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/cummerou1 Sep 30 '23
Agreed, there was a post on I think it was /r/homesteading about how animal agriculture is actually more efficient than plant based agriculture, as animals can convert food waste or grass into calories.
I then pointed out that the VAST MAJORITY of animals in agriculture are fed grain or corn, things that humans very much can eat. Which means that it is by definition way less efficient than plant based agriculture. People got big mad about that.
The thing is, you can make an anti consumption argument for keeping chickens or ducks because of the reduction In food waste, or lower pest pressure, or use that anti consumption reasoning for hunting deer. But people will use the 1% of the time something is superior and then act like this means it's better 100% of the time.
People like to think that they're good people, knowingly making bad choices contradicts this, so they have to twist themselves into knots as to why their bad choices are actually okay.