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You are right, farming could be more sustainable and less destructive (see vertical farm, aeroponics etc). But it's been proven that producing meat requires mo

You are right, farming could be more sustainable and less destructive (see vertical farm, aeroponics etc). But it's been proven that producing meat requires more resources than producing plant based foods. So if we truly care about feeding 7+ billion people, then we would reduce our meat consumption or move to a plant based diet completely. This is one thing each of us can directly do something about - by simply buying different foods. You should watch that presentation by Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown. Also, when talking about moral reasons, this is not just about minimising the suffering of animals. What do you think seeing animals being killed, sliced open alive etc day in day out does to the human psyche - you can find out here: http://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2157&context=honr_theses http://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2157... - also see this quote [1]. If you couldn't get any other job other than working in a slaughterhouse or food prep shop and they both pay the same - which job would you pick? Would you want to kill animals every day or rather wash, cut, peel fruits and veg every day? Our buying choices do matter. [1] "The worst thing, worse than the physical danger is the emotional toll. If you work in that stick pit for any period of time, you develop an attitude that lets you kill things, but doesn’t let you care. You may look a hog in the eye that’s walking around down in the blood pit with you and think, God, that really isn’t a badlooking animal. You may want to pet it. Pigs down on the kill floor have come up and nuzzled me like a puppy. Two minutes later I had to kill them-beat them to death with a pipe. I can’t care (Dillard, p. 398, 2008). "

pier25 9y ago
> But it's been proven that producing meat requires more resources than producing plant based foods It's true, but you can see the global sources of emissions here. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emiss... As I hope you can see we have bigger problems to worry about. > What do you think seeing animals being killed, sliced open alive etc day in day out does to the human psyche My grandparents killed animals on their farm regularly. Not only they were good moral people, but their way of life was much more sustainable and respectful of the planet than any of us here. By focusing on something that shocks you personally you are missing the whole picture.
- cryodesign 9y ago
  Thanks for that link. I'll have a look. But why can't we act on multiple fronts? We can do many things to reduce our carbon foot print, and choosing not to eat meat or reducing it is one of those things. Our meat consumption is a big problem environmentally - see https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meat-and-environment/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meat-and-environm... Also, the way we farm animals now a days is completely different to when your grand parents farmed them. Using factory farming to feed the world is just not sustainable. Look, I get it - most people can't give up meat, we're addicted to it and it's also cultural. But what we can do is giving a signal to the market that we demand better, by choosing to buy alternatives that are better on many fronts, like Beyond Meat etc. That's why I really admire the work by Ethan Brown, he's trying to create meat using plant protein. You should watch the presentation by him I posted earlier - you might find it interesting.
  - pier25 9y ago
    BTW the problem is not really meat production (as far as emissions go) but beef production. http://imgur.com/a/Rwm5R http://imgur.com/a/Rwm5R > But why can't we act on multiple fronts? Yes, as long as we don't forget where the big problem really lies and we also act there. I've met quite a number of vegetarians that believe that not eating meat is the solution to all problems. Of course they fly to Thailand for their yoga retreat, buy food at supermarkets, buy products that have been transported all over the world, and a very long etcetera. It's easy to ride on the moral high ground of vegetarianism blindly ignoring every other facet of our modern lifestyle. From a seemingly benign Google search, to watching a movie at the theatre. I don't like to touch this subject but another big and controversial issue is having kids. Every kid we put on this planet will produce a number of tons of CO2. About 7 on average, about 20 for a US kid. http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/uploads/per_capita_emissions.png http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/uploads/per_capita_em... So can we act on multiple fronts? Can we remove a glass of water from a sinking ship at the same that we pour buckets of water in it? You tell me.
    - cryodesign 9y ago

pier25 9y ago

> But it's been proven that producing meat requires more resources than producing plant based foods It's true, but you can see the global sources of emissions here. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emiss... As I hope you can see we have bigger problems to worry about. > What do you think seeing animals being killed, sliced open alive etc day in day out does to the human psyche My grandparents killed animals on their farm regularly. Not only they were good moral people, but their way of life was much more sustainable and respectful of the planet than any of us here. By focusing on something that shocks you personally you are missing the whole picture.

cryodesign 9y ago
Thanks for that link. I'll have a look. But why can't we act on multiple fronts? We can do many things to reduce our carbon foot print, and choosing not to eat meat or reducing it is one of those things. Our meat consumption is a big problem environmentally - see https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meat-and-environment/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meat-and-environm... Also, the way we farm animals now a days is completely different to when your grand parents farmed them. Using factory farming to feed the world is just not sustainable. Look, I get it - most people can't give up meat, we're addicted to it and it's also cultural. But what we can do is giving a signal to the market that we demand better, by choosing to buy alternatives that are better on many fronts, like Beyond Meat etc. That's why I really admire the work by Ethan Brown, he's trying to create meat using plant protein. You should watch the presentation by him I posted earlier - you might find it interesting.
- pier25 9y ago
  BTW the problem is not really meat production (as far as emissions go) but beef production. http://imgur.com/a/Rwm5R http://imgur.com/a/Rwm5R > But why can't we act on multiple fronts? Yes, as long as we don't forget where the big problem really lies and we also act there. I've met quite a number of vegetarians that believe that not eating meat is the solution to all problems. Of course they fly to Thailand for their yoga retreat, buy food at supermarkets, buy products that have been transported all over the world, and a very long etcetera. It's easy to ride on the moral high ground of vegetarianism blindly ignoring every other facet of our modern lifestyle. From a seemingly benign Google search, to watching a movie at the theatre. I don't like to touch this subject but another big and controversial issue is having kids. Every kid we put on this planet will produce a number of tons of CO2. About 7 on average, about 20 for a US kid. http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/uploads/per_capita_emissions.png http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/uploads/per_capita_em... So can we act on multiple fronts? Can we remove a glass of water from a sinking ship at the same that we pour buckets of water in it? You tell me.
  - cryodesign 9y ago