I used to like to eat cow, that is, until now
We all know that climate change is increasing the Earth’s average temperature and rising CO2 emissions are causing a greenhouse effect on the Earth. This increases the number of natural disasters, causes rising sea levels and leads to the destruction of animal habitats. We also know that transportation and industrial processes like burning coal in factories for energy is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions — well, not really. As it turns out, agriculture and its byproducts (yes, that includes cow flatulence) is actually the leading cause of climate change. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a documentary with my class called Cowspiracy about the devastating effects of animal agriculture on the Earth’s climate. The documentary describes how animal agriculture is extremely inefficient, as one-quarter pound of beef uses the equivalent amount of water than showering for two months straight. With that amount of water, you can grow over 20 times that amount as wheat.
According to a peer-reviewed study by Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, “livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32,564 million tons of CO2e per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions.” This estimate completely eclipses the previous estimate by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization of 18% and also is much more than what the whole transportation sector produces in carbon emissions, which lies at a mere 13% of the total. To make matters worse, much of the farmland used is either cut or burned down from tropical forests to make space for farms. According to a Stanford report, “more than 80 percent of the new farmland created in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came from felling forests.” According to the study this would be equivalent to the CO2 of what more than 10 billion cars would produce in a year. After reviewing all of this information, I decided it was time for me to take action.
Two weeks ago, Ms. Riggen, my eighth grade science teacher, introduced the Do-One-Thing (DOT) project. We are expected to do one sustainable action for one month. Many people, like me, chose to change their diet, as it’s the most effective way to shrink our carbon footprint and water usage. In particular, I chose to stop eating any beef, as cows generate the largest carbon footprint of all livestock. Last week, I began collecting baseline data to see how much beef I was eating on a day to day basis, which you can check out here. This sheet also includes qualitative data on how I felt or other relevant information about the project. I also calculated how much meat I would eat in four weeks, the amount of time I’ll be participating in the project. That way, I can see how much water and other resources I have saved. This small change of diet will go a long way in reducing my carbon footprint and I’m looking forward to go a full month without beef to help the environment. I also encourage you to take action. Make one change to shrink your carbon footprint and help the environment in the process.
