Meat pie is a dish made from meat and other savory ingredients including cooked potatoes, carrots, vegetables, and cereals. The dish combines animal and plant products. Therefore, it can have a huge impact on the environment. This impact extends throughout all steps of the dish’s lifecycle, from farming, transportation and processing to cooking and waste disposal. Cattle rearing for the production of beef affects the environment in various ways. A lot of water is required for drinking and cleaning of cattle sheds. Besides, the land is cultivated to grow cattle feeds and the food crops that are used to make meat pies. Sometimes, the land is sprayed with insecticides and pesticides that also affect the environment. Moreover, fertilizer is used to grow the cattle feeds and crops. Manure from the cattle releases a mixture of gasses such as CO2, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide, which contribute to global warming (Gerbens-Leenes & Hoekstra, 22-31).
Transportation of cattle to the slaughterhouses requires the use of fuel, which emits CO2 to the atmosphere. At the slaughterhouse, energy is used to slaughter the cattle and process the meat. At the same time, waste products are produced as output and water is used to clean the facilities. From the slaughterhouse, the processed meat products and plant ingredients are transported to the restaurant, and the process requires energy. The various processes in the restaurant also require energy to convert raw products into meat pies. These processes include cooking, packaging, and refrigeration. Greenhouse gases, garbage, and food waste are given as output. From the restaurant, the meat pies may be transported to consumer’s homes, supermarkets and other retail outlets. All these can have adverse effects on the environment. The environmental impacts associated with meat pie include greenhouse gas emissions (air pollution), depletion of water and other resources and loss of biodiversity among others (Gerbens-Leenes & Hoekstra, 22-31).
EM 6 Reflection
Each of the various steps involved in food preparation has some adverse effects on the environment. Data from the food and agricultural organization shows that enteric fermentation contributes the most to agricultural emissions at 40% while burning of crop residues contributes least at 0.5%. This shows that livestock rearing is a leading cause of increased greenhouse gas emissions. Apparently, manure generated from farm animals continues to make a significant contribution to environmental degradation. Therefore, effective management of manure is critical in addressing environmental impact arising from agriculture.
Apart from manure, processing of animal products for food can also contribute to environmental pollution. Due to improvements in food production and processing technologies, different operations create wastes of varying quantities and quality, which if not treated well could lead to more disposal and pollution problems. Additionally, food processing leads to loss of biomass and nutrients, which are hard to recover (Wackernagel & Rees, 52-54).
There are some actual steps that individuals can make in their diets to reduce total food footprint. For my case, I am willing to eat locally produce food so at to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from transportation of food over long distances. In most cases, transportation relies on petroleum fuels that cause greenhouse gas emissions. I am also willing to cut down on beef and dairy intake. Raising beef cattle requires a lot of resources and ultimately affects the environment. If every beef consumer cuts down on the amount of meat they consume, adverse climate changes will be reduced significantly.
Works Cited
Gerbens-Leenes Winnie & Hoekstra Arjen. Business water footprint accounting: A tool to assess how production of goods and services impacts on freshwater resources worldwide. Value of Water Research Report Series No. 27, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands, 2008.
Wackernagel Mathis and Rees William. Our ecological footprint: Reducing human impact on the earth. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C., Canada, 1996.
