Beefing Over Beef What Ways Can The United States Limits Its Cattle’s Carbon Footprint

President Joe Biden spent only a weekend as the “Hamburglar” in the conservative media world. But while the false story lasted, it moved with a damaging speed and breadth, another example of a closed ecosystem of information affecting public opinion.

An academic study published a year before Biden became president was used to speculate that he would place limits on how much red meat Americans can consume as part of his stated goal to sharply reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

With the need for greenhouse gas emissions to decrease and red meat production, as of now, standing in the way of each other, it does leave politicians in the present and future with a limited way of navigating out of this climate crisis.

Today on AirTalk, we discuss those limited paths and try to break down their effectiveness as politicians and businesses look to minimize their carbon footprint without starting any beef with the people they serve.

With files from the Associated Press

GUESTS:

Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkeley; he also leads the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative on behalf of UC Berkeley Law and UCLA Law; he tweets @EthanElkind

Marion Nestle, nutrition professor emerita at New York University and author of the book “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition & Health”; she tweets @marionnestle

President Joe Biden spent only a weekend as the “Hamburglar” in the conservative media world. But while the false story lasted, it moved with a damaging speed and breadth, another example of a closed ecosystem of information affecting public opinion.

An academic study published a year before Biden became president was used to speculate that he would place limits on how much red meat Americans can consume as part of his stated goal to sharply reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

With the need for greenhouse gas emissions to decrease and red meat production, as of now, standing in the way of each other, it does leave politicians in the present and future with a limited way of navigating out of this climate crisis.

Today on AirTalk, we discuss those limited paths and try to break down their effectiveness as politicians and businesses look to minimize their carbon footprint without starting any beef with the people they serve.

With files from the Associated Press

GUESTS:

Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkeley; he also leads the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative on behalf of UC Berkeley Law and UCLA Law; he tweets @EthanElkind

Marion Nestle, nutrition professor emerita at New York University and author of the book “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition & Health”; she tweets @marionnestle