Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler, or Becoming aware of the true costs of industrial meat production

New York Times, January 27, 2008

By Mark Bittman

(1.) In what ways are our country’s consumption of oil and beef similar?

(2.) What are the ecological downsides to the increasing global demand of beef?

(3.) How does the world’s meat supply/consumption in the early 70’s compare with current estimates?

(4.) Two staggering statistics are:

That ___________ percent of our earth’s ice-free land is involved in livestock production.

According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, livestock production generates nearly ________________ of the world’s greenhouse gases, more than transportation.

(5.) “Though some ___________________ million people now suffer from malnutrition, the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs, and chickens.”

(6.) How are our nation’s water quality problems affected by livestock production?

(7.) What health issues are made worse by increased red meat consumption?

(8.) How much protein (in grams/day) do Americans consume daily? Of this amount what percentage of the protein comes from animals? How do dietary experts evaluate this statistic?

(9.) “If price spikes don’t change eating habits, perhaps the combination of deforestation, pollution, climate change, starvation, heart disease, and animal cruelty will encourage the simple daily act of eating more plants and fewer animals” Explain how global industrial meat production hastens deforestation and climate change.

(10.) Explain the statement “The good of people’s bodies and the good of the planet are more or less perfectly aligned.”