The Guardian: Eat plants and go electric: how to break food TV's bad climate habits

[OKIsItJustMe]

Eat plants and go electric: how to break food TV’s bad climate habits

From product placement for unnecessary gadgets to meat-centred cooking, TV can make us think unsustainable is normal

Whitney Bauck
Fri 27 Oct 2023 12.00 EDT

When you log in to your favorite streaming service and pull up a cooking show, chances are you’re just looking for a bit of entertainment – maybe even to shut your brain off for a while. But if what you’re watching is constantly exposing you to images of sizzling steaks, roaring gas flames and all the fanciest new appliances, it might be reinforcing habits or norms that aren’t exactly climate friendly.

While there’s not enough data to pinpoint precisely what effect TV and film has on our behavior, experts say that what we see on screen can help shape our sense of what’s normal – and therefore acceptable. Unfortunately, what we’re shown on TV is rarely a great guide for how we might begin reducing the climate impacts of food, which accounts for somewhere between 25% and 33% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“Food systems are a vital piece of the climate puzzle,” said Ellis Watamanuk, senior director at the Entertainment Lab at Rare, a behavioral science-focused environmental non-profit. “Even if we got rid of fossil fuels today, we would still have to change the way we’re eating.”

So how do we change the way we eat? Here are some climate pitfalls commonly showcased in your favorite cooking shows – and what you can do to avoid them and up your kitchen sustainability game.

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[Sky Jewels]

1. I like to watch cooking shows, but I HATE the

meat-centric content. I have to change the channel when they start preparing disgusting hunks of tortured animal flesh.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. So that allows you... what? ... five minutes?

“disgusting hunks of tortured animal flesh.”

https://www.pbs.org/food/shows/jazzy-vegetarian/
https://www.pbs.org/food/shows/delicious-tvs-totally-vegetarian/
https://unchainedtv.com/new-day-new-chef/
https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/its-compliplated

[Backseat Driver]

3. I try to buy grass fed/grass finished red meat (beef and lamb), woodland raised lean breed pork,

and protected chickens who live free-range and tractor moved, from local farmers and their butchers who have been USDA inspected and approved through a flawless delivery service with very reasonable shipping charges/driver tips - It's a bit more expensive but the taste is so delicious over that from bigAgra factory farms in grocery stores and my conscience is at peace.

[hueymahl]

4. Excellent points

Factory farms are the worst. I still love me some tasty animal flesh, but I try to do all the things you advocate. Which means my options for eating out are very limited.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. It may be easier on your conscience, but it may be little better for the planet

Journal of Animal Science: Grass-fed vs. grain-fed beef systems: performance, economic, and environmental trade-offs

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Lay Summary

Between the influence of the “food elite” on social media and increasing public concerns over climate change, consumer demand for grass-fed beef has increased considerably. Although many consumers perceive grass-fed beef as more environmentally friendly than grain-fed beef, there is a dearth of research available to address these consumer claims. In order to answer both consumer and producer concerns, we performed an experiment that evaluated the environmental footprint (i.e., water, land, greenhouse gasses, and energy), beef quality, and economic outcome of four beef cattle production systems on the West coast. The four systems included conventional beef finished on grain for 128 d, steers grass-fed for 20 mo, steers grass-fed for 20-mo with a 45-d grain finish, and steers grass-fed for 25 mo. We found that varying grass-fed and grain-fed production systems resulted in different environmental effects. The conventional system produced the lowest greenhouse gas footprint but required the highest energy input. The grass-fed for 20 mo used the least amount of water but produced the greatest greenhouse gas. In conclusion, this study illustrated the complexities underpinning beef sustainability; no system resulted in absolute economic, meat quality, and environmental superiority.

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My (maternal) grandfather was a dairy farmer. He was kinder to his cows than other farmers (when I was a little boy, my mother found out how commercial veal was produced, and it disappeared from the menu) but, were his cows much kinder to the climate? I doubt it.