Beefy diet? Why researchers want to change that, especially among men

04:36 |

by Brittney Melton

September 15, 2024

Good morning. This week, Bank of America raised minimum hourly pay, Jon Bon Jovi helped talk a woman off the ledge of a bridge, and SpaceX Polaris Dawn astronauts conducted the first-ever private spacewalk.

Best of NPR

— Julia Simon, NPR's climate solutions reporter

Last spring, NPR climate reporters, editors, and member station reporters gathered in Philadelphia to brainstorm for NPR’s climate solutions week focusing on food. We also invited local food leaders, including Richard Landau, the co-owner and chef of plant-based restaurant Vedge.

As Richard and I talked, something he said stuck with me.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/14/nx-s1-5003066/beef-climate-change-american-men-masculinity

Jackie Lay/NPR

He told me he often talks to men who tell him it’s hard to reduce their meat consumption because eating meat connects them with their idea of who a man should be.

There is a huge body of research — from social psychology, to history, to media studies — showing how meat-eating and American ideas of masculinity are intertwined.

Now climate researchers are thinking about these ideas too, and they’re particularly interested in why American men eat so much beef.

Scientists say beef has a bigger overall planet-heating impact than any other food. Demand for beef drives deforestation in places like the Amazon rainforest. Cattle release powerful greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming.

The United States is, per capita, one of the biggest consumers of beef in the world. And research shows that if a person eats less beef, that has a huge impact on their dietary carbon footprint. Not even eliminating beef — just eating less.

Americans don’t all consume beef equally. Diego Rose is head of the nutrition program at Tulane University. Rose and his colleagues found that on any given day, 12% of Americans account for half of all beef consumption. Scientists say while some women eat a lot of beef, that 12% is disproportionately men.

That’s why climate researchers are now thinking about gender as they try to get men to reduce their beef intake, says Anna Grummon, a professor at Stanford Medical School. “Because men eat more beef, it means you're going to, as a society, get more bang for your buck from the men changing their behavior,” she told me.

But in the course of this reporting, I learned there are big obstacles that make it specifically more difficult for American men to reduce beef in their diets. You can learn all about it here.

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The Week That Was

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Higher levels of phthalates have been found in children due to the recent use of personal care products like hair oils, lotions and ointments, according to a new study. Phthalates are a group of chemicals added to plastics to make them more flexible and durable. The hormone-disrupting chemicals are a health concern for kids as they can cause disruptions during key developmental moments.

Researchers at the Center for Alaska Native Health Research are testing a new suicide prevention model in rural Alaska Native villages: supporting cultural activities that strengthen community bonds and a sense of shared purpose. For decades, it’s been common to see headlines that highlight the wide spectrum of challenges confronting Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta: the lingering psychological impacts of residential boarding schools, high rates of substance use and sexual violence stemming from generational trauma, dwindling salmon runs that limit food and livelihood and a changing climate that is threatening low-lying village communities along the coast with flooding and erosion. The researchers’ approach has shown such promise that it’s now being piloted in Alaska’s military population, with hopes that the model could scale both nationally and abroad.

California lawmakers passed a bill that requires health warning labels on gas stoves for sale, similar to those on tobacco products. Health experts say the stoves’ blue flames burn fossil fuels and release pollution in the kitchen. Appliance manufacturers counter that the bigger problem is the fumes coming off the food itself, rather than the pollution caused by burning gas and that two separate issues are being conflated. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of the month to sign the bill into law or veto it. There’s also a campaign to get the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to require warning labels on gas stoves nationwide.

WBUR’s Here & Now dives into Eastern Kentucky and why it went from being a Democratic stronghold to the heart of Trump country in a series of four stories. It explores the decline of coal, the increase in opioid use, a "caste system" keeping residents in poverty and the role that culture wars have played in shaping the region's politics.

Match Active: Double Your Impact

The NPR Network is dedicated to bringing critical climate coverage to the forefront and digging into solutions. But we can’t do it alone.

As we wrap up Climate Solutions Week, we’re asking 100 donors to step up and power the independent journalism needed to make this possible. Right now, your support will be matched dollar for dollar when you donate to the NPR Network — doubling your impact. Can we count on you today?

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Code Switch: Journalists of color tackle fearless conversations about race with empathy and humor. Explore how race affects every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, food and everything in between.

🎧 Ask Code Switch is back! Lori Lizarraga and the Code Switch team tackle all new listener questions this fall. From the tacky and tricky to the cringe and candid — we're bringing our race advice to the questions you're scared to ask.

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This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie.

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