New York Times Points to Steak for Antarctica’s Demise

New York Times investigative journalist Justin Gillis and his team traveled to Antarctica to witness the effects of climate change in the region as part of a three-part series entitled “Antarctica Dispatch.” The team’s findings were published last week, and Gillis revealed that miles of Antarctica are collapsing into the surrounding ocean. “Glaciers in certain areas have been undercut by warmer ocean waters,” Gillis reports, “and the flow of ice is getting faster and faster.” Gillis joined a group of scientists from Columbia University that have conducted research in the area for several years to understand the predicted tipping point—particularly of the Ross Ice Shelf—before climate change has detrimental effects such as the rising of the world’s seas by up to six feet as early as the end of the century. “Remote as Antarctica may seem,” Gillis says, “every person in the world who gets into a car, eats a steak, or boards an airplane is contributing to the emissions that put the frozen continent at risk.” Several prominent politicians—including former US President Barack Obama and candidate for Prime Minister of England Jeremy Corbyn—have publicly spoken about how the animal agriculture industry is detrimental to the environment.