thirdly, to sustain the cattle, trees have to be cut down which also release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Finally, the increased global demand for fast food and beef consumption further compounds the above factors.

A beef cow produces about 220 kilograms of methane per year through the process of enteric fermentation. One kilogram of methane is equal to 23 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Hence, a single beef cow produces a little bit more than 5,000 carbon dioxide equivalent kilograms of methane per year. As the demand for beef increases, people need to raise more cattle and more cattle means more greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are a large contributor to climate change. …show more content…

For example, about 168 grams of carbon dioxide is released for the transportation to make one cheeseburger. To put this to scale, an average American eats about 150 burgers per year. That is about 25,200 grams (or 25.2 kilograms) of carbon dioxide for one burger per citizen per year. This is equivalent to 7,560,000,000,000 grams (or 7,560,000,000 kilograms) of carbon dioxide for the transportation of all US burgers per year and this does not even factor in the beef consumed in any other forms such as steaks!

In addition, to sustain the cattle, approximately 5.2 square meters of rainforest is being cut. This is also a contributing factor to climate change as when trees are cut down they can no longer absorb any more carbon dioxide. Also the carbon stored in the trees is released into the

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