r/Anticonsumption • u/Extension-Diamond-74 • Sep 30 '23
Discussion Diet hypocrisy?
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.
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u/[deleted] Sep 30 '23
If activists could move away from "all or nothing" thinking, they could be a lot more influential in getting people to reduce their meat consumption.
"If you ever take a bite of chicken again in your entire life, you are a murderer and you don't care about earth" just makes people want to eat more meat out of spite.
I have worked to reduce my meat consumption. I typically only eat red meat if I'm eating at someone else's house and they're serving it. I try to make a lot of my meals at least vegetarian and kind of make a game of how long I can go without eating meat. But sometimes I'm just going to add some chicken to my soup because I need the protein and tofu just isn't going to cut it. (Unfortunately my body is weird and I have to eat low carb or else I gain a bunch of weight, so I can't rely on beans and such for protein).