The title of this work, “The Beasts of Burden,” refers to the future generations who will shoulder the burdens of our unsustainable habits. One such habit is the consumption of meat and dairy in our diets. According to this New York Times post, meat and dairy account for 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gases, roughly the same amount as all of the world’s cars, trucks, airplanes and ships combined. In addition, as described in this article from Scientific American, beef production impacts the environment in other ways due to its use of fertilizer, fuel, pesticides, water and land, and its role in water pollution and deforestation throughout the world.