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Opinion: "The End of Meat Is Here" - NY Times

"If you care about the working poor, about racial justice, and about climate change, you have to stop eating animals."

This sentence is clearly written by a wealthy white person living in a wealthy country who is writing only for wealthy white people living in a wealthy country. Seriously :rolleyes::facepalm:
 
I am eating less meat than I used to, it just turns out that way.
Partly because meat is quite expensive and I am a stingy shopper.

The worst is fish, I love fish, but it is pricy.
 
I don't think there's ever been a huge amount of support around here for intensive farming of animals anyway but the article is just weird. He gives it that title but goes nowhere near supporting it.

It's usually subeditors who write the headlines - this one does seem a little clickbaity.
 
we could get by on 6 i reckon. as long as in this imaginary utopia i have a freezer, obvs.
When I came here to work in rural development most families we were doing projects with were rearing a pig or two in the way you describe - in a sty attached to the house, fed on scraps, human waste and wild greens. Usually the family would have one they slaughtered at new year for the festival then cured for the rest of the year, and maybe one they sold for cash to pay school fees and so on. I've been a vegetarian since my mid teens but had no problem working with those families, what they do isn't the problem, much as I still wouldn't eat meat in those circumstances myself.
 
"If you care about the working poor, about racial justice, and about climate change, you have to stop eating animals."

You should probably stop buying the latest smart phone, laptop or tablet, and wearing cheap clothing made in sweat shops in Asia too. And air travel ofc.

I wonder how concerned the NY Times would be about the "working poor" if they were based in Africa or Asia, instead of America?

We all have to make choices everyday about how our actions, be it eating meat, taking a flight, buying a smartphone impact on the world around us. But it never seems to be that conversation - leading an ethical life is nuanced and complex, and most people, I think, do their best in the framework of their own lives. Even the meat eaters.
 
I mean I suspect we will see a drastic reduction in the amount of meat eaten within most people here's lifetimes, but I suspect it will mostly be down to practicality. Meat (and food generally) will become increasingly expensive with climate change and whatever fucking else happens to the world, and people will just eat more plant-based food because they have to. That doesn't mean that the meat that is produced will be any more ethically sourced etc, just there will be less of it around.
 
There's a surplus of meat at the mo . Global lockdown means big demand on cheap cuts to mince etc but with restaurants closed because of the virus there's any amount of filet steak etc about . I'd have thought that covid 19 might have brought about an increase in vegan consumption but ant see any evidence of that tbh.
 
"If you care about the working poor, about racial justice, and about climate change, you have to stop eating animals."

You should probably stop buying the latest smart phone, laptop or tablet, and wearing cheap clothing made in sweat shops in Asia too. And air travel ofc.

I wonder how concerned the NY Times would be about the "working poor" if they were based in Africa or Asia, instead of America?

We all have to make choices everyday about how our actions, be it eating meat, taking a flight, buying a smartphone impact on the world around us. But it never seems to be that conversation - leading an ethical life is nuanced and complex, and most people, I think, do their best in the framework of their own lives. Even the meat eaters.
There's not exactly a wide range of equally useful alternatives to smartphones available though is there? They're pretty much essential for modern living for a huge range of reasons. Not sure the same applies to factory farmed meat...
 
There's a surplus of meat at the mo . Global lockdown means big demand on cheap cuts to mince etc but with restaurants closed because of the virus there's any amount of filet steak etc about . I'd have thought that covid 19 might have brought about an increase in vegan consumption but ant see any evidence of that tbh.
I actually eat more meat and dairy now because it's got a high nutrition to mass ratio and is easier to carry back from the shop. (Still not a lot mind.) But this is just a few months in, all the infrastructure is still pretty much there.
 
There's a surplus of meat at the mo . Global lockdown means big demand on cheap cuts to mince etc but with restaurants closed because of the virus there's any amount of filet steak etc about . I'd have thought that covid 19 might have brought about an increase in vegan consumption but ant see any evidence of that tbh.
Seems to have sparked an interest in Hong Kong:

Plant-based protein food demand has surged dramatically in Asia as consumers, particularly in Hong Kong and Mainland China prefer to stay away from meat in wake of coronavirus’ impact.

In Hong Kong, online food delivery service Deliveroo recorded a year-on-year growth of 104% in vegan food orders with the order volume up by a further 20 per cent since January.

The changing food landscape in the city has led Deliveroo to expand its vegan and sustainable food options, and partner with more plant-based restaurants to offer a wider choice of dishes to its clients. The delivery platform has seen the number of partner restaurants offering vegan options growing from 80 to 266.

(Yes, clearly not an unbiased source but it is directly quoting Deliveroo Hong Kong General Manager Brian Lo.)

Another source; Vegan food orders surge in Hong Kong in Covid-19’s virus
 
i don't want to eat the cow i want to eat the pig. say one between 4 for a year. is that excessive?

No, but if you're talking about raising the pig yourself that'd still be a privileged position. You can't keep pigs in a tower block.
 
Seems to have sparked an interest in Hong Kong:



(Yes, clearly not an unbiased source but it is directly quoting Deliveroo Hong Kong General Manager Brian Lo.)

Another source; Vegan food orders surge in Hong Kong in Covid-19’s virus
I think vegan stuff is more popular. my eldest daughter and partner did it for a fortnight or a week in January as their friends were doing it with the no alcohol thing. I was just wondering out loud about the potential fo the implication of r furloughed/ lack of income and a potential rise in veganism because people cant afford meat
 
There's not exactly a wide range of equally useful alternatives to smartphones available though is there? They're pretty much essential for modern living for a huge range of reasons. Not sure the same applies to factory farmed meat...
The headline appears to refer to any meat, not just factory farmed. And of course there are alternatives to smartphones - not having one for a start; people do manage without them. And there are vanishingly few people who genuinely need to fly anywhere.
 
The headline appears to refer to any meat, not just factory farmed. And of course there are alternatives to smartphones - not having one for a start; people do manage without them
Maybe you could manage without one, but for a lot of people a mobile phone is absolutely essential and not just for fun things. It gives them access to council services, helplines, family, news, email etc etc. Or do you think standing in a stinking phone box is a viable alternative?
 
Phones are pretty much essential without a serious restructuring of society - like cars for a lot of people unfortunately, but actually even more so.
 
Maybe you could manage without one, but for a lot of people a mobile phone is absolutely essential and not just for fun things. It gives them access to council services, helplines, family, news, email etc etc. Or do you think standing in a stinking phone box is a viable alternative?
I don't have a problem with people having smartphones - or laptops, or tablets - the production of which all rely heavily on exploitative labour in LMICs - my point was that would the NY Times be concerned about the working poor if it wasn't American working poor in relation to the article?
I don't have a problem with people flying either, or eating meat for that matter. Because, like most people, I'd be a hypocrite. I don't live a perfectly ethical life - nowhere near.
What I have a problem with is people picking and choosing what they're holier than thou about based on their choices, and their lifestyle, whilst ignoring all the things they do which contribute to this shitty world where exploitation, be it of animals or people is totally out of control. It's the intent - "meat is not essential, therefore no one should eat it, but all my exploitative purchasing habits/lifestyles are totally justified."
 
Wonder if there will be renewed attempts (imo doomed) to big up insect and worm-derived protein.
 
I don't have a problem with people having smartphones - or laptops, or tablets - the production of which all rely heavily on exploitative labour in LMICs - my point was that would the NY Times be concerned about the working poor if it wasn't American working poor in relation to the article?
I don't have a problem with people flying either, or eating meat for that matter. Because, like most people, I'd be a hypocrite. I don't live a perfectly ethical life - nowhere near.
What I have a problem with is people picking and choosing what they're holier than thou about based on their choices, and their lifestyle, whilst ignoring all the things they do which contribute to this shitty world where exploitation, be it of animals or people is totally out of control. It's the intent - "meat is not essential, therefore no one should eat it, but all my exploitative purchasing habits/lifestyles are totally justified."
There is an awful lot of difference between these things; there's no point pretending they are all equivalent. Meat is closer to fast fashion that you mention - which is actually worse, it's almost indefensible and has had quite a hammering recently as an industry, deservedly so.
 
It's these sort of questions that keep me radical; clearly the way we live doesn't work for people, the environment or animals so it's either a fundamental change or disaster. Used to be optimistic that technological advances could free us from material grind and enable a new social order but it's clear that the order has to change or advances only serve the same old same old.
 
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