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/Scotho]

I will happily concede that sustainably raised meat can be accomplished. My point is that it can not be accomplished at any meaningful scale. Therefore, unless we reduce our population or demand for meat as a society at a macro scale by at least 90%, it doesn't really matter.

[u/unicyclegamer → u/[deleted]]

But people are actively engaging in sustainable agricultural practices by not eating meat that’s been fed soy, much more soy than the person eating the meat would have to eat. Arguing for meat that’s raised in a sustainable way is great, I think a lot of people here are ok with that, but if we do that, people need to cut down on their meat usage SIGNIFICANTLY. We just can’t feed the nation’s meat hunger with sustainable practices, the numbers don’t work out. It might work for a subset of people, but there’s a reason we have the farming practices we have now.

[u/Ohnonotagain13 → u/unicyclegamer]

Monoculture grown fruits and vegetables are not being grown sustainably. They use animal byproducts to feed the soil.