4 ms·

It's good to see skeptical criticism of some of these claims, which often oversimplify and exaggerate, but I think misinformation goes both ways. The amount of

It's good to see skeptical criticism of some of these claims, which often oversimplify and exaggerate, but I think misinformation goes both ways. The amount of unsupported claims about going on a plant-based diet is amazing to me. It seems as if there's a defensiveness about diet in general, and meat or lack thereof especially. Like a lot of things now I shouldn't be surprised, as it intersects with a lot of cultural issues and politically charged topics like climate. The term "con" should raise red flags — a more neutral approach to the topic would be more helpful but then that wouldnt increase sales.

missingrib 4y ago
To be honest I don't know if a lot of vegans would like to even argue that the diet is healthier. Most vegans I've met would argue that its morally important to eat vegan even if its less healthy than eating meat. YMMV though.
- PretzelPirate 4y ago
  This is an important comment. Vegans would tell you that veganism isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle choice. I’ve been vegan for over 10 years and it’s never been about health for me, it’s been about not exploiting animals.
  - sky-kedge0749 4y ago
    Another angle on your and GP's comment is environmental. The most environmentally friendly meats come from the most mistreated animals, particularly broiler chickens in warehouses, but most veg*ns aren't going to say, well, if you absolutely have to eat meat, you should eat those.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
codefreeordie 4y ago
The whole meat vs plant-based thing has become just as polarized as the rest of politics. Actually, it's super weird how actually political partisan diets have become. Make a list of left/democrat foods and a list of right/republican foods. It's not hard. It's super weird that this is not hard.
- mytailorisrich 4y ago
  This is because veganism is an extreme and the argument thus goes into 'meat' versus 'no animal product at all' (veganism). In the West we probably eat too much meat (from a health perspective at least) so we should probably try to eat less of it, which can be as simple as not eating meat every day or at every meal. That's it, not very controversial and, yes, you can still eat 'proper' burgers when you go out.
  - codefreeordie 4y ago
    In the West, we used to believe in individual liberty, which meant that there was no amount of meat that you should be able to tell me is enough or too much, because what I eat is not your business.
    - sky-kedge0749 4y ago
      Could it be someone else's business if you, say, killed a dog or cat every day, or are saying that you should be able to do literally anything you like to any animal in the privacy of your home?
      - codefreeordie 4y ago
        Whose dog or cat is it?
        sky-kedge0749 4y ago
        You raise an interesting point -- which you may not have intended, I don't want to put words in your mouth -- that once you treat sentient animals as disposable property, it becomes difficult to draw ethical lines. Surely a chicken and a cat have approximately the same moral worth, and in the U.S. you can buy whole cooked chickens at the store for $5. Buying a chicken and throwing away the meat is just as pointless as killing a cat, and a factory chicken's life is torture from beginning to end. So any difference between the chicken and the cat is sentimental at best.

missingrib 4y ago

To be honest I don't know if a lot of vegans would like to even argue that the diet is healthier. Most vegans I've met would argue that its morally important to eat vegan even if its less healthy than eating meat. YMMV though.

PretzelPirate 4y ago
This is an important comment. Vegans would tell you that veganism isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle choice. I’ve been vegan for over 10 years and it’s never been about health for me, it’s been about not exploiting animals.
- sky-kedge0749 4y ago
  Another angle on your and GP's comment is environmental. The most environmentally friendly meats come from the most mistreated animals, particularly broiler chickens in warehouses, but most veg*ns aren't going to say, well, if you absolutely have to eat meat, you should eat those.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

codefreeordie 4y ago

The whole meat vs plant-based thing has become just as polarized as the rest of politics. Actually, it's super weird how actually political partisan diets have become. Make a list of left/democrat foods and a list of right/republican foods. It's not hard. It's super weird that this is not hard.

mytailorisrich 4y ago
This is because veganism is an extreme and the argument thus goes into 'meat' versus 'no animal product at all' (veganism). In the West we probably eat too much meat (from a health perspective at least) so we should probably try to eat less of it, which can be as simple as not eating meat every day or at every meal. That's it, not very controversial and, yes, you can still eat 'proper' burgers when you go out.
- codefreeordie 4y ago
  In the West, we used to believe in individual liberty, which meant that there was no amount of meat that you should be able to tell me is enough or too much, because what I eat is not your business.
  - sky-kedge0749 4y ago
    Could it be someone else's business if you, say, killed a dog or cat every day, or are saying that you should be able to do literally anything you like to any animal in the privacy of your home?
    - codefreeordie 4y ago
      Whose dog or cat is it?
      - sky-kedge0749 4y ago
        You raise an interesting point -- which you may not have intended, I don't want to put words in your mouth -- that once you treat sentient animals as disposable property, it becomes difficult to draw ethical lines. Surely a chicken and a cat have approximately the same moral worth, and in the U.S. you can buy whole cooked chickens at the store for $5. Buying a chicken and throwing away the meat is just as pointless as killing a cat, and a factory chicken's life is torture from beginning to end. So any difference between the chicken and the cat is sentimental at best.