On average, Americans eat three hamburgers a week. That’s nearly 50 billion burgers per year nationwide. They typically cost a few dollars at a fast food outlet. But what are the costs to our health and the environment? Is there anything we can do to lessen the impact? Watch the video above to find out more.

This short animated video was directed and produced by Carrie Ching at the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) as part of the “Food for 9 Billion” project. Reporting was by Sarah Terry-Cobo and the art and animation was by Arthur Jones. Funding came from the Society of Environmental Journalists and Spot.us users. You can find the video along with an annotated transcript here, or you can watch it on The I Files, YouTube’s new investigative news channel, which is programmed by CIR and formally launched today.