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Thread: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

  1. #1
    satirecafe
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    Exclamation Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    animal industries are destroying the planet, but agriculture is also. there are so many people on the earth that we are virtually unsustainable, and we're depleting more and more natural ecosystems so we can grow food. we are feeding many of these crops to animals, but it really is very difficult to live a lifestyle that doesn't destroy the environment these days. it would take a major decrease in population, and that's not going to happen any time soon. Also (although this is slightly off topic), people are just too careless. why on earth do we need plastic/paper shopping bags? Is it too hard to bring our own? Is such an environmental disaster worth it for something that's only going to be in our lives for a few minutes? And what about plastic lids and straws on soda?? Shouldn't those be optional?? I could go on forever.. but you get that idea.

    everyone's fear of getting bitten by a shark at the beach bewilders me to no end; humans are the only animals we need to be fearing

  2. #2
    Good sperm
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    Read 'The Food Revolution' by John Robbins.
    If we were all vegan we could easily sustain the population of the earth. Considering it takes 10000 litres of water to make a lb of beef, and acres to feed one cow, if we cut out the middle man and started eating plants worldwide we could easily cope. And that's without using rainforest land.
    Yes, we are wasteful, but we could turn the tide of the planet's destruction with just a few simple changes.

  3. #3
    frugivorous aubergine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    Every organism produces waste, but we can produce less if we try. Short of killing all life there is no way to stop waste production completely so there's no point agonising over it.

    Everyone has something else they can do and that is the way forward.

    Meat production however is the biggest polluter and is totally unnecessary. The majority of agriculture goes towards feeding livestock so that would have a greatly reduced impact if meat wasn't being farmed.

    As much of the existing livestock is artifically reared we would see a huge decrease in numbers once the current population passed away too, and this would be without having to euthanise any animals.

  4. #4
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument
    Hi Satirecafe, I can't really see anything in your post that relates to your title. Since meat production obviously means a lot more water/soil/transport ( = oil) etc. used before the sources (soil, air, light, water, a plant seed....) is converted into human food, eating meat instead of eating plants IS bad for the environment (and for humans, and for animals....).
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  5. #5
    satirecafe
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    if everyone was a vegan then they would eat more vegetables and we would grow more anyway, would we not? i agree that a plant diet would be better for the environment, but everyone makes it seem like simply going vegan would solve all the problems, and that simply isn't true.

  6. #6
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    if everyone was a vegan then they would eat more vegetables and we would grow more anyway, would we not?
    If everybody would eat plants only, we'd need to grow a lot less plants/use a lot less soil/land for producing food, because a LOT of land is used only to produce food for the animals that are being eaten by humans...
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  7. #7
    CATWOMAN sandra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    Exactly Korn! I only have to look around my own country to see the vast areas of land given over to raising animals for food! If this land was used solely for producing plant food for humans it would feed far more numbers than it does now!
    Satirecafe, you said if everyone was vegan we would eat more vegetables, but you are forgetting that infact less land would be needed as there would not be the animal numbers that were previously 'farmed' on that land!

  8. #8
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    Quote satirecafe View Post
    if everyone was a vegan then they would eat more vegetables and we would grow more anyway, would we not? i agree that a plant diet would be better for the environment, but everyone makes it seem like simply going vegan would solve all the problems, and that simply isn't true.

    I don't think people usually are arguing that it would solve all the problems, although there's admittedly always a bit of a tendency to overplay one's hand Being vegan could be a big step in the right direction (some reasons are summarised here: http://www.ciwf.org.uk/eatlessmeat/h...on_planet.html)

  9. #9
    sugarmouse
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    Quote sandra View Post
    Exactly Korn! I only have to look around my own country to see the vast areas of land given over to raising animals for food! If this land was used solely for producing plant food for humans it would feed far more numbers than it does now!
    Satirecafe, you said if everyone was vegan we would eat more vegetables, but you are forgetting that infact less land would be needed as there would not be the animal numbers that were previously 'farmed' on that land!
    thats exactly what I was thinking lol

  10. #10
    satirecafe
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    you guys are right- i knew that most plants are fed to animals, but i guess i never the connection? i donno. i think i really needed to find a reason to pardon my omni friends because it's so frustrating to be around people who "care about the environment"

  11. #11
    frugivorous aubergine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    But in reality they don't care, and I don't mean to sound personal.

    There's no getting away from the fact that you can't be an environmentalist if you eat meat.

    So called environmentalists don't give up meat because their dinner is more important than our planet. That's just as selfish as not sparing the animals lives because someone likes the taste too much.

  12. #12
    Manzana Manzana's Avatar
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    Default Re: Why i hate the "meat is bad for the environment" argument

    I think the problem with trying to change people's diet is that most people consider their "inherent right" to eat what they want... so it is almost like making a personal attack to their "personhood"...

    Human beings are VERY SHORT SIGHTED most of the time and they suddenly become deaf when they fell their "egos or "personal identities" under attack... Becoming a vegan means that you accept that your old identity can no longer be... I am sure everyone that went from eating meat to veganism will agree that their "old identity" as a meat eater is pretty much gone for ever... and that is a really hard thing to do for most people (especially if you think that their main concern is who is going to be in the Big Brother house or what is gonna happen in neighbours!)

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