Submitted by An Animal-Friendly Life

I’m not all that big on promoting veganism with environmental arguments, though I did originally go vegan in part due to environmental concerns I had related to consuming animal products, and those concerns continue to be very real and pressing. Even the media–which goes into overdrive in the week leading up to Earth Day–has seized on a recent reports by CIWF, the FAO and others, and has been expending considerable column space to eating lower down the “food chain”. Of course, these articles only recommend reductions in flesh consumption, particularly “red meat”, and even then, far less dramatic than the reports themselves recommend for anything resembling sustainability.

Now, as people are becoming more aware, one of the greatest environmental moves we can make is to consume less, period. And because vegan diets generally require one fourth the energy as meat-based diets, that is similar to switching from an SUV to a Prius. So, added to lots of other facts you’ll find in the above-linked reports and articles, I don’t complain when activists suggest that veganism is mandatory for “true” environmentalists. There’s simply little evidence suggesting that everyone needs to become vegan for the planet to sustain our current population.

However, if everyone was vegetarian, apparently we’d be able to accommodate 8 billion people on planet earth. Not sure what that world would look like but, then, 8 billion vegetarians don’t seem likely any time soon. Perhaps this is why you hear some people arguing the need to go vegan for the environment. Vegans more fully offset meat-eaters, or so the thinking might go. Certainly I don’t fault those of us with the luxury of controlling their diets for adopting veganism out of environmental and social justice reasons (though I can count on one hand the people I’ve met who’ve considered this their sole purpose for being vegan).

After all, nearly a billion people on this planet lack food security, and riots in Egypt, Haiti and elsewhere are bringing the problem into sharp relief. Meanwhile, China and India are rapidly increasing their intake of animal products, with China recently surpassing total U.S. consumption, which has been relatively more stable in recent years, if absurdly high. The neediest on our planet are becoming even more directly harmed by the consumption habits of the wealthiest, as 760 million tons of grain is fed to animals instead of directly to humans, not to mention the 100 million tons of grain being diverted for biofuels this year. 

There can be no question that more hunger can be alleviated with a given quantity of grain by completely eliminating animals [from the food production process]. About 2,000 pounds of concentrates [grains] must be supplied to livestock in order to produce enough meat and other livestock products to support a person for a year, whereas 400 pounds of grain (corn, wheat, rice, soybeans, etc.) eaten directly will support a person for a year. Thus, a given quantity of grain eaten directly will feed 5 times as many people as it will if it is first fed to livestock and then is eaten indirectly by humans in the form of livestock products… — M. E. Ensminger, Ph.D., former Department of Animal Science Chairman at Washington State University

So, hey, it’s understandable if you want to go vegan for environmental and social justice reasons. According to Plan B 3.0, a vegan diet is more sustainable than even a Mediterranean diet. It’s just that I don’t see many true eco-vegans. Veganism isn’t a costume you step into when you feel like being trendy. What’s to keep a self-described environmentalist from eating a steak carved from the body of an organic, free range, locally raised sentient being as part of a special occasion? After all, there’s no harm in doing so once in a while, right?

Well, maybe not environmentally. That is, if we listen to Michael Pollan, George Monbiot and the others clamoring for us to rush down the “food chain” (only not too far). But of course there is harm in eating animals, and that’s where we get into animal ethics and the whole point of this site. It is good that growing environmental awareness is prompting so many people to examine the consequences of their choices, particularly with respect to the growing appreciation for the impact of their food choices. But, if we want people to go vegan–and to stay vegan–ultimately it’s got to be about the animals.

That’s ultimately the message I will be delivering tonight at Emerson College’s Veggie Food Fest, where I’ve been invited to speak. Wish me luck. The earth is trendy again these days, and that’s cool, but those following this trend would still rather have their animal welfare and eat it, too, even if that means eating less of it at higher prices. Animal rights continues to be ever so much more controversial, but hopefully I can play a small part in getting considerate humans past that stage and on to taking seriously the meaningful protection of animal interests with a rights-based approach.

Labels: animal rights, environment, veganism