Is this the vegan utopia we’ve been dreading? You don’t win friends with salad

  • tinned_tomatoes@feddit.uk
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    1 year ago

    Whilst generally I agree with you, I disagree with this defeatist mindset when it comes to eating meat.

    I think you’re underestimating how big an impact the meat industry has on the climate, and you’re underestimating the power “regular people” have with regards to eating less.

    The meat industry exists because we eat loads of it. If we eat less of it, the meat industry will become smaller as a capitalistic reaction.

    And no, I’m not a vegan. I eat meat every day because (and this is not a valid excuse) I’m a bodybuilder and eating loads of chicken every day is an easy way to get protein. That said, I do believe that 200 years from now society will look back at our consumption of real meat as barbaric. Synthesised lab-grown meat will happen eventually, and sadly it’ll probably take that for society as a whole to change. Hopefully humanity will survive to see the day!

    • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I think you’re underestimating how big an impact the meat industry has on the climate, and you’re underestimating the power “regular people” have with regards to eating less.

      The meat industry exists because we eat loads of it. If we eat less of it, the meat industry will become smaller as a capitalistic reaction.

      That would only delay the end of the world, not prevent it. It would be a huge and mostly senseless sacrifice.

      Synthesised lab-grown meat will happen eventually

      That seems highly unlikely. Synthetic meat was successfully made a decade ago, and then it disappeared from public view without a trace. It appears to have been a PR stunt, not a viable technology.

      • YungOnions@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        That defeatist attitude benefits no one except the status quo. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Any positive change is better than none.

      • mackwinston@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        What huge sacrifice?

        We eat far too much meat, and the huge overconsumption of meat is not only very bad land use, it’s very bad for us personally, leading to chronic illnesses in later life.

        I’m not vegan, I’m not even a vegetarian, but I’ve massively reduced meat intake of all kinds (and very very rarely touch red meat these days). I don’t even miss it, and I don’t count it as a sacrifice. I have discovered all sorts of plant based foods which are to be honest better than meat, so it’s a “negative sacrifice” - not only is my health improved, my food is more enjoyable, too.

        The expectation to have meat every single meal is frankly ludicrous.