@1940s, your comment about the soy and dairy made me think.
I think that people, generally, are resistant to change. I think generally, they prefer to do things in the way they’ve always done. And I think they prefer known risks to unknown risks.
So for example, not moving away from eating meat and dairy, even though the scientific community is in agreement that (1) we’re in a global climate change emergency and (2) meat and dairy are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, because there will be risks around a change in our diet and lifestyles (jobs in agriculture, farming communities will be impacted). Even though the risk of not changing seems very likely higher than the risk of changing, people prefer to do things in the way they’ve always done.
Or not moving away from eating meat and dairy, even though there’s very good scientific evidence to suggest that meat is a carcinogen and a vegan diet is likely to be healthier because there may be some risks around a vegan diet, but very little consensus and information about this.
The analogy that comes to mind:
You go camping every single year and always set your tent up in the same place. It’s next to the river and the views are great. This year, you arrive and the campsite owner suggest that you don’t use your usual spot by the river. The river is higher than it has ever been right now. And they’ve got very good evidence that the water levels are going to rise much more, because the Met Office has put out a severe weather warning. And they can see storms coming this way on the horizon. They’re worried about your safety if you camp there - there’s a very real risk of severe harm.
Now, there is another spot available. You have a look at it - it’s higher up next to the woods. The view is great but you probably still prefer the river - there would be some personal risk to you if you camp up here that you might not enjoy yourself as much as you don’t like the spot as much. The campsite owner also said that moving here doesn’t mean you won’t have problems - there’s still all that rain coming and although you won’t be flooded, you might get rained on. Moving to the spot in the woods might mean you still get wet. There’s also a theoretical possibility that there is a strange plant in the woods - someone reported that it releases something strange into the air which they breathed in and made them feel pretty sick, and although some biologists believe there could be some truth in that, there’s no real evidence of it - is a theoretical risk. It might happen. They’ve said though that it’s something you might be able to protect yourself from if you wear a mask walking into the deep woods. They don’t fully understand the risks around the plant.
So, both options probably have some risks. Do you continue with what you’ve always done and pitch up next to the river, knowing you’ll enjoy the views but also knowing the river is already flooding and there’s very good evidence that you will come to harm? Or do you pitch up in the woods, where there might be some rain, and there’s a theoretical but small possibility of a plant attack that you might be able to mitigate against?
I know which I would go for! Avoid the real, known risks and plan to mitigate the possible risks that might eventuate when you change your course. Avoid meat and milk because they’re known to be damaging to the environment but recognise that we need to plan to mitigate the potential unintended negative consequences of this on jobs, communities, and so on. Avoid red meat and milk because they’re known to be damaging to health, and recognise that a vegan diet may require some planning to mitigate the risks that might arise (eg low B12 - mitigate by taking supplements), and also accept that both diets probably have some risks - but one has very well documented serious risks and one doesn’t.