Does humanity need to reduce meat consumption?

[Secret Chief]

Interesting timing as I just watched a few videos extolling the virtues of a carnivore diet which is basically eating only animal products. It touts claim after claim on the health and weight loss benefits of such a diet. Carbohydrates are said to absolutely be the villain in our diets. This diet is essentially zero carbs!!

Now, on the other hand I believe we should all be sympathetic to the health of the earth and that includes reducing greenhouse gases to a minimum.

Furthermore, there is also the issue of violence and mistreatment of animals.

A dilemma can occur if there is a tradeoff between individual human health and the environment. Hopefully science can help us here? Lab grown meat??

Meat only? That wouldn't be good for the old transit time.

 

[Secret Chief]

Almost none of what has been written in this thread matters much. Climate change is here to stay, because nobody is going to do anything about it on a large enough scale. It's got to the stage where what is needed is so drastic that it's going to hurt a lot, and those that could do something (our rulers) are either those with the most to lose or controlled by them.

Oh, I think we should keep trying, might as well go down bravely, but realistically all that's left is mitigation of the effects, and that may not be enough avoid the extinction of most of our race, and half the other creatures that have the misfortune to share this planet with us.

It would be easy to say "it serves us right", but the blame lies with only a small section of us, so it's all rather sad.

I also suspect that we are beyond the tipping point, but I disagree with the idea of it being only a small section of us.

 

[Stevicus]

 

[George-ananda]

Meat only? That wouldn't be good for the old transit time.

Actually, they claim after an initial adjustment period our now lazy gut will get to work and all will be well. One health bragger (philosopher Jordan Peterson) was saying he has only eaten beef exclusively for the last five years and claims at 62 he has the constitution of when he was 20.

 

[Secret Chief]

She should have asked then! (I've never heard of it....but then why would I?)

 

[Secret Chief]

Actually, they claim after an initial adjustment period our now lazy gut will get to work and all will be well. One health bragger (philosopher Jordan Peterson) was saying he has only eaten beef exclusively for the last five years and claims at 62 he has the constitution of when he was 20.

I'll stick with having a balanced and varied diet, including plant fibre. Although...Peterson doesn't have a problem with transit time, just the wrong orifice.

 

[Shaul]

It's a reason I think ulture meats have a future.

Those fields and pastures can be used more for human benefit than sustaining mass populations of livestock.

Most livestock is fed on land that is not suitable for crop production. So not using those grazing lands would be counterproductive. For example growing crops on mountain sides doesn't work but using such lands for sheep or grazing animals is possible. Simply not using those available grazing lands doesn't increase arable crop land and using them doesn't decrease it.

 

[Alien826]

I also suspect that we are beyond the tipping point, but I disagree with the idea of it being only a small section of us.

I'd be interested in your take on this. I consider the fossil fuels industry that was innocent (they didn't know) until they discovered that the products they were producing was causing climate change and then proceeded to deny it and attack (verbally) those that told the truth. Just the leadership of course. I suppose many others could be accused of apathy.

 

[Heyo]

It would be easy to say "it serves us right", but the blame lies with only a small section of us, so it's all rather sad.

It would be easy to blame only a small section of us but we all allowed the rulers to be the rulers.
Remember:
Every people has the government they deserve.

 

[Secret Chief]

I'd be interested in your take on this. I consider the fossil fuels industry that was innocent (they didn't know) until they discovered that the products they were producing was causing climate change and then proceeded to deny it and attack (verbally) those that told the truth. Just the leadership of course. I suppose many others could be accused of apathy.

I'm not sure what you want my take on? No doubt senior figures in the oil industry have/are trying to downplay or dismiss concerns, as with other industries (eg tobacco). And the employees in those industries want to keep their pay packets, understandably.
As to national leaderships...if a country has a genuine, functioning representative democracy then the population get what they vote for (or at least think they do - then we're into matters of education, the media etc). Most people are busy enough trying to get on with their lives, but some try to do their bit. Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion are doing their bit...

 

[metis]

Carbohydrates are said to absolutely be the villain in our diets. This diet is essentially zero carbs!!

This is true, so a solution is to go more "Mediterranean" but limit the bread & pasta. As Type 2 diabetics, this is what my wife and I have to do, thus lotsa soups & salads.

 

[pearl]

This diet is essentially zero carbs!!

My daughter has gone zero carbs with substituting colliflower for potatoes for one.

 

[Alien826]

I'm not sure what you want my take on? No doubt senior figures in the oil industry have/are trying to downplay or dismiss concerns, as with other industires eg tobacco. And the employees in those industries want to keep their pay packets, understandably.
As to national leaderships...if a country has a genuine, functioning representative democracy then the population get what they vote for (or at least think they do - then we're into matters of education, the media etc). Most people are busy enough trying to get on with their lives, but some try to do their bit. Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion are doing their bit...

That'll do (for your take).

 

[Alien826]

It would be easy to blame only a small section of us but we all allowed the rulers to be the rulers.
Remember:
Every people has the government they deserve.

Like China? North Korea?

As one of Western "democracies" we theoretically have control over which Government we get, but politicians are sneaky and voters easily fooled. In autocratic countries there is much less power available. See Iran. They're struggling to allow women to wear what they want and I don't know if they even get to hear about climate change.

Doesn't matter though. We're all screwed anyway.

 

[wellwisher]

"The research shows that a big meat-eater's diet produces an average of 10.24 kg of planet-warming greenhouse gasses each day.
...
The analysis is the first to look at the detailed impact of diets on other environmental measures all together. These are land use, water use, water pollution and loss of species, usually caused by loss of habitat because of expansion of farming. In all cases high meat-eaters had a significantly higher adverse impact than other groups."

- Eating less meat 'like taking 8m cars off road'

The case for the need to reduce overall meat consumption seems clear cut to me. Unfortunately, it's currently increasing...

How say you? (Don't bother replying if you're a conspiracy theorist).

I am an omnivore and I like some form of meat as part of a well balanced meal. My favorite cut of meat is a porterhouse steak, which gives you a nice NY strip steak and a piece of fillet minion on the bone. I recently bought a small Wagu strip steak which was awesome; 3 minutes per side.

This is summer time, when seafood is more plentiful and less expensive, so I like to eat more meat from the sea, such lobster, scallops, clams and haddock; seafood platter. I also like chicken and turkey, with chicken the most common meat I eat since it is still a good buy. Pork chops and pork tenderloins, as well as pork products such as ham, sausage, and bacon are good and are part of my variety. Who can resist bacon. Lamb and rabbit are good, but I do not eat these very often. There is also game meat from the local hunters, such as deer, bear, and duck. I am not fan of deer or bear, but duck, if cooked properly is awesome.

In my daily walks, I found some chicks of the forest, mushrooms. Thees are nature's natural meat substitute. They grow at the base of old oak trees in attached layered colonies , with a colony getting large; up to 40 pounds. One 100 grams serving of this mushroom, has 21 gram of protein and when cooked it chews and tastes like chicken. It is rich in vitamins A and C and have medicinal properties such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. Its size allows you to cut full size steaks for burgers, which you in pan fry in olive oil, butter, garlic, thyme.

 

[George-ananda]

My daughter has gone zero carbs with substituting colliflower for potatoes for one.

Actually, cauliflower is mostly carbohydrates too but less dense than potatoes. So, a better choice for someone reducing carbohydrates.

• Calories: 27
• Fat: 0.3g
• Sodium: 32.1mg
• Carbohydrates: 5.3g
• Fiber: 2.1g
• Sugars: 2g
• Protein: 2.1g
• Vitamin C: 51.6mg
• Vitamin B6: 0.2mg

The carnivore diet is much more carbohydrate restrictive and would not include even cauliflower. They only eat animal products.

 

[metis]

My daughter has gone zero carbs with substituting colliflower for potatoes for one.

My wife mixes the two to cut the carbs in half. Matter of fact, we just had them a few days ago.