Cow Farts

    Who knew that a fart could be toxic? I certainty did not. In fact, I lack a lot of knowledge when it comes to knowing and understanding the negative effects that arise from eating meat, and there is a very simple explanation for this. I have never wanted to know any information that would cause me to stop eating from my favorite food group. However, after becoming very inquisitive as to why the production of meat uses so much energy and taking the online footprint calculators, I quickly realized that not only does eating meat greatly impact the environment but also that I am a large contributor in creating these negative effects. For this reason, I have decided to only eat meat three times a week.

    Over six pounds of feed, 52 gallons of water, 74.5 square feet of land and 1,036 btus of fossil fuel energy are all necessary in making one quarter-pound hamburger. Think about how easy it is to decide against eating that hamburger and instead choosing a healthier or even just meatless option. Now imagine all the resources that would be saved.

    My ecological footprint showed that  if everyone lived the way that I do we would need between five and nine plants to provide all the resources. The largest contributor to my ecological footprint is my diet, at 43%. Therefore, cutting down on the amount of meat that I eat will drastically cause my footprint to decrease, which is after all the goal.

    Finally, the question that everyone is asking, why is this blog titled “Cow Farts?” During digestion, which cows do often in order to provide us with more food, the cow releases methane into the environment when they fart. This methane causes negative effects on the environment and is even a contributor to climate change. Cow farts and the resources necessary to make even one quarter-pound hamburger are reason enough for me to reduce the amount of meat in my diet.