‘Hell of a Steak’ Commercial Reveals How the Planet Pays the Price for Your Steak Dinner
This new anti-meat ad provides one hell of a wake-up call, well-done.
The “Hell of a Steak” commercial, which was created by the group Vegan Friendly and aired in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers during the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, poses this question: If you knew the true cost of eating meat, would you still do it? After being showered—figuratively and literally—with facts about the environmental footprint of the meat industry, the diners in the video decide to skip the cruel, unsustainable dish.
What’s Really at Steak?
In addition to causing horrendous animal suffering, the meat industry’s impact on the planet is similarly detrimental. As the ad points out, animal agriculture burns through resources: It takes about three football fields of land and 800,000 gallons of water to produce 18,000 pounds of feed and hay to feed a single cow. “As if world hunger doesn’t exist,” the waiter snaps.
The amount of waste and pollution generated by animal agriculture is just as alarming. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, animals on U.S. factory farms produce about 500 million tons of manure each year. Runoff from factory farms and livestock grazing is one of the leading causes of pollution in our rivers and lakes. Animal agriculture is also a leading source of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions—by some estimates, it’s responsible for more greenhouse gases than all the world’s transportation systems combined.
It’s not only the planet that pays the price for meat consumption—our fellow animals do, too. Cows, pigs, chickens, and others who are raised and killed for food often spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy conditions. Commercial farms often deny them the opportunity to raise their young, breathe fresh air, roll around in the mud, build nests, or do anything else that’s natural and important to them.
Say ‘Fork You’ to the Climate Catastrophe—Go Vegan!
One of the best ways to fight the climate catastrophe—and spare our fellow animals—is to go vegan. Get started today:
