Why Beef Is the Worst Food for the Climate

Positives

• This video uses a simple bar graph to help students visually compare the emissions associated with different foods.
• This video is a great way to introduce how consumer choice can influence climate change.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should be able to read bar graphs.
• Students should already be familiar with the greenhouse effect, types of greenhouse gases, their differing capacity to trap heat, and sources of these emissions.

Differentiation

• Teachers can pause the video to check that students understand how each bar of the graph is broken up into different parts (land use changes, farming process, distribution, and animal feed).  Classes can discuss ways that food products differ in their proportion of each of the categories.
• Teachers may need to pause the video to further clarify the concept of enteric fermentation.
• Students can create a visual representation of the explanation for why beef is one of the worst foods for greenhouse gas emissions.
• For further engagement, students can research the greenhouse gas emissions of their favorite foods using the Environmental Impacts of Food Data Explorer.
• Cross-curricular connections can be made with health classes by having students identify foods that are both good for your body and the climate.
• Additional resources that may be helpful include the and video How to Change your Diet to Fight Climate Change and the lesson The Carbon Footprint of Food.