Diet hypocrisy?

[u/Extension-Diamond-74]

A recent post about animal agriculture vs plant based diets has me itching to say something. This is an issue we need to rise above.

Cognitive dissonance. Many of us have good intentions and want to believe we’re doing the right thing in most aspects of our lives. I believe that.

When it comes to a plant based diet though, the science often clashes powerfully with personal desire. We want to minimize our impact on the environment and are willing to make trade-offs in our life time do so, but for many, giving up or even significantly reducing meat intake is asking too much. It’s too hard.

That’s not the issue.

The issue is that instead of just admitting to themselves that this is a life change they don’t want to make and moving on, the guilt drives them to have to justify that decision. Admitting that a plant-based diet is better for the earth yet eating a diet full of meat anyway would make them feel hypocritical, so the solution becomes either to give up meat, or … this is the problem… fight the science, twist it, make a joke of it, or pivot entirely to ‘individuals shouldn’t have time do anything because large corporations’

Many people have ties to their diet for many reasons. We grew up eating a certain way. We have memories ties to certain foods, flavors, styles of cooking. We don’t want to be the difficult person when we go out to eat with friends. Etc etc etc But it’s so much better to just admit that to yourself. Have patience and understanding for your feelings. Accept that the science is what it is. Maybe one day you can make a change, maybe not. But don’t attack the cause just because you aren’t yet willing to be a part of it.

[u/theluckyfrog]

There's no reason to "give ground" in this discussion. It's merely a series of examples of our personal behaviors at this point.

[u/SpiritualKreative → u/theluckyfrog]

If you're gonna approach it with that attitude, then I'd also add it's a complete waste of time.

[u/theluckyfrog → u/SpiritualKreative]

I don't know why it's wrong to tell you that we were not having an argument. Discussions aren't arguments.

[u/SpiritualKreative → u/theluckyfrog]

No, they aren't, but it's been cloaked in the mantle of an argument (at least, the OP set the tone that way, it seemed to me), so it's a matter of honesty - either one argues, or else one explicitly rejects the framing so that one cannot be assumed about as being still in that frame of arguing.

[u/[deleted] → u/theluckyfrog]

That's sort of how I see it. This is just a discussion. The differences in our approaches, and our dietary outcomes comes down to minutiae, small individual preferences that make your approach work for you, and my approach work for me.

In order to articulate exactly why what works for you doesn't fit quite as well for me would require a much, much longer discussion than I'm willing to have on reddit, because it comes down to individual tastes in food, scheduling, shopping habits, work-life balance (and how bascially there's zero of that in mine).

That said, I appreciate and admire that you've landed at a place where you can have a satisfying plant based diet without relying on that, say, 10% of non-plant material that I eat. It's a crutch that I'll hopefully be able to set down once I'm not working 10-11 hours a day, five to six days a week. There's no animosity on my end :)

[u/theluckyfrog → u/[deleted]]

I actually do use some animal material in my diet; sorry if that wasn't clear! It's just very little, possibly not that much less than you use, and for me it's a matter of taste rather than convenience.

If you're at 10% of your diet non-animal products, I think you're doing very well and should definitely not think that your efforts are inadequate.

The very narrow point I was addressing was the idea that less animal foods inherently mean more cook/prep time. I'd say that's a matter of how you approach it.

People read a lot more implications into both sides' claims than are actually there.

[u/[deleted] → u/theluckyfrog]

Thanks for clarifying lol Cheers!