Should We Eat Less Meat?
Over two weeks, you'll dig into meat consumption, production, climate impact, and ethics — all through one lens: storytelling with data. You'll examine global statistics, watch how beef is produced, weigh competing priorities (environment, culture, cost, ethics, health), and then build your own visual argument to share with the class.
Reading List
Required readings live in the Discussion Board — they must be complete by Tuesday at 11:59 PM AZ in Week 1. The optional pieces are extensions if you want to dig deeper.
Required (Discussion Board)
- Is There a Moral Case for Eating Meat? — Vox
- What Does the End of Beef Mean for Our Sense of Self? — The New York Times
- Sorry Vegans: Here's How Meat-Eating Made Us Human — Time
Optional Extensions
- Rethinking Meat — Future Perfect (podcast)
- The Evolution of Diet — National Geographic
- The Juicy History of Humans Eating Meat — History.com
Two-Week Plan
Here's the shape of the two weeks. Your guide will set exact timing for your section.
The Week Begins
Complete the Discussion Board reading by Tuesday at 11:59 PM AZ. We'll introduce the storytelling-with-data lens, the seminar Rules of Engagement, and the shape of the two-week arc.
Land in Your Own Habits
Mindful moment (5 min): "Think about your eating habits. Do you eat meat often? Have you ever gone meat-free? What do you enjoy? What concerns you?" Free-write in your notebook.
Then we'll walk slides 3–8 together. The lens is storytelling: what story is each chart telling, and how do design choices carry bias?
In your notebook: two ways design choice, word choice, emphasis, or omission carried a message today. Cite slide numbers.
Grass-Fed vs. Factory Beef
Watch the production video as a group (we'll play until 10:19). Then we'll discuss grass-fed vs. factory production, surprising facts, and who holds more responsibility for Brazilian land-clearing — consumers or producers.
Begin slides 10–23 of the deck. We'll stop with 5 minutes left to debrief.
What Supports and What Challenges
Mindful moment: "What beliefs or experiences are you bringing into this topic, and how might they be shaping the way you interpret this information?"
Continue slides 10–23. In your notebook, write at least one way the data supports eating less meat and one way it challenges that argument. Specific slides, specific reasoning.
Self-Evaluation
Use the participation rubric (it's at the end of your notebook) to score yourself on the week. Explain your scores.
Values Check, Then Pick a Project
Mindful moment: Kahoot (link in Canvas). No right or wrong answers — the purpose is to surface how this topic aligns with your values.
Then, with a partner, pick one of two options:
- Option 1: Article to Infographic. Pick one Discussion Board article and design a visually persuasive infographic that conveys its main idea and argues for or against eating less meat. Must include a central claim, 3–5 pieces of evidence, ≥2 visual types, and intentional design.
- Option 2: Same Data, Different Story. Find a gap in our seminar (e.g., antibiotics in meat production, livestock antibiotics data, cultural/religious influence, meat substitutes, fishing). Find new data and create two visuals that tell two contrasting stories from the same data.
See this Padlet for examples of strong visual arguments.
Finish, Post, and Write a Bias Note
No mindful moment today. Continue with your partner to finish your visual argument.
Post your visual argument to the class Padlet with your name(s) as the title. In your notebook, paste a picture of your infographic and write a bias note explaining how your design choices shape the message.
Look at Each Other's Work, Then Talk It Through
Gallery walk on the Padlet — leave at least 2 comments evaluating classmates' use of design to tell a story. What design choices influenced you? What was emphasized or omitted? What was the tone?
Socratic discussion using the visual arguments as a jumping-off point. Which arguments felt most convincing? Of the competing priorities (environment, culture, cost, ethics, health), which should matter most? Should we eat less meat?
Final Self-Evaluation
Self-score the second week using the rubric and write a two-week reflection: where you started, where you are now, and a 3–5 sentence answer to the driving question with specific evidence.