What’s happening: With global population levels set to reach close to 10 billion people by 2050, the ecological impact of th

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问题 What’s happening:
    With global population levels set to reach close to 10 billion people by 2050, the ecological impact of the food we eat has come under intense scrutiny.
    Scientists believe human food consumption is having a devastating effect on the environment due to a combination of greenhouse gas emissions, overuse of land and pollution from the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides.
    One of the key areas under investigation is the meat industry.
    Despite increased awareness of veganism and vegetarianism, the percentage of people in the U.S. who abstain from eating meat is still small. America is among the most carnivorous nations on the planet, consuming an estimated 222 pounds of meat per person a year.
    Last month, the U.N. warned that high consumption of meat in the West is fueling global warming, and said switching to a plant-based diet would help fight climate change.
    Why there’s debate:
    Supporters of restricting meat consumption say it would drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The agricultural industry is responsible for 11 percent of global greenhouse emissions, mostly from livestock production. A large portion of that comes from methane created by cow burps, but things like manure, fertilizer, shipping and refrigeration of meat also create a significant amount of carbon. The need for grazing land also leads farmers to destroy large swaths of forest, reducing the plants from extracting carbon out of the air.
    Critics argue that eating less meat will have less impact relative to potential changes in other sectors, like the energy industry. Others argue that pushing a completely meat-free diet is unrealistiC. Asking people to instead reduce how much meat they eat or replace beef in their diet with poultry can still have a substantial effect.
    There’s also some evidence that a zero meat diet may not reduce emissions as much as initially thought because vegetarians tend to replace the meat in their diet with other animal products like eggs and dairy.
    What’s next:
    For those who wish to decrease or completely eliminate the amount of meat they eat, a number of options have come onto the market recently to make the move easier. Plant-based burgers have exploded in popularity over the past year or so. Though they may not be much healthier than beef, the environmental impact of producing them is significantly lower.
From the perspective of supporters of restricting meat consumption, which of the following statements is true?

选项 A、Livestock production is responsible for 11 percent of global greenhouse emissions.
B、The agricultural industry is partly responsible for 11 percent of global greenhouse emissions.
C、Shipping and refrigeration of meat which is responsible for the agricultural industry is partly responsible for 11 percent of global greenhouse emissions.
D、Large swaths of forest decrease the extraction of carbon out of the air.

答案C

解析 细节题。根据“why there’s debate”标题下面第一段中的“The agricultural industry is responsible for 11 percent of global greenhouse emissions,mostly from livestock production”可知,支持者认为农业排出的温室气体占11%,其中大部分来源于畜牧业,所以A、B两项的表述均不准确,可排除。根据该段中的“…shipping and refrigeration of meat also create a significant amount of carbon”可知,C项正确。根据该段中的“The need for grazing land also leads farmers to destroy large swaths of forest,reducing the plants from extracting carbon out of the air”可知,砍伐森林会大大减少植物吸收空气中碳的能力,D项与文章内容矛盾,可排除。故本题选C。
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