To think veganism is the future?

[Libertynan]

I started eating a plant based diet for Veganuary this year and am still at it.

It has been a revelation. All the family have joined in ( although DH likes a bit of strong cheddar now and again).

We eat some really good meals and don’t feel like we’re missing out on anything.

I have been reading a lot about animal welfare and the effect that intensive farming has on the environment and I can’t see how anyone can ignore these issues.

AIBU to wish that more people would at least eat fewer animal products and try plant based.

from henceforth, non-vegans will not be allowed to purchase almonds or avacados. Judging by the logic on here, sales will remain the same because apparently meat eaters are too busy chomping over gristle and raw meat to eat the kinds of fruit & veg that apparently only vegans eat and are responsible for ;)

Tell me you live in a city and learned about British farming from American YT videos without telling me…

@RealBecca please be reassured that calves are not killed soon after birth in this country. Unfortunately there are farming practices elsewhere in the world that UK farmers get lumped in with. So many 'facts' about dairy farming are simply not true of this country but are perpetuated as such. Our calves are either reared by us to join the herd, or sold to a beef farmer to rear. It's even in our milk contract just to make it really clear that this practice is not tolerated.

20Tiramesu

from henceforth, non-vegans will not be allowed to purchase almonds or avacados. Judging by the logic on here, sales will remain the same because apparently meat eaters are too busy chomping over gristle and raw meat to eat the kinds of fruit & veg that apparently only vegans eat and are responsible for ;)

You know I only stopped eating avacados since being vegan and my DD is allergic to nuts so don't bother with them either

It does make me laugh the it's only vegans that eat them and all meat eaters are eating grass fed lambs that skip to slaughter because its all so beautiful and natural

10:27littlemisslozza

@RealBecca please be reassured that calves are not killed soon after birth in this country. Unfortunately there are farming practices elsewhere in the world that UK farmers get lumped in with. So many 'facts' about dairy farming are simply not true of this country but are perpetuated as such. Our calves are either reared by us to join the herd, or sold to a beef farmer to rear. It's even in our milk contract just to make it really clear that this practice is not tolerated.

Reared with what? Because they don't get their mothers milk do they? Just curious

There are uk farms which take and kill the calves tho! I know not all farms are the same. But it is a practise that happens in the uk

All of those who say 'in 100 years we will look back on the consumption of animals in horror':

Do you only mean in wealthy Western countries, or do you mean humans across the world in general?

Because, yeah, I guess that looking at animal consumption 'in horror' is pretty easy when you have access to an abundance of nutritious foods, as well as artificial vitamin supplements, that have been shipped to you from across the globe and will ensure that you get all of the nutrients you need to survive and thrive.

@HavfrueDenizKisi if you look at the article you linked on soy you’ll see vegans aren’t the problem:

“ Few of us are aware of how much soy we eat - because we tend to consume it indirectly. We may not eat large quantities of soy directly, but the animals we eat, or from which we consume eggs or milk, do. In fact, almost 80% of the world’s soybean crop is fed to livestock, especially for beef, chicken, egg and dairy production (milk, cheeses, butter, yogurt, etc).”

There's been an explosion in vegan food, the plant based sector is the biggest growing, which is why even the biggest meat producers going like Richmond are doing vegan sausages

It's still processed crap stuffed with water, chemicals and other toxic substances to make it a met free sausage. Plus the unknown carbon footprint is icing on the top as traces of some ingredients don't even need to be disclosed on packaging.

Local food including meat that isn't processed beyond recognition all the way!

I think this is supposed to be illegal now but this was only a couple of years ago so no not all uk farms are perfect I'm afraid

@bestdhever your friend who swam with dolphins and rode a camel is not vegan- vegans avoid animal exploitation as far as possible and practicable.

@ylvamoon

Don't eat the processed vegan food then 🤦‍♀️
All meat is processed all food unless its picked and eaten goes through some form of it

@catwomandoo

All this 'we are built to eat meat as default' stuff is gradually being proved as being wrong.

Archaeologists are now finding evidence that meat eating in early man was actually a rarity as catching them was dangerous, the meat hard to store, it was a rare treat. Mostly early humans were nomadic and grazed on fruits and berries so it was impractical to lug around large carcasses. The issue has been that most archaeological digs have found bones of animals because plant remains degrade.

Man only started to eat more meat once they settled in farms and started domesticating animals. Even then killing them didn't happen that often, more they were harvested for wool/milk.

Yes, we are omnivores, but our bodies can easily thrive on a non meat diet.

Saw this On a BBC doc earlier this year. Fascinating.

So.....they weren't vegan then?

There is a huge difference between eating animal products sometimes/occasionally and never eating them at all.

Our bodies can only thrive on a non-meat diet because we have access to enough of a range of food and vitamin supplements to ensure we get everything we need.

Any human, even early humans, who tried to survive only on foraged berries would not thrive.

There's been an explosion in vegan food, the plant based sector is the biggest growing, which is why even the biggest meat producers going like Richmond are doing vegan sausages

And what the fuck are in those?

I like vegan sausages although I like meat sausages way more but I still wouldn't live off them or kid myself that that were 'healthy' or even that much better for the environment.

@littlemisslozza www.thedrum.com/news/2012/05/31/channel-4-receives-58-complaints-over-graphic-calve-killing

90,000 male calves are shot in the dairy industry each year in the U.K.

@Bofthebang

I’m vegan and 100% wish that the “I couldn’t live without meat/cheese” brigade would consider living in a world where animals aren’t killed or exploited just to fulfil people’s wants, rather than needs.

Humans are the only animals that treat other animals like utter shit. I hate it. A plant based diet harms no one, harms no animals. Those who can’t give up cheese or meat (🙄) harm so many living things and are too selfish to admit it or change it.

This.

It's the intensive farming that did it for me. Don't be fooled by the fluffy adverts portraying animals living a lovely life. For most it's not the reality. The demand is so high that the system has to meet it in a cruel manner.

If this was happening to cats and dogs there would be outrage. What makes it acceptable for cows, pigs and chickens? They are no different. They are sentient creatures

@Greenrubber

I think this is supposed to be illegal now but this was only a couple of years ago so no not all uk farms are perfect I'm afraid

I wouldn't trust anything a crackpot posts on YouTube..... Anyone can and does put up a YT. Usually extremists. It doesn't mean any of their claims are true. 99% of those videos are extremist lies and false claims. YT is this generation's 'wikipedia'. Though at least Wikipedia use Bibliographies of sources.

But this is because they do it instinctively, not consciously. A cat doesn't plan the death of a mouse carefully and actually organise to do it by driving it and it's mates to a large unpleasant building.

Oh if they could, they would.

Cats are arseholes.

Humans are the only animals that treat other animals like utter shit

Wait till you hear about Dolphin gang rapes

@Omicrone

And also, I could never live without having proper cheese ever again either.

Me neither!

If this was happening to cats and dogs there would be outrage

Hmm we take kittens and puppies away from their mothers at too young an age and don't care about the poor mothers who have their young ripped away from them as long as we can have our "fur babies".

@itisntwhatyouthinkitis

Unfortunately there is too much information out there so whilst you think he is a crackpot there are plenty other sources

Please don't waste your Xmas eve on here arguing with everyone as no one will win

Have a merry Christmas whatever your putting on your plate

@Greenrubber You too. Merry Christmas! (and to everyone too).

@IWhipMyHairBackAndForth

After reading & listening to podcasts about animal agriculture and the awful treatment of animals which is just absolutely horrific, I haven't eaten meat since. This has been for several years. I also drink plant based milks as the dairy industry is utterly heartbreaking. It's something that's so hard to ignore once you know about it. Also the amount of chemicals that are injected into animals, it's hard to think that what you're eating is even safe.

Well if you will believe everything you read...

Some stuff may go on in US feed lots but it's certainly not representative of the hill farms near me.

@kikisparks Have you seen how old that article is? Life has changed a lot since 2012 in many industries and that includes farming.

I don't doubt that it used to happen, but it would have been driven by costs, not wanton cruelty. Even so, that doesn't make it ok and as such there is so much going on in agriculture to drive standards higher all the time. British famers have some of the highest standards in the world and we should be supporting them, not believing videos on YouTube which are often from other countries and making out that is normal farming practice. There are bad apples in every job and just because one person has been filmed doing something doesn't mean everyone does it. True of every job and in farming poor welfare practices will lead to a loss of contract, just like a rogue doctor would lose their right to practice.

[quote Strokethefurrywall]@Florabritannica but yet we’re aghast when we see some I’ll treating a dog, yet don’t even think about how cows, pigs, calves and livestock are treated.

Animals are sentient beings, pigs are as intelligent as dogs (not my dog, he’s thick as fuck). But westerners will get up in arms about dog meat in Asia, yet not equate the same thinking to livestock, because “pets”.

I am not vegan but the argument that livestock don’t matter because they don’t feel emotion or fear is bullshit. I’m not talking about cows crying or anything like that, but if you can see fear in the eyes of a dog about to be beaten again, you will see that same fear in the eyes of any livestock creature heading for slaughter, after years stuck in a miniature pen treated like nothing more than a commodity.[/quote]
My issue with dog meat is the appalling way they're killed. It's barbaric and their suffering is horrific. That's not remotely comparable with British slaughterhouses which may not be perfect but don't hack limbs off while the animal is still alive.