The Greenhouse Hamburger Article: The Greenhouse Hamburger Author/Source: Nathan Fiala

A. Main Points and Ideas Beef consumption is rising rapidly, both as population increases and as people eat more meat Producing the annual beef diet of the average American emits as much as greenhouse gas as a car driven more than 1,800 miles The meats in our diets are causing more greenhouse gases to spew into the atmosphere than transportation or industry Greenhouse gases traps solar energy therefore warming the earth's surface The production of half a pound of meat is equivalent as a driving a 3,000 pound car nearly 10 miles The truth is that the foods we eat, vegetables, and fruits has an environmental cost To refrigerate and transport vegetables to an American dinner table release about 3.2 ounces of carbon dioxide Cows emit about 2.5 to 4.7 ounces of methane for each pound of beef they produce, which contributes to global warming 23 times more than CO2 To produce one pound of beef, it takes ten pounds of plant proteins, with all the emissions of greenhouse gases that grain farming entails Better waste management and farming practices could reduce the Carbon Footprint

B. Summary In this article, it states that all the foods that we produce are contributing to global warming. It's true because we are putting in a lot of resources to grow and feed the cows. Producing one pound of beef from a cow takes ten pounds of plant proteins, that's a lot because all those actions lead to greenhouse gas emissions. Not only is that contributing to global warming, but the methane that the cows emit are a lot too. They emit about 2.5 to 4.7 ounces of methane for each pound of beef. Producing half a pound of beef emits as much greenhouse gases as driving a 3,000 pound car for nearly ten miles.

C. My Thoughts

It's crazy for me to believe that the food that we are producing are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. I had always thought that food production was bad because we are using up a lot of resources to grow the cows. But it turns out that the production of our foods contributes the greenhouse gas emissions. I had always thought that transportations and industries are the ones that emit greenhouse gases. I think that people should be more educated about this, so that they could try and reduce the amounts of food that they consumes a day. If we try to eat less food we wouldn't need to produce as much.

So What? The foods that we eat contributes to greenhouse gas emissions

Says Who? The author

What if? People were more educated about this

What does this remind me of? It reminds me of fossil fuel emissions