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Environmental Implications of a Rustler's Double Decker Burger -…
Environmental Implications of a Rustler's Double Decker Burger
Packaging
The rustlers burger packaging is made out of plastic. When the plastic is being made a lot of non-renewable energy from fossil fuels is used. These fossil fuels contribute to global warming.
When the food packaging is finished with it has to be thrown away. It is generally disposed of in landfill sites or by burning, this methods again contribute to global warming and climate change.
The plastic used in the packaging is not biodegradable, meaning that once in landfill it takes millions of years to decompose. If this plastic is not contained safely, it can potentially harm animals or their habitats.
Producing
Beef Burger
The burger is the component that causes the most environmental implications in a Rustlers burger. Cows particularly cows that are used for food, require a lot of energy and work to keep them healthy, warm and well-fed.
Rearing cows for meat also takes up a lot of space, in fact 26% of the earth's terrestrial surface is used for livestock grazing. Space is one of the most important factors for growing healthy livestock, as having lots of livestock together in one space can lead to animal welfare concerns. For example, diseases and pests can spread easier. The animals can also get distress and trauma because of the noise of other animals and the small living conditions.
Livestock produce a lot of waste, (methane gas) which contributes to global warming.
Meat is not a very efficient food, because it takes so much energy to produce, but does not provide us with as much energy as things like fruit and veg.
Slaughtering livestock causes large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane.
The meat then has to be processed into mince (this generally happens in a factory) with machines that use fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases.
Bun
Bread has a relatively small impact on the environment. The biggest environmental implication from bread is the fertiliser added to the soil to replace the nutrients that have been taken out due intensive farming. The fertiliser can get washed away and destroy the ecosystems in in rivers, lakes and streams.
Milling the wheat takes a lot of energy and nowadays, machines that emit greenhouse gases are used to get a better consistency of flour.
The bread is made in large batches in factories that use fossil fuels and pollute the air, by emitting greenhouse gases.
Cheese
The production of cheese has many similar environmental implications to meat production as milk comes from cows. Deforestation is a major environmental effect that comes from meat and dairy production. This is because forests are cleared to create land for livestock to graze and to grow livestock feed (cereal grains and soya beans).
Large quantities of fertilisers are added to the land to grow livestock feed. These fertilisers pollute the land, air and water.
Lettuce/Salad
Lettuce has a very small impact on the environment compared to the other ingredients in the burger. Lettuce is generally farmed using the method of intensive farming. Sometimes chemical pesticides are used which can pollute the environment.
If the salad is harvested using farming machinery (tractor's etc), the machinery can give off carbon emissions contributing to global warming.
Distributing
To get to the shop, the ingredients/components for this product need to be delivered to the factory so that they can be produced. After this, the product needs to be taken to the shops where it is to be sold. The distance that food is transported is called food miles. Food miles are becoming a big concern as a lot of non-renewable energy is released when food is being transported. Most of the food that goes into a rustlers burger is transported on land. Every journey that is made to from production to consummation involves CO2 emissions and pollution.
Selling
Once the product has arrived at the shop, it is stored in refrigerators, ready for customers to buy. These refrigerators produce fossil fuels that contribute to global warming and therefore harm the environment.
Supermarkets have very strict rules regarding the 'use by' date on food. If a product is not sold before it becomes out of date, they can no longer sell it (especially if its meat) and therefore, generally ends up being food waste. The food waste gets put into landfill where it produces methane (greenhouse gas which again contributes to global warming) as it decomposes.