How come many smart, environmentally aware people can't face the fact that eating meat hurts the environment?

Answer 1

People don't like to change their habits--tell all these people about the rainforests that they are clear cutting in Brazil in order to raise cattle to ship to Asia...a PBS documentary, not propoganda. And what about the amount of grain we raise to feed our livestock? If America alone stopped raising cattle, we could feed the entire world with the amount of grain that we are now shoveing down the throats of animals so we can fatten them up and eat them. People don't like to be inconvenienced or think they are doing something wrong; that's why it is hard for them to live in reality and learn from real sources...not Fox News.

Answer 2

In response to Jsomethingorother, we are breeding the animals for meat. If we stopped breeding them, there wouldn't be any population problems. Just remember biology class when they taught about the J curve. The only animals that are overpopulated are humans.

In response to the person asking the question: thinking about the environment and keeping that healthy makes them feel better about that fact that they don't have enough self-control to stop eating meat. And the fact that society says that it is okay to eat meat.

It really does hurt the environment. And if everyone stopped eating meat, there would be enough food dor third world countries, enough food to bring down the prices of food, enough to stop poverty. But everyone would rather be greedy and eat meat.

Answer 3

I only know of two arguments why it is bad for the environment, one is that more food could be made from using a field to grow crops than raise animals, so therefore we are wasting the earths resources yada yada ya. OK, I admit, more people could be fed by a field of grain than one used to raise cattle.

Yet, almost all of the land used for pastoral farming would be completely unsuitable for raising crops, which completely blows that argument out of the water.

The other is in South America, where vast swathes of tropical rainforest are cut down for cattle ranching. That is stupidly bad, but because of the poor quality soil, there is poor grass and thus poor quality meat, and none of the meat made on these ranches is ever imported to the USA or Europe, so it doesn't affect us in that way.

Answer 4

to expand on thetdw's answer. Outdoorsmen/women add 123 billion dollar's a year to help the environment. Whereas you bunny huggers only contribute 300 million. So I think we are in the right here. Now when are you going to step up and take responsibility for your actions.

Eating meat is MUCH more healthy for you than being a veggie. You do not get the nutrients that you need for a healthy lifestyle from eating nothing but vegetables

Answer 5

Because it isn't true. As part of a vegetarian family, we choose not to eat meat. Eating meat hurts the animals that are killed, and if there was less demand for meat, then meat producers would have to find another lively hood, but I don't see the connection to hurting the environment. Unless you are referring to poultry litter which IS polluting our lakes and streams. Hmmmm. Is that what you are implying? Beware the dangers of chicken s***?

Answer 6

Eating meat hurts the environment... interesting. Then why do we have canine teeth? The only use is for tearing meat. Oh, and a nice smile. I would like to know how it hurts the environment, though. I would be interested in your take.

Answer 7

It's not a fact. It is perfectly possible to raise animals for slaughter in an environmentally friendly manner. What IS a fact is that the typical vegetarian diet is deficient in one or more essential amino acids, because plants contain widely varying amounts of these. It is possible to have a vegetarian diet balanced for amino acids, but you have to pay attention and know what you are doing. Meats have much more balanced amino acid content, so the amino acid content need not be a concern.

Answer 8

Would you ever open your refrigerator, pull out 10 plates of pasta and toss them in the trash, and then eat just one plate of food?How about leveling 55 square feet of rain forest for a single meal or dumping 2,500 gallons of water down the drain? Of course you wouldn't. But if you're eating chicken, fish, turkey, pork, or beef, that's what you're doing—wasting resources and destroying our environment.

Animals raised for food expend the vast majority of the calories that they are fed simply existing, just as we do. We feed more than 70 percent of the grains and cereals we grow to farmed animals, and almost all of those calories go into simply keeping the animals alive, not making them grow Only a small fraction of the calories consumed by farmed animals are actually converted into the meat that people eat.




Growing all the crops to feed farmed animals requires massive amounts of water and land—in fact, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the United States are used to raise animals for food. Our taste for meat is also taking a toll on our supply of fuel and other nonrenewable resources—about one-third of the raw materials used in America each year is consumed by the farmed animal industry.

Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States, and since factory farms don't have sewage treatment systems as our cities and towns do, this concentrated slop ends up polluting our water, destroying our topsoil, and contaminating our air. And meat-eaters are responsible for the production of 100 percent of this waste—about 86,000 pounds per second! Give up animal products, and you'll be responsible for none of it.

Many leading environmental organizations, including the National Audubon Society, the WorldWatch Institute, the Sierra Club, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, have recognized that raising animals for food damages the environment more than just about anything else that we do. Whether it's the overuse of resources, unchecked water or air pollution, or soil erosion, raising animals for food is wreaking havoc on the Earth. The most important step you can take to save the planet is to go vegetarian.

Want to read more? http://www.goveg.com/environment.asp

Answer 9

For the same reason that the same smart, environmentally aware people can't fact the fact that second hand cigarette smoke is bad for people... when it comes to a personal vice, people just can't see the truth.

Answer 10

Here's a conundrum for you.Why can't the environmentally freindly vegitarians take ALL the responsibility for the destruction of the natural plains,the woodlands and forests?These are the natural habitat of all the animals I hunt in ,for food to put on my table ,to feed my family.The moneys from my and fellow hunters far out weigh any donations of the "veggies" going toward nature restoration.