Lesson Plan

Can Plant-Based Meat Mitigate Climate Change?

Overview

Many Americans are seeking out alternatives to meat, convinced that consuming plant-based substitutes may help solve climate change. This 13-minute video takes a look at today’s newest meat alternatives which have the sizzle, smell and taste of the animal variety. Although seemingly a new idea, the plant-based meat alternative has its roots in a movement that took off in the 1970s with Frances Moore Lappe’s bestselling book “Diet for a Small Planet.” This lesson asks students to assess the nutritional, economic and environmental pros and cons of plant-based meat to develop a claim for or against the promotion of plant-based meat as a mitigation strategy for climate change.

Objectives

Students will:

  • Assess the nutritional value of a meatless burger
  • Assess the environmental impact of plant-based meat production compared to beef production
  • Assess the economic success of plant-based meats by considering the economic growth of companies and the statistics presented by the Association of Plant-based Meat.
  • Develop a scientific argument to support or negate the use of meat alternatives as a potential mitigation strategy for climate change
  • Create an advertisement to communicate a scientific argument to a wide audience
Subjects
  • Biology
  • Environment
Topics
  • AP Environmental Science
  • Environment
  • The Environment and Natural Resources
  • Public Health
  • Biology
For Teachers

Essential Questions

  • Do plant-based meat alternatives present an effective mitigation strategy for climate change?
  • How can scientific information be communicated to a wide audience?

Additional Resources

Video: Our Appetite for Beef Is Growing. So Are Climate Worries.Retro Report 
Transcript for "Meatless Burgers Are on Trend. Eating to Save the World Has a Long History."Retro Report 
Beyond Meat Nutrition InformationBeyond Meat 
Beef Nutrition InformationVerywell Fit 
Tofurkey Burger Nutrition InformationTofurky 
Lifeless Market For Meatless MeatForbes 
2021 U.S. Retail Sales Data for the Plant-Based Foods IndustryPlant Based Food Association 
Beyond Meat AdvertisementAddictive (YouTube) 

Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.

Gather relevant information from multiple sources representing a wide range of views while using the origin, authority, structure, context, and corroborative value of the sources to guide the selection.

Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources to support claims, noting evidentiary limitations

Construct arguments using claims and evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging the strengths and limitations of the arguments.

Construct arguments using precise and knowledgeable claims, with evidence from multiple sources, while acknowledging counterclaims and evidentiary weaknesses.

Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems

Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems

Energetics

Systems Interactions

Interactions between different species and the environment (EIN)

Sustainability (STB)

More like this

Image from Influencing Public Policy: Food Safety
Lesson

Influencing Public Policy: Food Safety

Students will learn how human-made catastrophes can help to shape federal policy on food safety.
Image from Ecology: The Yellowstone Wildfires of 1988
Lesson

Ecology: The Yellowstone Wildfires of 1988

Students will learn how the Yellowstone fires of 1988 created a national controversy that challenged long-held assumptions about the role that fires should play in forestry policy.
Image from Nuclear Power: From Three Mile Island to Fukushima
Lesson

Nuclear Power: From Three Mile Island to Fukushima

Students will learn how nuclear energy’s prospects were dimmed by accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, and how modern concerns over climate change have sparked a complex debate about the future of nuclear energy.
Image from The Environment and Natural Resources: Wild Horses
Lesson

The Environment and Natural Resources: Wild Horses

Students will learn about efforts in the early 1970s to enhance environmental regulation and species protections and what happens when those policies lead to conflict – in this case over the wild horse.
Image from Human Geography: The Population Bomb
Lesson

Human Geography: The Population Bomb

Students will learn why concerns about population growth first emerged in the 1970s, why predictions about population were wrong, and what that means for today.
Image from Love Canal and the Environmental Protection Agency
Lesson

Love Canal and the Environmental Protection Agency

Students will learn how toxic waste dumped under the community of Love Canal led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program.
Image from Reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone was a Success. That's When Trouble ​Began.
Lesson

Reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone was a Success. That's When Trouble ​Began.

Students will learn about the reintroduction of the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park and explore whether humans have a role to play in ensuring that animals do not become endangered.
Image from The Roots of Recycling
Lesson

The Roots of Recycling

Students will learn the story behind the recycling movement, explore different waste management strategies, and examine their own lunchroom garbage.
Questions? Tips? Concerns? Reach out to our Director of Education, David Olson: dolson@retroreport.com