THE IMPOSSIBLE THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER by ConsueloBURGER Le With the beginning of a new decade, the term “eating green” has taken quite a turn. Sure, people still love Caesar salads and kale, but the younger generation is searching for something beyond leafy greens. With climate change reaching a state of crisis and the rise of green youth movements like Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future, our world is emphasizing the green matra more than ever. We seem to constantly ask ourselves: what can we do to reduce our carbon footprint and buy us time to restore our green planet?
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Like many others at Cornell, this question frequently crosses my mind. In almost every STEM class I take, the professor mentions the effects of climate change on the subject at hand: the rising temperatures melt permafrost containing old and dangerous viruses, increasing carbon dioxide levels pose a threat to human health, and climate fluctuation can affect our evolution as Homo sapiens. And as the media tells me to do, I drink from a reusable water bottle, take more public transportation, and don’t use plastic silverware. But I was neglecting a crucial factor, a decision I made everyday that I didn’t even realize was harming the environment: my food choice. The meat industry is responsible for 25% of the United States’ methane emissions, which decreases the amount of oxygen in the air for us to breathe. In fact, the effects of cattle farming severely affect our ecosystems, as thousands of acres of land have been deforested to hold the livestock, and arable land, once fertile for growing crops, has been overgrazed to the point of no return. But luckily, scientists have been finding ways for humans to enjoy the ‘taste’ of meat without actually adding to the harmful environmental effects of the meat industry, the epitome of which can be seen with the Impossible Burger.
