This video outlines the devastating environmental and climate impacts of animal agriculture.
The video explores animal welfare, factory farms, the problem with organic farming, and the philosophy of humans raising and slaughtering billions of animals every year.
The video offers several solutions, including reducing meat consumption, buying from responsible producers, eating more chicken and pigs instead of cows, reducing food waste, and buying lab-produced meat.
Teaching Tips
Positives
Beautiful animations, music, and narration make this easy to follow and understand.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should understand climate change.
Animal agriculture has a huge impact on carbon emissions, land use, deforestation, and species extinction. It may be difficult for students to connect these broad and abstract issues.
The meatpacking industry does tremendous harm to workers. You can learn more about the chicken industry in this video.
Certified organic farms do follow a long list of environmental regulations that protect the environment and reduce emissions, along with animal welfare rules that can be accessed on the USDA website.
Differentiation
Social studies or economics students could discuss the sustainability of animal agriculture after watching this video and how it impacts human culture and food businesses.
This video can be used as a catalyst for students to advocate for reduced meat consumption in their schools. Students could advocate for Meatless Mondays (or Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays too!)
Students could watch this video or this video, both of which outline how eating more plants helps fight climate change.
Scientist Notes
The resource highlights the need to reduce meaty diets, especially from cruel farms. Organic farming is still a better alternative, and reducing dairy consumption is a good way to reduce carbon footprint. There is no contradiction in the data source. Thus, this resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Science and Engineering
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
Social Studies
Personal Finance & Economics
Personal Finance (F1): Students understand the principles and processes of personal finance by explaining how scarcity influences choices and relates to the market economy.
Global Connections (F2): Students understand economic aspects of unity and diversity in Maine, the United States, and the world, including Maine Native American communities, by analyzing how resource distribution effects wealth, poverty, and other economic factors.
