CursedByTheVoid

@CursedByTheVoid@lemmy.world

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do people still eat beef when we know it's terrible for Earth?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I mean the premise already feels a bit absurd, but I’ll play…

  I’m not a vegan and don’t really hang out in vegan spaces too much, so my answers may differ from your typical vegan, or not… who knows. But I suppose if the general goal is to preserve life where possible, then you should absolutely try to find some place for the animals to live out their days in peace. If we can manage to stuff them all in neat little boxes on the land we have now, I doubt it’s some insurmountable problem. You don’t have to let 'em run free and “out of control” per se, repurpose the land of the now defunct factory farms and slaughterhouses, build a number of sanctuaries all over the place, and plop 'em there. 'course, I can’t possibly know all of the variables involved, so I’m not saying this is a well thought out solution, I’m just spitballing… but we’re not exactly hurting for land.

  However, suppose I granted you:

  Realistically the amount of livestock is not sustainable and they’d need to be culled in gargantuan numbers

  Why the fuck would people do this?

  And then you get the slaughter without the benefit of feeding billions of hungry people.

  Veganism isn’t some virus that physically prevents you from eating meat, and plenty of vegans have been meat eaters at some point in their lives. If it came down to it, I imagine there would be a steady supply of folks who would opt to revert temporarily instead of letting it go to waste. Vegans may disagree with me here, but I think it’s certainly a more ethical choice if the animals are already dead, can’t let the sacrifice be for nothing.

  That being said, I think a more realistic transition scenario would be something like the meat industry halting slaughter operations, exhausting their existing supply until either there are no animals left to kill, or there are a small enough quantity to where we can just yeet the rest onto some farms somewhere. Not that vegans would get behind that, being anti-slaughter and all, but it’s at least a more believable way for things to play out… I think.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do people still eat beef when we know it's terrible for Earth?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  There’s truth to that. None of us is free of blame, and there’s always going to be a cost associated with the luxuries and comforts that many of us enjoy; but it’s not about “feeling morally superior”, it’s about doing the right thing, reducing unwarranted harm and suffering as much as you reasonably can. And changing your diet, eating more fruits and veggies and less meat, is probably one of the least obtrusive ways to do so (save for folks with rare medical conditions, or people who live in an environment without an abundance of arable land). Even if you don’t give a shit about the suffering of animals or the environment, you at least ought to care about your own well-being.

  I’ve eaten meat my whole life, still do… but I’ve cut back a lot, and it really hasn’t been that difficult. Every time this conversation comes up, nothing annoys me more than the hive-mind crawling out of the woodwork to dump on vegans for daring to speak out against something that is demonstrably harmful in several ways, and then claim that vegans do it only for the purpose of moral grandstanding. Moreover, the absurd amount of appeals to nature and the lazy “bacon tasty” retorts make all of these people look like fucking dorks.

  You don’t have to flagellate yourself for eating meat, you don’t even have to give up meat entirely… But don’t be a jackass about it, acknowledge the harmful reality you’re contributing to and either accept it, cut back and reduce your contribution, or choose to lead a life that doesn’t enable it at all.

  None of this is directed at you individually btw… just venting my frustrations around this conversation in general.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do people still eat beef when we know it's terrible for Earth?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Potatoes, pasta, bread, legumes, nut butters, vegetables, fruits, jelly, jam; all things that many people already eat with some regularity.

  Time and resources are hardly an excuse, you don’t have to spend two hours a night preparing some 5 Michelin star meal with the most organic, non-GMO, [insert buzzword] ingredients in order to make better dietary choices, at least not in the first world where we have ample options… Shit, even just reducing your meat intake by 10% is a net harm reduction that adds up.

  The slave labor thing is valid to an extent, but not entirely analogous. For better or for worse, modern society is increasingly dependent on technology; folks rely on it, in some form, to find/perform work, pay the bills, stay in contact with friends and family, survive the climate they live in, travel, etc… This typically isn’t the case with meat, it’s pure carnal desire which results in the death of something to the tune of ~90 billion, with a “B”, animals every year that didn’t truly need to be slaughtered.

  People absolutely should be upset about the conditions of workers being exploited anywhere in the world and advocate on their behalf where possible, but our position shouldn’t be: “Oh, some bad shit happened over here; so I guess it’s fine to allow this bad shit over here to proliferate as well”, just sayin’.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Why do people still eat beef when we know it's terrible for Earth?⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Probably because they do. Choosing to slaughter billions of sentient creatures every year for food and accessorization, when the majority of us have an abundance of other options, is morally fucked… and this is coming from somebody who eats meat with some frequency.

  Just because we like it, or because it’s easier, or because it’s “tradition” doesn’t mean it’s morally righteous, it just means we’re selfish assholes 💀

  When people lash out at vegans it’s always painfully obvious they’re fighting cognitive dissonance… Eat meat and revel in the immorality if you so desire, no one’s stopping you; but don’t fucking lie to yourself, and don’t get butthurt when someone holds a mirror up to your face because they’re tired of seeing billions of lives snuffed out due to pure hubris.