I heard something to do with Nitrogen and …cow farts(?) I am really unsure of this and would like to learn more.
Answer -
4 Parts
- Ethical reason for consuming animals
- Methane produced by cows are a harmful greenhouse gas which is contributing to our current climate crisis
- Health Reasons - there is convincing evidence that processed meats cause cancer
- it takes a lot more calories of plant food to produce the calories we would consume from the meat.
Details about the answers are in the comments
Is the methane really that bad?
I’d think it’s more the amount of energy that goes into feeding and raising them. Tractors, creating/shipping feed, etc.
Yes, it is. Cow’s methane is the biggest agricultural contributor to greenhouse gases.
Each year, a single cow will produce about 220 pounds of methane. Methane from cattle is shorter lived than carbon dioxide but 28 times more potent in warming the atmosphere, so the 220lbs of methane equal 6160lbs of CO2. A car produces 400g of CO2 per mile, so a cow damages the environment similarly to driving 7000miles. Since cows grow at least for 2 years before being slaughtered it will produce the equivalent of 14.000 miles of driving. A cow produces almost 900lbs of meat, so each pound of beef is like driving 15.5 miles.
Not sure why I’m getting downvoted for asking a question that got a really good answer.
I guess some people thought the question was stupid. It’s not a good way to foster productive discussion, though, I agree.
Wow, that’s a really good explanation. Thanks.
Yes, the methane is that bad. Fossil methane is also bad but we need to halve methane emissions in the next 10 years or so to have a shot at keeping global warming to ~1.5-1.7c