Common Core State Standard L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
11/19/2018
Eating meat is bad for the environment, report finds
A British advisory board wants to fight climate change by reducing the number of cattle and sheep in the U.K. by 20-50 percent. Cattle and sheep are a huge source of agricultural emissions in the U.K., according to a report by the government's Committee on Climate Change. The report says producing lamb, beef and milk directly accounted for nearly 60 percent of agriculture emissions in 2016.The board said if people changed their diets to include more plants and less meat, it would have a "significant impact" on reducing emissions. This is just the latest report tying meat production to climate change.
■Class discussion: How much water, fuel and land is devoted to raising cattle, sheep or chickens? Would you stop eating meat to reduce climate change? Would you cut your meat consumption by half or a third? Could you go without meat or dairy products for just one meal a day? Would anything else you do individually have as big an impact on climate change? Do you expect climate change to affect your life? Why or why not? Is their any evidence that climate change is already changing the way we live? Do you think climate change is real or a hoax? Can you back up your opinion with evidence?