Thread by @samjwerth

Casually doing some research for my final dissertation chapter and come across the new (or new to me...the dissertating grad student under a laptop rock) Impossible Food "Guide to Talking About Climate Change"

@UCDavisCLEAR @GHGGuru
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Aside from the obvious offense anyone above the age of 10 should feel when viewing this guide or the terrifying propaganda geared towards manipulating our youth - the first three "chapters" do a decent job of outlining climate change...
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Chapter 4, on the other hand, finally makes the draw between climate change and cattle - presenting incredibly misleading information on cattle's contribution to climate change.

This image. I can't.

My @GHGGuru "Debunkinator" hat is on, follow along!

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1st up: cows are the sole reason for deforestation

Debunked:
👆In the U.S. ag land use has DECLINED over the past 50+ years. ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/20…
✌️Globally, yes cattle ranchers are agents of deforestation, but they are NOT the PRIMARY agents fao.org/forestry/18222…
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2nd: The GHG footprint of animal ag rivals that of transportation

Debunked:
👆In US, all Ag contributes to 10% (Livestock 4%) of GHGs - Transportation, 29%! cfpub.epa.gov/ghgdata/invent…
✌️Globally, Livestock direct emissions = 5% and Transportation =14%! news.trust.org/item/201809180…
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3rd: Animal ag consumes more H2O than any other industry

Debunked:
Yes, Animal ag uses a decent amount of H2O BUT it's important to recognize what TYPE of H2O is being used!💚= rain fed &💙= surface/ground water
Guess what cattle/Ag use most of? Green!
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
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4th: 80% of the entire land footprint of humanity is taken up by animal ag

Debunked:
12% global land is for crop cultivation (human/animal) & 25% is rangeland (majority MARGINAL/can't be used for anything but grazing ruminants)!
fao.org/3/i1688e/i1688…
fao.org/ag/againfo/hom…
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5th (& final): Cows being raised for food weigh 10x more than every wild animal combined

Debunked:
Of the worlds 1.5 (not 1.7) billion cattle, 21% are slaughtered for meat & 18% used for milk (FAOSTAT). Impossible has no source on their "stat" but I call bull (pun intended)!
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All this put together, I am left in disbelief that this website is even allowed to exist.

Not to mention, the US child Impossible is targeting is no doubt in a situation where food insecurity/finances aren't top concerns (though many in the US face these challenges daily)!
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Moral of this thread:
👆The propaganda is real!
✌️A simple investigation into any of these issues will show the fundamental errors in each claim!
🐮Meat alternatives will not save the🌎...but cattle might!

@UCDavisCLEAR @GHGGuru

#sciencematters #backtomydissertationrock
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