Are Vegans better for the environment than meat eaters?

[psychoslice]

Na, not eating meat is certainly better, no argument what so ever.

 

[Estro Felino]

You do realise that they found out that plants actually know that you are eating them.... right?
And they hate it.

Science!

wow...I've never heard a plant crying in pain for being cut off. as animals do

 

[psychoslice]

So what if plants feel pain, we have to eat something, its either them or us lol.

 

[Ingledsva]

Where do you think that meat got its protein and energy from?

The processing it goes through in the animal allows us to better utilize them. It talks about that in one of the article I posted.

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[Rick O'Shez]

It takes about 8 pounds of produce to make 1 pound of meat. I am a plant lover!

Yes, this is important. Feeding people on meat rather than grain is incredibly wasteful of resources.

 

[Ingledsva]

Vegans exist because they are disgusted by a massive meat production, which is due to human overpopulation.
yes, massive husbandry where animals are considered things without dignity, is an aberration.
The demand of meat is high because we are too many. and above all, too many people consume too much meat. and they shouldn't.

so...there's nothing wrong with eating meat. As long as meat is produced through the traditional farming procedures, where the dignity of animals is respected. I think that by this changing, people will be able to eat meat once a week.

Let's increase agriculture instead: do choose the Mediterranean diet. Pasta, tomatoes, olive oil and so on

We do indeed eat to much meat. However, we can eat meat at least once everyday without any problems.

The problem is that people are eating meat three times a day, - bacon and sausage for breakfast, burgers, tacos, etc. for lunch, followed by steak, pork chops, and the like for dinner, - and it all slushed down with sugary ketchup and sauces, and a sugary pop. The result being very round people.

Cutting the amount of meat per day, adding salad veggies to each meal, and dropping the sauces and sugar drinks, would go a long way toward regaining our health, and getting us in running shape for the coming Zombie Apocalypse!

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[Bunyip]

wow...I've never heard a plant crying in pain for being cut off. as animals do

So is it that you can not hear the pain of plants that makes the difference?

 

[HonestJoe]

Yes, this is important. Feeding people on meat rather than grain is incredibly wasteful of resources.

That old argument remains grossly simplistic since it isn't just about volume. If we just cut out the "middle-cow" and gave people the plant products currently fed to farm animals, we'd all bitterly complain and then die. The variety and quality of food humans need and growingly expect takes much more resources (and has much more impact) that producing a similar amount of feed for animals. That doesn't necessarily mean the point is reversed but it certainly isn't as simple and I believe switching the entire world population to an entirely vegan diet would still lead to massive environment impact from the necessarily farming practices, probably including a couple of new problems we currently don't face.

 

[illykitty]

From all the reading I've done and many documentaries I've watched, yes it's quite obvious to me.

That's why I'm eating mostly vegan now. Added bonus, my skin seems to like it a lot.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

That old argument remains grossly simplistic since it isn't just about volume. If we just cut out the "middle-cow" and gave people the plant products currently fed to farm animals, we'd all bitterly complain and then die. The variety and quality of food humans need and growingly expect takes much more resources (and has much more impact) that producing a similar amount of feed for animals. That doesn't necessarily mean the point is reversed but it certainly isn't as simple and I believe switching the entire world population to an entirely vegan diet would still lead to massive environment impact from the necessarily farming practices, probably including a couple of new problems we currently don't face.

It might be a simplistic argument but I think it's basically correct. If people ate less meat, more people could be fed. Clearly people can survive quite healthily on a non-meat diet, so meat-eating seems to be a matter of dietary preference and habit rather than necessity.

 

[Estro Felino]

in a plate of pasta there is the daily energy you need

 

[Madhuri]

You do realise that they found out that plants actually know that you are eating them.... right?
And they hate it.

Science!

In what way do they know this? Plants don't have brains. Do they have a mind to think with? Do they have actual emotions? Or when its said that they 'know' or 'react' to stimuli, they mean something very different to what it would mean when applied to animals (including humans).

 

[Rick O'Shez]

In what way do they know this? Plants don't have brains. Do they have a mind to think with? Do they have actual emotions? Or when its said that they 'know' or 'react' to stimuli, they mean something very different to what it would mean when applied to animals (including humans).

I think this argument of "plants feel pain too" is a strawman. Biologically pain is associated with pain receptors and a nervous system, neither of which plants have. And even if plants did experience some kind of trauma, it's clearly nothing compared to the suffering of animals in a slaughterhouse.

 

[Estro Felino]

In what way do they know this? Plants don't have brains. Do they have a mind to think with? Do they have actual emotions? Or when its said that they 'know' or 'react' to stimuli, they mean something very different to what it would mean when applied to animals (including humans).

Not to mention that if you don't pick a head of lettuce, it will dry out .
what a waste

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

No. Hunting and gathering would logically have the least impact on the environment so vegans have no business getting all high and mighty when it comes to this.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

We can't go back to the stone age though.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

We can't go back to the stone age though.

Who recommended that? I was answering the question of the OP. I wouldn't mind the break up of mass society and the formation of smaller tribal units, though.

 

[HonestJoe]

It might be a simplistic argument but I think it's basically correct. If people ate less meat, more people could be fed. Clearly people can survive quite healthily on a non-meat diet, so meat-eating seems to be a matter of dietary preference and habit rather than necessity.

I'm sure there are all sorts of different formations of diets humans could survive on. The question is whether we should all be expected (or even forced) to.

The point I was making was that I'm not convinced providing the balance and variety people would need and expect of a vegan diet would actually involve significantly less environmental impact than we currently have with mixed farming, at least not as much as we could achieve while still retaining some level of livestock farming.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I'm sure there are all sorts of different formations of diets humans could survive on. The question is whether we should all be expected (or even forced) to.

With global over-population feeding everyone is going to be an increasing challenge. Expectations may have to change.

 

[illykitty]

No. Hunting and gathering would logically have the least impact on the environment so vegans have no business getting all high and mighty when it comes to this.

I really wonder if it would work though, with there being 7 billion of us and growing. Perhaps if population went down. I prefer the respect that Native Americans and such tribes gave to animals over much of the farming practises we have now. Either way though, I personally wouldn't be able to do it. I'm too sensitive to kill an animal.

While it's true some vegans are disrespectful, some omnivores are as well... Point is, diet is such a taboo subject even though I feel it shouldn't be above critique. It's a fact that our farming practises are terrible for the planet and part of it is because the demand keeps rising. It would be hard to kill 58 billion animals per year ethically. What is the solution then?

I have no problem with people chosing to eat meat consciously and respectfully. It's about being aware of issues and then doing your best.