Background Information for Professor Hamilton:
Thesis: Italisized
Audience: working to middle class families who are considering whether or not they should consume higher quality meat… basically go organic.
Sources: I want to have more of my essay done before I put in my sources. I know the sources exist because I’m a vegetarian and the data is overwhelming. I have included sections for them to be put, but I want to pick and choose what data I use later so I haven’t taken the time yet to site every fact that comes to me.
Are we consuming meat the way we should?
Monday morning, it’s the start of a new week for Luisa, a second grader who’s main focus is to master her timed math work sheets at school. She props herself up at the breakfast table, excited to fill her little tummy: sausage and eggs with bacon and a hot chocolate. After a tiring morning learning about the science on how to make slime, she opens her lunch box because it’s the best time of the day… lunch time: turkey (two slices) and cheese sandwich with chips and an apple. Finally, after a long day at school and ballet class to follow, it’s just about time for dinner for Luisa: a hardi steak with broccoli, some rice on the side, and for dessert ice cream.
You see, in a society where meat is a part of our everyday lives, we tend to forget how much meat we actually consume. This is a very typical diet for many children in America. According to… the average meat consumption per … is, the average american is consuming… For young working and middle class families, choosing to buy organic or locally grown food can be an investment. Consuming high quality meat is an investment in yourself and your children; however, the saying about quality of quantity holds true to meat. If you are consuming the right proportions of meat, consuming less meat will allow you to spend the excess funds on quality meat which will improve your health and save the environment. If more money is spend on high quality meat, then meat consumption should decrease as quality versus quantity is a better financial and health investment.
Regardless of whether or not people believe in animal rights, not only is consuming vast amounts of poor quality meat a health risk as the majority (find percentage) of the meat that people consume is injected with GMOs. Not to mention, the animals from which the meat comes from are are given malnourishing, fatty foods such as (find foods) to beaf them up quickly, without utilizing too many resources. Not only is the meat we are eating poor quality, but it’s starting to affect our bodies. According to …. heart conditions are the #1 leading… in America and #… in the world.
Large amounts of poor quality meat is not only a health risk, but an environmental one as well. The increasing demands for meat in the US, especially beef, which calls for mass breeding of cows, expands the ozone layers which, in turn, is one of the leading causes of global warming.
Why are we consuming so much meat?
-rise of fast food, not enough laws that protect our consumption
How much meat should we really be consuming?
-numbers, obesity, bodily diformities
What kind of meat should we be consuming?
-what should you not be consuming, organic, talk about wild raise vs. organic, is the price worth it (medical costs), are there medical risks linked to the kind of meat we consume?
What is global warming?
How does our meat consumption affect the environment?
-rate at which global warming is increasing, cows
-According to… CO2… has increased this much since, and is contributing…
Should we stop eating meat to protect the environment?
-short answer is no. However, we should reduce our meat consumption in order to preserve our planet, and have laws that require corporations to either disclose what they are feeding their animals and how they are being treated (easy way to cheat that) or make it illegal for humans to consume food that can cause such detrimental effects (find source). Look at switzerland
Why should we even care?
Conclusion: