THE PROBLEM WITH BEEF

by Imma Watersaver

   Beef, it pollutes. Beef, we love to eat it, though it is bad for the environment so why do we think we need it? We eat it just because we want to.

   I’m a student at Berkeley Arts Magnet, and I think that we shouldn’t eat foods like beef that pollute the environment. We shouldn’t eat beef because it pollutes and wastes resources and also, aren’t there plenty of alternatives?

Reason #1 Resources

   Beef needs 1,232 gallons to produce 8 ounces.To boot, cows consume 11 times more water than other livestock and require 28 times more land. I think this is important because many people in the world do not have access to clean water. Also, only 2% of the water on Earth is freshwater. This means that the water wasted by the steak can’t be used during droughts.

Reason #2 How cows affect the environment

   Cows create lots of greenhouse gases when they pass. This can be a menace to the environment. Another way the cows pollute the environment is through their manure which releases methane gas. This can cause the planet to warm in process known as global warming.

Reason#3 alternatives to beef

   To help the environment, you don’t necessarily have to cut beef out of your diet entirely, you can try out the popular “Meatless Mondays” plan, or the vegan till 6 plan where you don’t eat any animal products until 6 pm. But why not eat just vegetables and fruits like broccoli and tomatoes? Because some vegetables and fruits use almost as much water as beef itself! This makes eating food that doesn't pollute as much as beef a lot harder. Foods such as tofu, lentils, and beans use much less water than tomatoes and broccoli. Foods like tofu and beans save thousands of gallons of water.

In science class we are trying to help people without access to water by doing a fundraiser where we challenge people to save water. In conclusion, it is best to avoid beef because it wastes water, pollutes, and there are many alternatives to it. This is why you shouldn’t eat beef.