Ending meat consumption is part of changing the economic and social systems. Not treating animals like commodities in society as a whole is different than individual actions like driving electric cars that she seems to be grouping ending meat consumption in with.
But without changing to an economic model which promotes sustainable farming then you are swapping one form of cruelty to another and one type of carbon production for another
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I don't see how any of that contradicts what I said? I totally agree that any method of food production is going to be really destructive and exploitative in a capitalist system. Economic and social systems absolutely need to change. I just argue that ending meat consumption is an essential part of it. If everyone's already accepted that the lives and suffering of some sentient beings are less important than people's taste buds because of a profit motive, then of course it's going to be fine when they wipe out the orangutan and destroy the planet instead of farming more sustainably.
I have my own issues with the eating local movement because it basically says that small farms are inherently good for some reason because they're close by but worker protections (which are bad enough on large farms) are basically nonexistent and there's no enforcement at all.
What you said doesn't paint the whole picture, so presenting 'don't eat meat' as the cure all that it is not because it would mean we don't treat animals as commodities so suddenly we will start acting in a sustainable way.
Veganism presented by some is just another ism. Capitalism doesn't work in the long run, communism, socialism the same. We need to take a holistic approach I agree but pick the battles which are the most winnable because veganism as presented very easily becomes something that corporations can exploit and market to people who think they are doing good and don't want to think about sustainability or workers rights etc but are doing their bit because their meals didn't involve an animal.
I don't think not eating meat is a cure all for anything. I literally said that ending meat consumption is "part of" changing social systems. Animal agriculture is literally the second largest contributer to climate change. There are always going to be more (much smaller problems) but that doesn't mean you should just avoid addressing majorly important issues entirely.
It's not about what's "winnable", it's about what's morally right. People have internalized this idea that it's okay to cause suffering on a massive scale as long as it's some distance from affecting their lives personally and the way we treat animals is 100% part of that. We see this with the way people react to the military murdering massive amounts of people overseas vs the way they want to hold people accountable for murdering people in their local communities and we see it in the way people freak out over dogs and cats being abused while every single day they're eating animals that were literally only born to be abused and then killed.
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really destructive and exploitative in a capitalist system. Economic and social systems absolutely need to change. I just argue that ending meat consumption is an essential part of it. If everyone's already accepted that the lives and suffering of some sentient beings are less important than people's taste buds because of a profit motive, then of course it's going to be fine when they wipe out the orangutan and destroy the planet instead of farming more sustainably.
I have my own issues with the eating local movement because it basically says that small farms are inherently good for some reason because they're close by but worker protections (which are bad enough on large farms) are basically nonexistent and there's no enforcement at all.
Reply
Veganism presented by some is just another ism. Capitalism doesn't work in the long run, communism, socialism the same. We need to take a holistic approach I agree but pick the battles which are the most winnable because veganism as presented very easily becomes something that corporations can exploit and market to people who think they are doing good and don't want to think about sustainability or workers rights etc but are doing their bit because their meals didn't involve an animal.
Reply
It's not about what's "winnable", it's about what's morally right. People have internalized this idea that it's okay to cause suffering on a massive scale as long as it's some distance from affecting their lives personally and the way we treat animals is 100% part of that. We see this with the way people react to the military murdering massive amounts of people overseas vs the way they want to hold people accountable for murdering people in their local communities and we see it in the way people freak out over dogs and cats being abused while every single day they're eating animals that were literally only born to be abused and then killed.
Reply
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