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Beef Is Bad for the Climate...But How Bad?

Provided by: Hot Mess |Published on: April 27, 2021

Videos Grades 6-8, 9-12

Synopsis

This video from Hot Mess presents an overview of the effects that beef production has on climate change and land use.
Students will learn that (per pound) cows produce more greenhouse gases than other livestock animals raised for meat and that cattle production is a leading cause of deforestation.

Subjects: Biology

Authors: Hot Mess

Region: Global

Languages: English

Positives

The quick pace of the video will keep students interested and engaged.
Visual aids, including bar graphs, line graphs, and diagrams, help to ground the statistics in the video.

Prerequisites

This video begins with an advertisement.
Students should understand that methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Students can watch this NowThis Earth video to learn more background information on methane.

Differentiation & Implementation

Ethics and health classes can use this video to discuss the pros and cons of grass-fed, silvopasture, and feedlot beef or look at other types of feed, such as seaweed.
History classes can research historical beef production and consumption in an effort to better understand the role beef (and other meat) plays in the modern diet.
Health classes and science classes can use this as a starting point for lessons about the nutritional benefits of plant-based diets and the many other environmental impacts of livestock production, and challenge students to bring in their favorite meatless recipe in order to compile a meatless cookbook.
Other resources on this topic include this foodprint calculator, this video from the YEARS Project, this StC lesson plan, this video on the problems surrounding animal agriculture, and this video on the potential of lab-grown meat.