Kelly Hawes | CNHI News Indiana May 1, 2021
The whole thing started with a story in the British newspaper the Daily Mail.
The article sought to describe the impact of President Joe Biden’s climate plan, suggesting it might limit you to “just one burger a MONTH,” cost you $3,500 a year in taxes, force you to spend $55,000 on an electric car and “crush” American jobs.
The article cited a January 2020 study by the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems examining how a transition to a more plant-based diet could cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. The report also calculated the environmental impact of a 90% reduction in beef consumption.
NEW YORK â President Joe Biden spent only a weekend as the âHamburglarâ in the conservative media world.
But while the false story lasted, it moved with a damaging speed and breadth, another example of a closed ecosystem of information affecting public opinion.
An academic study published a year before Biden became president was used to speculate that he would place limits on how much red meat Americans can consume as part of his stated goal to sharply reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
It was a potentially potent, visceral argument with punchy cable TV octane, namely that Biden was trying to limit people to eating one hamburger a month â an allegation that could seriously undermine his climate change plan before he even announced it.
Yet two days after the Daily Mail brought up the topic in a report last Thursday, Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, was tweeting, “Why doesn t Joe stay out of my kitchen?”
The Mail s story, by Emily Crane, was headlined “How Biden s climate plan could limit you to eat just one burger a MONTH, cost $3.5K a year per person in taxes, force you to spend $55K on an electric car and ‘crush’ American jobs.”
Crane cited a January 2020 study by the University of Michigan s Center for Sustainable Systems, which discussed how a transition to a more plant-based diet by Americans could cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. The paper estimated the environmental impact of a 90% reduction in beef consumption.
New York
President Joe Biden spent only a weekend as the “Hamburglar” in the conservative media world.
But while the false story lasted, it moved with a damaging speed and breadth, another example of a closed ecosystem of information affecting public opinion.
An academic study published a year before Mr. Biden became president was used to speculate that he would place limits on how much red meat Americans can consume as part of his stated goal to sharply reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
It was a potentially potent, visceral argument with punchy cable TV octane, namely that Mr. Biden was trying to limit people to eating one hamburger a month – an allegation that could seriously undermine his climate change plan before he even announced it.
The Hamburglar? How a Story About Meat Limits Fell Apart snopes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from snopes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.