AIBU to think there’s no justification for eating meat and dairy any more?

[AnnoyingVegan]

People are educated now. People know that eating meat and dairy is disastrous for the planet. People know it’s causing an unprecedented climate crisis. People know it causes untold cruelty to animals.

So why are people still doing it? There is a vegan substitute for virtually every meat and dairy product you can think of. What is going on here?

The number of people I’ve seen on social media breaking their hearts over Australia shooting wild camels and horses because they drink too much water while still eating beef blows my mind.

allergic ! CARBER! Damn phone.

People goin on about plastic and veg sourced from other countries etc... meat production and sale uses a lot of plastic. Meat eaters don't just eat meat do they.

A lot of people who tell me veganism isn't healthy have very unhealthy diets themselves. I'm not vegan for health reasons in particular, but dont preach to me about health while youre eating fried everything and sugary carbs and sweets and shit every day.

An unhealthy omnivore diet is a lot more forgiving than an unhealthy vegan diet.

I work with a couple of vegans and they have inspired me to eat less meat but they never lectured or nagged. They just suggested things to try. You are far more likely to have a positive impact on the environment if you encourage less meat eating rather that nag people to stop altogether. It is worth considering too that animal products are everywhere even in the inner workings of your computer. Very hard to avoid meat products entirely.

but dont preach to me about health while youre eating fried everything and sugary carbs and sweets and shit every day

I dont see a thread where meat eaters are preaching to vegans. This discussion started because the OP was telling people they shouldn't be eating meat or dairy. The discussion STARTED with a vegan preach- which is exactly why you've got people saying they dont like a vegan diet.
I personally dont think a vegan diet is healthy either and I consider my diet to be extremely healthy. I dont eat fried carbs and sugar. I eat lots and lots of oily fish (which has made my skin look absolutely amazing), veggies, fruit, grains, lots of lean organic animal proteins- etc I feel fantastic and bursting with energy.

Haven't you heard about food banks OP? Many are struggling to afford meat never mind the higher cost of substitutes.
Meat substitutes are rarely healthy. Processed food is not good for you either Soy used in the meat substitutes are rarely natural forms like tofu

People goin on about plastic and veg sourced from other countries etc... meat production and sale uses a lot of plastic. Meat eaters don't just eat meat do they
Some people bang on about plastic, I don't have an issue with plastic, makes my life easy in many ways

I'm not vegan for health reasons in particular, but dont preach to me about health while youre eating fried everything and sugary carbs and sweets and shit every day.
I'm the first to admit, my meat and dairy filled diet also has lots of fried food, carbs, sugar and salt. How healthy a food is dont matter to me.
Its ALL about the taste and texture

An unhealthy omnivore diet is a lot more forgiving than an unhealthy vegan diet
Very much so or I'd have been dead years ago

I haven't read all of the thread because , well.... I fucking HATE randomers who preach their version of the truth, and I know how it's going to end up ... baby animals waaah!
I personally don't eat meat, for my reasons, and I have a dairy intolerance, so have very little milk/cheese etc. However, I cook meat/fish for my family for my reasons:
I have one child with a severe nut allergy (so that rules out what seems to be about 90% of vegan foods, plus anything that's been packaged within 20 miles of a nut/sesame seed), one child with an allergy to tomatoes and celery, and (with ASD) who HATES any sort of grain or seed or rice or pulse and would basically starve if that was all that was on offer.
What am I supposed to feed them? Homemade bread (made with yeast, which is a living organism), pasta and vegetables, and homegrown fruit (won't someone think of the insects who tirelessly work to pollinate?)
I mean, is that it?
Isn't food supposed to be a joyous celebration of nature's bounty? Not a grim, dry plate of homemade flatbread and .... oooh, potatoes/turnips and .... oooh pickled vegetables and foraged blackberries?

Try telling my stomach it should have a plant based diet! I really don't fancy a permanently upset stomach because I've eaten too many vegetables.

I rarely drink milk but you will prize my Magnums and Haagen Dazs out of my cold (obviously!) dead hands

Also, this week I gave my children strawberries from Egypt, blueberries from Peru and a pineapple from Costa Rica (they do like their fruit) so I reckon my fridge has a carbon footprint bigger than the fucking Abominal Snowman right now. But you know, I'm not willing to sacrifice their healthy diet for the good of the planet. Sue me.

Made a gorgeous steak tartare on the back of this thread.

Someone mentioned 'food banks'...that's actually an interesting question- do food banks cater for vegans? Given how many news articles on this universal credit fuck up is forcing families to use them if they were to go there specifying this as a 'dietary requirement' what would they be given, or would they be told 'you'll eat what your given' in a 'beggars cant be choosers' way? Just wondering...
Basically how is veganism now recognised? Choice or requirement- ?

lifecraft the slaughter house near me kills 10,000 chickens every hour and 9,000 pigs every day. There are two more slaughter houses with a 15 mile radius. The numbers can add up very quickly .

Also, this week I gave my children strawberries from Egypt, blueberries from Peru and a pineapple from Costa Rica (they do like their fruit)
There won't have been many nutrients in those fruits, so I wouldn't say they form part of a healthy diet.

We are designed to eat meat. End of conversation.

@Taddda there is reportedly about 650k vegans in uk. So probably every 100th person you meet. Funnily enough I have never met a "poor" vegan. AFAIK the banks can work with people, but I highly doubt they would get anything more than extra veg instead of meat, soy milk or similar instead of milk. They have some for people with allergies sometimes. It's all basics no matter what diet you are on so I wouldn't expect vegan sausages or "cHicKeN" nuggets.

I think we all need to cut down on meat for sure as well as trying to stop using so much plastic, buying so much throw away fashion etc. I think most people accept this. I think people are less accepting of being told they suddenly have to be vegan. Be realistic in what you ask of people and they're much more likely to be responsive.

do food banks cater for vegans?

Yes, the one I volunteer at does. The standard packs can be modified and adjusted. For example, a tin of tuna will be substituted for a tin of something else in stock. That being said, we can only give out what is donated. Storage costs are huge. We don’t ask specifically for vegan or vegetarian substitutes for ‘standard’ items such as long life milk, so packs won’ t be simply vegan equivalents of standard items.

B12 injections are used to medically treat sheep with specific deficiencies, usually due to rumen issues.

It's extremely disingenuous (or utterly thick) of people to post pictures of the fact that these medications exist and then try and claim that they are used to routinely supplement farm animals to increase the B12 levels for when we eat them.

It's just not true.

www.flockandherd.net.au/sheep/reader/vitamin-b12-I.html

I'll keep eating meat thanks. I value the amino acids that keep my critical thinking skills sharp.

I love steak

I love steak

And a caramel ice cream thick shake. . .

One creepy thing I noticed a while back was on googling iron rich food: the world's favourite search engine (beloved of my kids' schools!) doesn't show any animal foods on the page!

I like to eat it, plus dairy clears up my skin. Tried other things and it doesn’t work.

There are 23 million dairy cows in Europe. Maybe 65 million beef animals. Was OP proposing that they just live out their lives as pampered pets (never breeding again, right)? Are vegans allowed to keep pet cows? if they aren't, then Bos Taurus dies out, right? I mean, we don't really want large feral herds roaming the streets like they do in India, correct?

Even my local vegan shelter castrates the male livestock they keep.