I love this article and am happy to see you taking on some of the more complex realities of our changing planet.
I've had some ideas for a piece breaking down how Utah and the Federal Government subsidize animal ranchers and how to wean ourselves off those environmentally destructive free-market distortions.
Do you plan on exploring meat subsidies and the systemic influences on our plate? I believe there are many barriers for lab-grown meat that are more on the supply side than the demand side.
I love your publications and can't wait for the next one!
I'm not sure how to decentivize meat production beyond making it not economically feasible to produce. For example, if the government put in a ton of restrictions like "cows have to be able to graze in a grassy area of this particular size," then it would become really expensive to raise cows for meat, and steak would become really expensive to buy. In this case farmers will raise less meat, and people will eat less meat.
BUT, that would "hurt" the farmer. And I think this is a core problem with the government (being too lenient on big business and not being willing to do anything that will hurt businesses) and so I'm not sure how realistic it is. But it should be done if you ask me!!!!! I'm curious what you have in mind for Utah!?
And thank you so much for the nice comments about my work!!!!!!!
So, based on this, the healthiest solution would be for each individual to have one 5 oz serving of meat per day and eat vegetarian the rest of the time. Healthiest for humans and for the planet.
I'm staggered by the statistic about the percentage of creature types--only 4% are wild animals. Actually, that's so far beyond disturbing it's numbing. And I see people trying to run over and kill wild animals. Maybe Marty had a point in Cabin in the Woods...
I've had the eat meat / don't eat meat conversation pretty consistently with friends, and it seems clear to me that in an ideal world--and to the point of your fantastic summary--we'd be able to have a mostly-plant based diet to the effect of actually not ruining the planet.
The problem is--and this is the bone in the throat (see what I did there?) where I haven't really gotten past--we as human beings are prone to facility and comfort, and many of us are poor, and until the Powers that Be figure out a way to make a killing on plant-based diets, the whoppers and big macs of the world will continue to prosper because in nations like the USA, it's still so much cheaper to eat processed food than it is to eat healthily.
The politicized elitism of the vegetarian / vegan movement is a big challenge, too, not the least because the loudest voices tend to be those who take an authoritarian / moralistic stance. We all know eating meat is shite and that it's quite dumb to eat a lot of meat for all sorts of reasons. But we need a new marketing campaign. Otherwise, telling people how much better a plant-based diet would be whilst we're all being constantly sold anything but is akin to what The Dude says in Lebowski, "You're not wrong, Walter. You're just an asshole."
Reading the book Half-Earth Socialism has really cemented this idea for me. Once you start plugging into a model how much less people would have to eat meat, to conserve more land/water/resources you're like "wait, it doesn't make sense to be eating meat, we can't sustain this." But I definitely don't think it should be up to the consumer. I think we need to regulate the industry so it's less of an option.
Yeah that's the real challenge: how do "we" regulate the "industry" from an individual standpoint? I have a friend who is working on lab-grown meat, which seems to me like the optimal solution long-term insofar as it'll still make a lot of people a lot of money, it'll scratch the meat-eaters' itch, and it'll also lead to the mass extinction of almost all cows and chickens who exist solely for factory farming ...
Yes, that's one option. But it's an option that kind of grosses me out to be honest. I prefer the plants engineered to be protein rich over the cells engineered to be meat personally 🤢
Elle, you have touched upon a topic quite close to my heart. I became vegetarian a long time ago, when two things happened: someone close to me had a heart attack at age 50 (diet-related onset) and another friend two decades older than me had become vegetarian due to health issues and within six months her skin had transformed (beautiful!) and she rarely got sick anymore (neither of which I was able to claim at the time). I had also been reading about the relationship of livestock-raising to people displacement, which then created regional conflicts and, ultimately, pressed upon issues of global security.
Okay, so, years later, I care more than ever about this issue, now because of climate *and* human health. We have a lot of problems to solve! There is the slow work of helping people change by helping them find success with a different food lifestyle (sometimes I spend my time doing that in ways like this: https://poeticearthmonth.com/category/poetry-on-the-menu/ ) but there is also the fast work that you suggest here, which is changing how we "make" food. I went to Seth Godin's kickoff book signing of The Carbon Almanac and met a woman there who is working on the meat question, from a lab perspective, with a large company that is now providing lab-grown meat (I believe first in Asia). It was fascinating to me that she herself was vegan, but she didn't seem to mind getting meat to people, from lab to table. I asked her about the health implications of lab-grown meat. She couldn't (or wouldn't?) comment on that. It's a question I also have about hydroponics, though less so.
It starts to become: which problem is more pressing? Climate seems top. But human health, nutritionally, can't be far behind. I would love to see people change from the inside-out. Choose differently, foodwise. Become healthier, look their best with less effort, decrease the sacrifice of life in exchange for life. That's my ideal.
Have you read 'Eating on the Wild Side'? You might like the concept and the benefits. And it doesn't cost $150,000 to begin. :) (Albeit, then we might need to solve the "pristine lawn" problem. :)
I'm so glad this resonated! I haven't read that book, but thank you for the recommendation. I have tried various forms of gardening and have always failed (I love to travel too much!), but I could see localized versions of it doing much better, with people who are more attentive being responsible for it 🥰
(You are talking to the woman self-described as "the only woman who can grow a zucchini and only get, for her troubles, two squash the size of green beans." :)
You really put it all together here. I was an attorney for the Ohio EPA, and I can tell you they are the stuff nightmares are made of—not just taking up massive amounts of land space as you point out, but polluting the air (as you noted), and the surrounding land and water. Factory farms take up a huge part of Agency regulatory time. Thanks for the work you put into this piece!
Thanks for putting all this together and making sense of it all. I look forward to every one of your pieces, and this one really resonated.
I've often wondered if hydroponics are the way to go for someone trying to raise their own veggies in poor soil. But I think one needs more indoor room than I have. A container garden though....yeah, I've been saying for years that those would revolutionize food in the far north.
I love this article and am happy to see you taking on some of the more complex realities of our changing planet.
I've had some ideas for a piece breaking down how Utah and the Federal Government subsidize animal ranchers and how to wean ourselves off those environmentally destructive free-market distortions.
Do you plan on exploring meat subsidies and the systemic influences on our plate? I believe there are many barriers for lab-grown meat that are more on the supply side than the demand side.
I love your publications and can't wait for the next one!
I'm not sure how to decentivize meat production beyond making it not economically feasible to produce. For example, if the government put in a ton of restrictions like "cows have to be able to graze in a grassy area of this particular size," then it would become really expensive to raise cows for meat, and steak would become really expensive to buy. In this case farmers will raise less meat, and people will eat less meat.
BUT, that would "hurt" the farmer. And I think this is a core problem with the government (being too lenient on big business and not being willing to do anything that will hurt businesses) and so I'm not sure how realistic it is. But it should be done if you ask me!!!!! I'm curious what you have in mind for Utah!?
And thank you so much for the nice comments about my work!!!!!!!
So, based on this, the healthiest solution would be for each individual to have one 5 oz serving of meat per day and eat vegetarian the rest of the time. Healthiest for humans and for the planet.
I'm staggered by the statistic about the percentage of creature types--only 4% are wild animals. Actually, that's so far beyond disturbing it's numbing. And I see people trying to run over and kill wild animals. Maybe Marty had a point in Cabin in the Woods...
I've had the eat meat / don't eat meat conversation pretty consistently with friends, and it seems clear to me that in an ideal world--and to the point of your fantastic summary--we'd be able to have a mostly-plant based diet to the effect of actually not ruining the planet.
The problem is--and this is the bone in the throat (see what I did there?) where I haven't really gotten past--we as human beings are prone to facility and comfort, and many of us are poor, and until the Powers that Be figure out a way to make a killing on plant-based diets, the whoppers and big macs of the world will continue to prosper because in nations like the USA, it's still so much cheaper to eat processed food than it is to eat healthily.
The politicized elitism of the vegetarian / vegan movement is a big challenge, too, not the least because the loudest voices tend to be those who take an authoritarian / moralistic stance. We all know eating meat is shite and that it's quite dumb to eat a lot of meat for all sorts of reasons. But we need a new marketing campaign. Otherwise, telling people how much better a plant-based diet would be whilst we're all being constantly sold anything but is akin to what The Dude says in Lebowski, "You're not wrong, Walter. You're just an asshole."
Reading the book Half-Earth Socialism has really cemented this idea for me. Once you start plugging into a model how much less people would have to eat meat, to conserve more land/water/resources you're like "wait, it doesn't make sense to be eating meat, we can't sustain this." But I definitely don't think it should be up to the consumer. I think we need to regulate the industry so it's less of an option.
Yeah that's the real challenge: how do "we" regulate the "industry" from an individual standpoint? I have a friend who is working on lab-grown meat, which seems to me like the optimal solution long-term insofar as it'll still make a lot of people a lot of money, it'll scratch the meat-eaters' itch, and it'll also lead to the mass extinction of almost all cows and chickens who exist solely for factory farming ...
Yes, that's one option. But it's an option that kind of grosses me out to be honest. I prefer the plants engineered to be protein rich over the cells engineered to be meat personally 🤢
Elle, I'm curious what you believe would be some good ways to regulate the meat industry?
Elle, you have touched upon a topic quite close to my heart. I became vegetarian a long time ago, when two things happened: someone close to me had a heart attack at age 50 (diet-related onset) and another friend two decades older than me had become vegetarian due to health issues and within six months her skin had transformed (beautiful!) and she rarely got sick anymore (neither of which I was able to claim at the time). I had also been reading about the relationship of livestock-raising to people displacement, which then created regional conflicts and, ultimately, pressed upon issues of global security.
Okay, so, years later, I care more than ever about this issue, now because of climate *and* human health. We have a lot of problems to solve! There is the slow work of helping people change by helping them find success with a different food lifestyle (sometimes I spend my time doing that in ways like this: https://poeticearthmonth.com/category/poetry-on-the-menu/ ) but there is also the fast work that you suggest here, which is changing how we "make" food. I went to Seth Godin's kickoff book signing of The Carbon Almanac and met a woman there who is working on the meat question, from a lab perspective, with a large company that is now providing lab-grown meat (I believe first in Asia). It was fascinating to me that she herself was vegan, but she didn't seem to mind getting meat to people, from lab to table. I asked her about the health implications of lab-grown meat. She couldn't (or wouldn't?) comment on that. It's a question I also have about hydroponics, though less so.
It starts to become: which problem is more pressing? Climate seems top. But human health, nutritionally, can't be far behind. I would love to see people change from the inside-out. Choose differently, foodwise. Become healthier, look their best with less effort, decrease the sacrifice of life in exchange for life. That's my ideal.
Have you read 'Eating on the Wild Side'? You might like the concept and the benefits. And it doesn't cost $150,000 to begin. :) (Albeit, then we might need to solve the "pristine lawn" problem. :)
I'm so glad this resonated! I haven't read that book, but thank you for the recommendation. I have tried various forms of gardening and have always failed (I love to travel too much!), but I could see localized versions of it doing much better, with people who are more attentive being responsible for it 🥰
That is the beauty of the wild things. They need no gardening. Only freedom to grow :)
ok well now you caught my interest.....
Ha. :)
(You are talking to the woman self-described as "the only woman who can grow a zucchini and only get, for her troubles, two squash the size of green beans." :)
HA!!!!! Love it
And here's something new and pretty lovely, also addressing the food issue. But from the medical community side. :)
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/new-york-City-plant-based-diet-healthcare-training
You really put it all together here. I was an attorney for the Ohio EPA, and I can tell you they are the stuff nightmares are made of—not just taking up massive amounts of land space as you point out, but polluting the air (as you noted), and the surrounding land and water. Factory farms take up a huge part of Agency regulatory time. Thanks for the work you put into this piece!
Thanks for putting all this together and making sense of it all. I look forward to every one of your pieces, and this one really resonated.
I've often wondered if hydroponics are the way to go for someone trying to raise their own veggies in poor soil. But I think one needs more indoor room than I have. A container garden though....yeah, I've been saying for years that those would revolutionize food in the far north.
Thank you so much Carolyn, I'm glad you enjoyed it!