Saving the planet one hamburger at a time

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Harris Feeding Company. Cattle feed lot along I-5 in California's Central Valley Photo credit: Jay Galvin (CC BY 2.0)

Climate change is an existential crisis. If Americans cut just one hamburger from their diet every week, it would be like taking 10 million cars off the road every year. After cutting energy use, less meat and more plant-based food add up to the easiest--and healthiest--way to reduce your carbon footprint. From the land and water needed to raise feed and the methane produced at the end of digestion, “Cattle are actually mini fossil-fuel, greenhouse gas producers.”  So says Sujatha Bergen, head of  health campaigns at the NRDC.  As her title suggests, eliminating beef  from your diet--in addition to pork and lamb-- is also better for you.  She explains the trade-offs for helping to reduce climate change and says,  “Starting with your fork is much less daunting for many people.”

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney

Producer:

Andrea Brody