If everyone became a vegan/vegetarian, what would happen to farm animals?

Question

I mean, be serious. What would happen to our traditional countryside? If we aren't using these animals, there would be no need for them. Instead of making these animals extinct, couldn't we just research into more humane slaughter methods?

At the rate we're going, everything will be industrialized and who wants that? I don't!!!

Its better to have a life with suffering than not at all. Think of the pigs, cows and birds.

Oh, and whats more, these animals will have a worse life, classified as "Endangered Species" in some EVIL zoo or something

Anyone got a decent answer, please?

Answer 1

Here is what would happen: they'd be let go or slaughtered. There would be little to no motivation to keep them, and it would not be cost-effective for most owners to breed them out. What would be the point for them? That is the irony of the vegan movement. If it succeeded 100%, all these animals would either be slaughtered anyway, or they'd be freed and would starve to death, eat our crops, or kill people by getting into the road. It would be an ecological disaster.

I don't mean that against anyone who chooses to be a vegan. It's a choice, and you have a right to do it. But if everyone did it, we'd have a serious problem on our hand.

Answer 2

I would just let everyone know that you are a vegan and leave it at that. If that person is interested they will approach you about. You can bring it up but if the person isn't interested then don't take it any further. Also you don't have to make it about being vegan, maybe just getting them to eat free range animals. Not everyone is going to be a vegan, but everyone can do something to help animals.

Answer 3

Congratulations, you win a prize. you are the Gazillionth person to ask this question in 2007

1 - these animals would not take over
2 - they would not go extinct
3 - jsut becuase we bring a live nito the world does nto mean we own it
4 - countryside woudl evolve into arable , forest and pasture for landowners ( horses, pet cows, sheep as we have )...guess what - thats exactly what it looked like 400 years ago !
5 - saying "everything will be industrialized " is silly, have you seen modern farming ?? Its hardly natural.
6 - "Its better to have a life with suffering than not at all"...are you really sure about that ?? If a doctor saves your babies live does that give them the right to own it and kill it for food when they feel like it ? Are you REALLY sure you would rather be born and caged for life than not be born at all ?

Its a bit arogant to say you know what animals would prefer

Why would cows, pigs, sheep etc become endanged species ??? We don't generally eat Zebra, elephant, giraffee, dog, cat, horse...are these all endangered ?

No.

They would evolve to natural population levels on common ground

Yours are all very silly comments typical of meat-eaters who haven't thought it through and haven't bothered to look at previous questions. You have brought nothing new to the debate.

"Anyone got a decent answer, please?" - sure, can we have a decent question to go with it ?

Answer 4

I don't think I could give you a decent answer because you're question is bogus.

Insert African-American slaves into that idea instead of farm animals and see how much sense your question makes against morality. With a few adjustments of course. Or perhaps native Americans.

Pigs, cows and birds are bred by demand...if the meat industry died out it would be replaced by a vegan industry and people would adjust - as it would take many years and couldn't happen instantly. I'd hope you realized this.

Evil zoo? Yea humane ways of slaughtering them is better then keeping them in ample pastures for people to visit and learn about them. much better. right. I'm trying to believe it..really. common.

Answer 5

They would be butchered and eaten, unitl no one wanted to do that anymore. Then the remaining ones would be slaughtered for their hides and any other thing of value that is not going to be used for food. Then, the farm animals that no one wants to buy for pets, etc. would either die of starvation, neglect, and perhaps a few of old age (if they are lucky enough to land in an animal rescue place).


I am a vegan, and I am not a vegan because I love animals. It is strictly for health reasons. I would cook meat for others to eat, and I don't regret killing a single chicken back when I was a kid. (We raised them, and butchered them for food.)

I don't care if animals who have miserable lives in some cage somewhere become extinct. They would be better off. If there are no or very few occurrences of them in the wild, it won't effect the ecology enough to make a difference, so to heck with it.

Answer 6

It is unrealistic to expect that everyone will stop eating animals overnight. As the demand for meat decreases, fewer animals will be raised for food. Farmers will stop breeding so many animals and will turn to other types of agriculture. When there are fewer of these animals, they will be able to live more natural lives.

Considering how the vast majority of farm animals are currently raised in modern industrialized agriculture (http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/animals.html ), these animals would have been far better off never having been born. The best moment in these animals lives is when they finally die, because only then does their suffering finally end.

Answer 7

I already answered this question earlier but here it is again.
On the contrary. If we were to stop mass breeding of livestock through artificial insimination the population would level out to where the natural preditors would be able to control the population. Further, since less cattle would exist in more vegetated areas the farm crops would then be made to feed humans instead of animals, and the remaining farm lands from cattle ranches could be used to farm vegtables. This would create more affordable fresh vegtables and produce more corn and soy that can be used as alternative fuel sources cutting down on pollutants into the earth and atmosphere and cutting down on costs of fuel. Granted this process would take some phasing in time but I believe this would be the best thing for the economy, environment, and our over-all health.

Answer 8

If everyone became a vegan, it wouldn't happen all in one day. As people become vegans, the necessity for having huge industrial farming would decrease. Eventually the animals would die of old age and the others would be pets. Simple really. There is absolutely no way that intelligent human beings cannot find a way to live without torturing and slaughtering other creatures on this earth.

Answer 9

Most would die off naturally. There would not be even close to the amount of these animals there are now because most are artificially bred anyway. You don't honestly think that they stroll through pastures and mate happily do you? It appears that you asked this question in haste before thinking any deeper.

Randall: Not enough vegetables?? Are you kidding me? There are tons and tons that are thrown away each day because of the quantity. Without cattle grain fields, as stated...the world can be fed..and then some.

Answer 10

One way to look at is is that most farm animals are "produced" by the meat industry. It's actually unnatural to have as many animals as we do because they are being bred so quickly and fed hormones and special feeds to make them grow faster. I don't think the whole world is going to go vegetarian any time soon, but if more people did, the meat industry would just have to slow production.