Buckley, C. (2023, July 21). Save the Planet, Put Down that Hamburger. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/21/climate/diet-vegan-meat-emissions.html

A study done by the University of Oxford reveals that following a plant-based diet slashes greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent when compared to someone who consumes more than 3.5 ounces of meat a day. This research contrasts with earlier modeling-based studies. Drawing from real diets of 55,500 individuals and data from 38,000 farms worldwide, the study looks at the environmental benefits of plant-based diets, focusing on their massive potential to reduce carbon emissions and minimize the impact caused by the meat industry.

This article is related to environmental science as it focuses on how major of a difference a plant-based diet can have on greenhouse gas emissions. This information is extremely important to modern knowledge on how effective a plant-based diet really is. Following this study, people could have a massive impact on the health of the environment. This article was interesting to me. While I always figured living off a plant-based diet would be beneficial to the environment I didn’t realize just how beneficial it really was. A 75% cut in emissions makes me seriously consider trying to drop a lot of meat from my diet.

Carrington, D., & editor, D. C. E. (2023, August 18). “Gigantic” power of meat industry blocking green alternatives, study finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/18/gigantic-power-of-meat-industry-blocking-green-alternatives-study-finds

The meat and dairy industries have a major influence, leading to stunted growth of eco-friendly alternatives, according to a study. Livestock farmers receive far more public funding nearly 800 times more thanks to lobbying efforts and regulations that favor traditional meat. Notably despite the major environmental impact of meat production guidelines oddly ignore this issue. The research calls for policy changes that fairly take into account the environmental impact of meat, as well as more money being put into all the better environmental but largely ignored parts of the meat industry. 

This article is about how influential the meat industry is within the government. It relates to environmental science as it shows a problem that not only is an issue for the fight against climate change but also an issue within our government. The amount of money that flows through the meat industry is playing a major role in preventing change from coming that could potentially help fight climate change. If nothing changes within the laws and regulations set the amount of work it takes to fight climate change is significantly more. This article made me upset. To hear how much more public funding is going into an industry that is the single largest contributor to climate change makes no sense to me. The fact that public funding for the meat industry is 800 times greater than plant-based meat or cultivated meat groups is outrageous.

Moquin, E. (2023, January 30). The Plant-Based Meat Industry Will Face More Challenges – Here’s Why. Morning Consult Pro. https://pro.morningconsult.com/analysis/plant-based-meats-face-more-challenges-ahead

In 2022, Beyond Meat, a top plant-based meat company, faced a bunch of challenges, including layoffs, executive turnover, and declining stock prices, leading to discussions about the future of the industry. However, despite these setbacks, consumer attitudes towards Beyond Meat remained relatively unchanged. Despite an increase in awareness people are still not considering purchasing the plant based products. Key obstacles are primarily perception of the food notably the taste and cost. 

This article focuses on the issues with the plant-based food industry. This relates to environmental science as it shows how people aren’t willing to change their habits if it slightly inconveniences them even if they know it’s better for the environment. These kinds of attitudes are what lead to the current environmental self-destruction we face today. The article surprised me by talking about how the plant-based food industry is struggling. To me it feels like I’m constantly seeing the meats in stores and being added to the menus of every burger place I go to yet economically the companies are declining. It seems like more advertising needs to be done to get rid of some of the negative perspectives of consumers. 

Carrington, D. (2023, March 6). Meat, dairy and rice production will bust 1.5C climate target, shows study. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/06/meat-dairy-rice-high-methane-food-production-bust-climate-target-study

In a new study done by Catherine Ivanovich and her team at Columbia University, it has been revealed that emissions arising from the food system, primarily driven by the production of meat, dairy, and rice, are likely to breach the critical 1.5 Celcius global heating threshold alone if left the same. The study suggested that the food industry alone could cause an increase of .7 Celsius which paired with the existing increase of 1 Celsius would break the 1.5 Celsius global heating threshold. The research focused on the key role of methane emissions from high-methane foods like livestock and rice paddies. 

This article focuses on an important aspect of environmental science by talking about the complex problem of modern food production. It focuses on the major emissions from the food system specifically the high-methane foods like meat, dairy, and rice. To me the article was surprising. While I’ve always been aware of how major the food industry’s role was in the worsening of climate change I didn’t realize that it alone could cause the breach in the 1.5 Celcisus barrier. That fact is extremely concerning to me cause if a single industry can cause the breach then how challenging is it going to be to stop the food industry aswell as all the others that could lead to the breach. The article gave me great insight into the role of the food industry on climate change as well as shining light on how urgent change really is for the food industry.

Anderson, D. (2023, March 2). 2023 meat production expected to decline 1%. Www.farmprogress.com. https://www.farmprogress.com/livestock/2023-meat-production-expected-to-decline-1

After a record year in 2022, the United States is expected to see a decrease this year (2023) as well as in 2024. This year’s dip was around 1% and related mainly to supply chain issues. A common theme among each animal’s decline in meat production are increased costs related to the supply chain as well as the general economic state of the country. Another notable issue that is leading to the decrease in meat production is drought which has specifically hurt cattle and beef production.

This article is related to environmental science as it shows a direct effect of environmental change. Due to an environmental change, in this case, drought, meat production is being directly impacted. As I read this article I was surprised at first but as I continued to read it made more and more sense. I had already known about the issues with the supply chain so pairing that with environmental factors made sense for a decrease in meat production. The article was especially interesting with the mention of the expected decline continuing into 2024 with a considerable decrease in beef production specifically. I also found it interesting how the increase in 2022 was caused primarily by beef and chicken despite a decrease in pork and turkey production. The trend then flipped this year with pork and turkey holding while beef and chicken decreased.

Bambridge-Sutton, Augustus. “Massive Study Shows That High Meat Consumption Is Bad for Environment, Especially Compared with Veganism.” Foodnavigator.Com, William Reed Ltd, 27 July 2023, www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2023/07/27/high-meat-consumption-is-bad-for-environment-especially-compared-with-veganism-study#:~:text=Meat%20contributes%20negatively%20to%20the,feed%20animals%20rather%20than%20humans. 

This article explains how there is vary in impacts as it all depends on the amount of production but they talk about how meat production is not only damaging the environment by emitting gasses but it is also taking resources from the the environment like trees due to the fact that they need more space to continue the demand for meat.It is also take a unique point of view as it talks about the differences in level of meat consumers as some eat more or less than others and how the less you eat the better it is for the environment.

This article is related to environmental science due to the fact that it helps people to understand the effect that certain people have on the environment and how those different levels either does not affect or greatly affect the environment as people continually meet the supply and demand to gain as much as they can not thinking about the effect that it will have on the environment and i agree with the fact that for example vegans leave less of a footprint as they do not eat meat than people that eat meat and they are doing their part to affect the environment less while some of us are indirectly affecting it.

Bambridge-Sutton, Augustus. “Plant-Based Isn’t a Threat, and Meat Can Be Made More Sustainably – Pilgrim’s UK.” Foodnavigator.Com, William Reed Ltd, 28 July 2023, www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2023/07/28/plant-based-isn-t-a-threat-and-meat-can-be-made-more-sustainably-pilgrim-s-uk. 

In the article they state that red meat is a very large portion of the effects that agriculture has on the environment and they also elaborate on the fact that something like plant based foods is a great alternative to meats due to the 28% difference in greenhouse production.They understand the fact the meat is a very big thing in peoples lives due to the nutritional advantages that it has compared to other food like plant based foods and they also realize that it is not easy to just stop eating meat as it is a big part of people diets.They try to share information on how meat production affects the environment and how it really depends on the meat and how it processed and distributed.

This is article explains how critical it is for people to know how we are affected by the production of meat and how difficult it is to sustain this type of lifestyle as there are thousands of meat factories all around the world that emit greenhouse gasses and constantly exploit the natural resources that we will not be able to bring back once gone.It explains that there are other more sustainable food sources that we can use so that the environment is not directly affected as much and we slow down the amount of environmental issues that are constantly plaguing us.I agree with a lot of the points the article makes as meat is a huge part of almost everyone’s diets and has a huge foothold on the world but it is important to share the effects of the food that we greatly exploit,

Diller, Elena. “Meat and Health.” Journal of Ethics | American Medical Association, American Medical Association, 1 Apr. 2023, journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/meat-and-health/2023-04. 

They’re health is a very important and the production of meat is directly affecting many of them,many of the workers that work handling the animals and meat are constantly being affected either from injuries and or diseases due to unsanitary conditions,while companies continue to get rich of the meat industry the environment and the population is suffering.The infinite cycle of killing then processing and doing it all over again is not sustainable as we can continue to raise animals but we do not have the resources to do so forever.

The fact that we are continuously eating these meats without any thought of how it affects the environment can be very devastating as can directly contribute to pollution either air or water pollution do the continuous waste that is produced from trying to support the meat industry and this directly affects us it can kill other resources that we use need on a day to day bases and call also be detrimental to our health.The article overall is short but gives a good overview of the effect that meat production has on not only humans but the environment as well.

guardian, The. “Inside Big Beef’s Climate Messaging Machine: Confuse, Defend and Downplay.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 May 2023, www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/03/beef-industry-public-relations-messaging-machine. 

The growing issue of meat production in 2023 has become a real dilemma as the continuous growth of red meat consumption has made it so that the number of animals like cows has become unsustainable due to the unavailability of places to feed them leading to deforestation to continue the demand for meat.They say Meat production also contributes heavily to climate change due to the co2 emissions that are produced as meat is the number one food that produces co2 emissions.

This article elaborates on the fact that the read meat production industry is a strong contribution to the problem of climate change that we now face in the world as the more gasses that are produced from the meat industry the more it affects the environment as it directly affects our lives due to the fact that meat production is making the world hotter and there is also the fact that there is the problem overgrazing and deforestation that directly harms the environment and the living organism that reside inside of them.Overall i was surprised that such a common food like meat had such a huge effect on the environment.