3 ms·

Something like 6% to 10% of the population is vegan, a bit more than niche!

by gregoryl 2y ago

HPsquared 2y ago
That sounds high. Are we talking about India here?
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > That sounds high. Are we talking about India here? It sounds high even for India. About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs [1]. The part of the country where vegetarianism is most rampant, the North, is also the highest dairy-consuming part of the country [2]. In any case, while medical veganism is something to think about, it's not worth prioritising until after we have reliable artificial organs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India [2] https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific-reason-why-north-indians-consume-so-much-dairy/168547/ https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific...
  - bluescrn 2y ago
    It kind of feels like activists have been trying to erase the concept of vegetarianism/pescatarianism in recent years while pushing full-on veganism. That's probably not a good move if we want to achieve a pragmatic reduction in meat consumption to help reduce related CO2 emissions. A smaller step is a much easier sell.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    >About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs Which you should not, since eating eggs does not make a person a non-vegetarian. The only thing that makes a person a vegetarian is not eating animal flesh. Eggs and dairy are fair game; it's only vegans who push it farther and forbid those. This is basic stuff; has someone been trying to redefine "vegetarianism" recently?
    - rsynnott 2y ago
      AIUI “vegetarian” in India usually excludes eggs. This likely means that a _majority_ of the world’s vegetarians do not eat eggs. > This is basic stuff; has someone been trying to redefine "vegetarianism" recently? Oddly enough, when the word was introduced to popular use in English (though note that similar _concepts_ predated it), it usually meant something closer to what ‘vegan’ does today. The current use of the word is a 20th century thing. Words get redefined, all the time; that’s how languages work. Deal with it. In this case, the word has generally tended to be defined in _more_ permissive terms, not less.

Something like 6% to 10% of the population is vegan, a bit more than niche!

HPsquared 2y ago

That sounds high. Are we talking about India here?

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> That sounds high. Are we talking about India here? It sounds high even for India. About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs [1]. The part of the country where vegetarianism is most rampant, the North, is also the highest dairy-consuming part of the country [2]. In any case, while medical veganism is something to think about, it's not worth prioritising until after we have reliable artificial organs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India [2] https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific-reason-why-north-indians-consume-so-much-dairy/168547/ https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific...
- bluescrn 2y ago
  It kind of feels like activists have been trying to erase the concept of vegetarianism/pescatarianism in recent years while pushing full-on veganism. That's probably not a good move if we want to achieve a pragmatic reduction in meat consumption to help reduce related CO2 emissions. A smaller step is a much easier sell.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  >About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs Which you should not, since eating eggs does not make a person a non-vegetarian. The only thing that makes a person a vegetarian is not eating animal flesh. Eggs and dairy are fair game; it's only vegans who push it farther and forbid those. This is basic stuff; has someone been trying to redefine "vegetarianism" recently?
  - rsynnott 2y ago
    AIUI “vegetarian” in India usually excludes eggs. This likely means that a _majority_ of the world’s vegetarians do not eat eggs. > This is basic stuff; has someone been trying to redefine "vegetarianism" recently? Oddly enough, when the word was introduced to popular use in English (though note that similar _concepts_ predated it), it usually meant something closer to what ‘vegan’ does today. The current use of the word is a 20th century thing. Words get redefined, all the time; that’s how languages work. Deal with it. In this case, the word has generally tended to be defined in _more_ permissive terms, not less.