Are Vegans better for the environment than meat eaters?

[Saint Frankenstein]

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.

As I said, I was merely answering the question of which is better for the environment. Hunting and gathering has less environmental impact than any form of farming, period. Soy is particularly horrible for the environment (it's horrible for your health, too): WWF - Environmental & social impacts of soy

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I'm not vegan as I like quorn fillets too much.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I'm too sensitive to kill an animal.

Me too, and I suspect that if everyone had to kill and prepare their own meat a lot more people would become vegetarian. Here in the UK people dote on pets like cats and dogs and love them like a member of the family, they get outraged by cases of animal cruelty and so on. But meanwhile they're quite happy for an endless succession of cows and pigs to be killed so they can satisfy a dietary preference...it seems incongruous to me.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Me too, and I suspect that if everyone had to kill and prepare their own meat a lot more people would become vegetarian. Here in the UK people dote on pets like cats and dogs and love them like a member of the family, they get outraged by cases of animal cruelty and so on. But meanwhile they're quite happy for an endless succession of cows and pigs to be killed so they can satisfy a dietary preference...it seems incongruous to me.

It's because animals like pigs and cows were domesticated specifically to be livestock. Dogs and cats were domesticated to be work and companion animals. So there's really no incongruence with that.

I wouldn't call eating meat a mere "dietary preference". Humans would never have evolved the large brains we have without eating meat. We need it.

 

[Flankerl]

What do you mean?

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).

Don't blame me. Blame science.

Plants respond to leaf vibrations caused by insect herbivore chewing - Springer

So then you must know the plants know when the animals raised for food are eating them too, right?-We are talking about causing much less damage, not stopping it. We have to live.

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

No we don't have to live. We choose to live. Big difference.

You are also free to live as a gatherer. Have fun with maintaining a healthy diet.

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

Did he say after his ancestors only evolved beyond stupid primates after eating meat and evolving their brain.

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

So if someone would tape your mouth shut and then cut you... you wouldn't feel the pain.

Good to know.

 

[metis]

And let's not forget the most important factoid of all: Hitler was a vegetarian!

Actually that appears to have been just a propaganda piece put forth by the NAZI's to "show" that Hitler was a very compassionate person.

 

[metis]

If anyone thinks that we must eat meat to be strong and healthy, let me recommend they go up to a silverback gorilla and kick him in the gonads, and then let's see who's hurting the most in the end. Gorillas and chimps have basically very similar digestive tracts and dietary needs that we humans do, and they only on very rare occasions eat any meat at all.

 

[Thief]

I have canines.
I eat steak.
I LIKE IT!

and vegetation in large amounts creates green house gases.
and smells bad.

 

[metis]

I have canines.
I eat steak.
I LIKE IT!

and vegetation in large amounts creates green house gases.
and smells bad.

Actually we don't have the kind of canines that carnivores have-- unless you're a vampire.

BTW, my "gas" smells far worse when I eat meat. I'll send you a jar with some in it so you can experience it for yourself.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

We're an omnivorous species. So, according to our health, we can thrive on either a vegan or a meat-centered diet. Why else would indigenous people in the Arctic Circle survive for so long with a rich history and culture? And why else would others survive for decades on a raw vegan diet?

The fact that our bodies have adapted to accommodate in such a manner is amazing, IMO.

But to answer the question, I vote neither. Local is best. It's the way we use our resources to water, feed, pack, and ship that is the main culprit of the destruction of our environment.

 

[Thief]

Actually we don't have the kind of canines that carnivores have-- unless you're a vampire.

BTW, my "gas" smells far worse when I eat meat. I'll send you a jar with some in it so you can experience it for yourself.

DUDE!...you're sooooooo weird!

And I say canines and incisors are for eating meat.
ask your dentist.

 

[Jainarayan]

From plants George, and by synthesising it. Cows can make protein from cellulose, humans can not.

That's why cows and other ruminants have 4-chambered stomachs.

 

[Jainarayan]

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

No, not entirely but we can approximate it. Mark's Daily Apple

 

[metis]

DUDE!...you're sooooooo weird!

And I say canines and incisors are for eating meat.
ask your dentist.

Our canines and incisors are proportionally much the same as they are with chimps and gorillas, and they're mostly vegetarian. If you compare your teeth with a dog or cat, you'll see a significant difference as their canines are proportionally much larger and longer.

And our digestive tracts are much the same as chimps and gorillas, which have long digestive tracts that allow for fiber to be better digested, but very different with dogs and cats, which has relatively short tracts with relatively high acidic levels.

 

[Jainarayan]

And our digestive tracts are much the same as chimps and gorillas, which have long digestive tracts that allow for fiber to be better digested,

No, they are not. Our digestive tracts are much shorter than chimps' and gorillas'. We do not have the size guts they have for processing plant matter. Overview of Digestive System Morphology in Primates and Humans

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Not at all. Factory farming and our wasteful demand is hell on the environment, but that we eat meat has no inherent detrimental effect on the environment. In fact, sometimes, not hunting certain animals can have a devastating effect on the local ecology, such as rabbits, which can have explosive population growth if left unchecked.
This is best addressed not from the perspective of eating meat, but the methods we use to produce meat.

 

[metis]

No, they are not. Our digestive tracts are much shorter than chimps' and gorillas'. We do not have the size guts they have for processing plant matter. Overview of Digestive System Morphology in Primates and Humans

I said that our digestive tract is more similar to the ape line than either the dog or cat lines. I never claimed the human and ape tracts were the same.

Also, we can digest plant matter as long as it's not too thick and fibrous. For example, we eat nuts by taking them out of the shell, whereas, depending on the type of nut, apes often eat shell and all, which would be too harsh for our system.

 

[Sapiens]

DUDE!...you're sooooooo weird!

And I say canines and incisors are for eating meat.
ask your dentist.

If your dentist told you that I'd find a new dentist for he or she is lacking in basic zoological education. Human canines are woefully underdeveloped and are not suited to the stabbing that is typical of carnivores. Incisors are not "designed" for eating meat, but rather for "biting off" things, plant and animal material. But the telling point are the human molars what are grinders as compared to the carnasials found in the cheeks of felids that are sheers for cutting meat.

 

[metis]

But the telling point are the human molars what are grinders as compared to the carnasials found in the cheeks of felids that are sheers for cutting meat.

I had forgotten about that, so thanks.

 

[Estro Felino]

Our canines and incisors are proportionally much the same as they are with chimps and gorillas, and they're mostly vegetarian. If you compare your teeth with a dog or cat, you'll see a significant difference as their canines are proportionally much larger and longer.

And our digestive tracts are much the same as chimps and gorillas, which have long digestive tracts that allow for fiber to be better digested, but very different with dogs and cats, which has relatively short tracts with relatively high acidic levels.

Precisely. That's science; in fact our body needs little meat and lots of vegetables (including all the products of cereal-culture).