{"id":139017,"date":"2021-04-27T13:36:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T13:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=bd95fb24cac7524bd256d92e597d5e85"},"modified":"2021-04-27T13:36:36","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T13:36:36","slug":"no-bidens-not-banning-burgers-but-meat-is-a-real-climate-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/04\/27\/no-bidens-not-banning-burgers-but-meat-is-a-real-climate-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"No, Biden\u2019s Not Banning Burgers \u2014 But Meat Is a Real Climate Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\"President<\/a>

Fact-checkers are slamming Republicans and the right-wing media for repeating false claims that President Joe Biden\u2019s climate plan would require Americans to drastically reduce consumption of red meat. While the rumors about Biden have been thoroughly debunked<\/a>, these claims were sparked by a real, thought-provoking University of Michigan study that models how a shift toward plant-based diets would reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are driving the climate crisis.<\/p>\n

The right-wing claims originated from baseless speculation<\/a> by The Daily Mail<\/em>, a conservative British tabloid that thrives on viral posts, which was then taken out of context by right-wing politicians and personalities who jumped at the chance to throw red meat<\/a> (excuse the pun) to the Trumpian base.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking of stupid, there\u2019s a study coming out of the University of Michigan which says that to meet the Biden Green New Deal targets, America has to, get this, America has to stop eating meat, stop eating poultry and fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, and animal-based fats,\u201d Fox News<\/em> host Larry Kudlow said over the weekend. \u201cOk, got that? No burger on July 4. No steaks on the barbecue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, there are considerable gaps<\/a> between Biden\u2019s climate vision and the latest Green New Deal proposals<\/a> put forth by progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The University of Michigan study is not part of the Green New Deal, but Kudlow baselessly threatened \u201cmiddle America\u201d with somehow being forced to grill \u201cBrussels sprouts\u201dinstead of beef on the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

Multiple far right Republicans and commentators ran with it, sending out viral tweets<\/a> and media stories falsely suggesting that Biden wants to control what people eat and would even limit Americans to \u201cone burger a month.\u201d<\/a> (Donald Trump Jr., forever riding his father\u2019s presidential coattails, bragged<\/a> on Twitter about eating four pounds of red meat in a single day. Warning: Eating that much red meat at once can cause constipation<\/a> and other health problems.)<\/p>\n

These right-wing claims are ridiculous on their face, but the University of Michigan study<\/a> that Kudlow and others took out of context is real climate science. After all, scientists say the global food supply chain is responsible for 26 percent<\/a> of climate-warming emissions. While not connected White House climate policy, the study adds to a large body of research<\/a> showing that reducing meat consumption — and, perhaps more importantly, reducing factory farming and mass beef production<\/a> that destroys lush ecosystems in places like the Amazon<\/a> — is essential for addressing the climate emergency. The study also models how a shift toward plant-based diets would drastically reduce climate-warming emissions in the United States.<\/p>\n

According to federal data cited by in the study, the average person in the U.S. consumed about 133 pounds of red meat and poultry in 2016. If the average hamburger contains between one-third and half a pound of beef, that\u2019s roughly equivalent to 300-plus burgers. While red meat (beef, pork and lamb) provides only 9 percent of calories in the average American diet, red meat produces about 47 percent of the food system\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions. Consumption of all animal products combined, including eggs, dairy and fish, represents 82 percent of the nation\u2019s dietary carbon footprint.<\/p>\n