What’s the Beef with Beef?

At 5:30 a.m., I wake up, I work out, and I drink a whey protein shake with milk.  I cook an egg and a turkey burger around 8:00.  At 1:00, I grab a roast beef or tuna sandwich from a cafe.  At 6:00 p.m., I throw a chicken breast in the oven, and grab a yogurt while I wait.  My daily routine, and my roommate’s often looks very similar to this.  I have lived under the impression that as much protein I can intake as possible is healthy.  It wasn’t until I actually tracked what I ate that I realized the ridiculous amount of meat and dairy products I consume in a day.  The social norm I fall into is quite common on campus, especially with those who exercise often.  The impression that many students have is that the more protein in the form of meat and dairy, the better.  When it comes down to food choices, your body cannot properly use the protein unless you have a balance and consume a variety of vegetables.  When it is not used towards muscle growth and repair, it is stored as fat.

One societal issue that struck me was how much beef Americans eat, and the hidden effects of continuing this agricultural and consumer cycle of never-ending beef production.  With 8 times more land used towards feeding animals than humans, it is no wonder the greenhouse gas emissions of cows in America are higher than those of 22 million cars!  Yet, when most people think of emissions of gas like methane and nitrous oxide, they typically think of situations of burning fossil fuels through vehicles and factories- not livestock.  While health effects like heart disease and high blood pressure are more visible consequences of eating too much beef, the environmental consequences are massive.  Too many individuals concern themselves with the immediate benefits like a cheap meal, rather than understanding the larger, more important picture.

Hannah_Levine_food

4 thoughts on “What’s the Beef with Beef?

  1. Hi, I’m Sophie. Here is a link to my blog post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/03/module-6-sophia-greene/. Feel free to check it out.
    Your post was really interesting and I took away some really interesting information from it. While reading your post initially, I got the impression that your diet was great and really healthy. But as I kept reading, I quickly found out that too much protein in a diet actually becomes stored as fat. I had always assumed the same thing that you did-the more protein, the better. Because of your post, I now know that balancing protein is just as important as balancing other foods in your diet.

  2. Hi Hannah, I’m Akiksha, currently a freshman at University Park. I am an international student come from a completely different background. I like how you’ve highlighted that most people believe protein intake is healthy, specially people who exercise a lot. I also agree with you on the fact that most people might be thinking other reasons for the greenhouse gas emissions. I really like your diagram as it highlights the hidden consequences and shows how the outer effects are caused by the reasons given inside. I also like the interesting title you’ve given to your post.
    Here is a link to my post : https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bGJ
    I hope you’ll read it too.

  3. Hey I’m Brian, here’s a link to my post:

    http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/03/02/module-6-food-ch…e-social-norms-2/

    I immediately chose your post to comment on because I also went through almost the same experience regarding protein consumption and its source (except for being up that early). Its easy to think that you need as much protein as possible, and its also easy to limit your sources to just meat and dairy. Its also interesting looking at those facts regarding beef consumption. I definitely learned a couple things that I can integrate into my diet.

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