My research question is something I have been passionate about for a while now and cannot wait to learn more about it. I saw a documentary last year called Cowspiracy, which dealt with the damaging effects on the environment caused by the meat industry. After I saw this documentary, I was intrigued that not many people knew what the meat industry was doing to our earth. I have also been a vegetarian for the last five years to prevent animal cruelty in my life. Now that I know what the meat industry is really doing to the environment, my reasons for being a vegetarian have developed into something more. I have researched this topic a lot after I saw the documentary and I am interested in this topic, which makes me qualified to write this paper. Even if I cannot convince people to become vegetarians, I can educate people to my fullest potential.  I hope to learn more so I can educate the people in my life about something that affects everyday life. 

The first source I found was a documentary released in 2014 called Cowspiracy. The meat industry is investigated to be the world's leading cause of the growing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is more than companies and transportation combined. Many people do not know that it affects the earth as much as it was reported in the film. The major values and interests at stake for the source are the meat industry is covering up the fact that it is damaging the environment to this extent. Because the meat industry has been covering up all the data in regards to the environment issues, it will be hard to try and uncover the truth. The filmmakers are Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. Andersen is the founder of a non-profit focused on creating films. Kuhn is an award winning filmmaker that is credible with research and in the film industry. Both of these directors are known in the film industry and around the world as renowned researchers. 

This source deals with the issue of the meat industry and how experts predict, by the year 2020, all meat consumption will double. A team from Stanford University begins to research the effects the meat has on the environment. Greenhouse gases are the sole cause of global warming and the meat industry creates greenhouse gases. The major values and interests at stake in this article deal with the research element of the source. Brooks discusses the problems we are facing and going to face in the future if something does not change. Solutions are brought up as suggestions but they may not be possible at this time. The author of this article is a PhD student in Environmental and Resources at Stanford University. Brooks is qualified to write this article because she has been studying topics like this for years. She is also trying to educate herself more on the topic of the meat industry, which shows she is capable of obtaining more knowledge. 

An article in TIME magazine discusses the impacts of animal agriculture on our environment and how our earth is turning into one giant farm. Everything from raising livestock to slaughtering it causes damage to the environment, mostly by creating more greenhouse gases. The major values and interests at stake in this article include, hard evidence, which uncovers the truth. Each fact sheds light on the fact that animal agriculture and the meat industry need to be altered or the planet may not survive another hundred years. The author of this article is senior editor at TIME, Bryan Walsh. This makes him a credible source for information because he works for a magazine that has covered may events and issues around the world. TIME magazine is known as a media outlet that discusses the truth around about the earth.

My research question is arguable because it can be a controversial topic in the science community. For many years, the truth about the meat industry and animal agriculture has been hidden from the public because of the overbearing corporations. It may be hard to try to convince people that the meat industry is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, more than transportation's emissions. Throughout my sources, they have all seemed to be talking about the same thing but from different viewpoints. One may say that animal agriculture is more dangerous and another one may say the meat industry is more dangerous but overall they say something needs to be changed. My opinion on this topic is that something needs to stop so our earth is safe. I may have to narrow it down to either the meat industry or animal agriculture.  
