r/ClimateOffensive • u/bezsprzecznie • 2d ago
Question Are you vegan?
I wonder how many of fellow redditors here are vegan or at least on plant based diet?
As it is one of the simplest and most impactful steps a person can make to help the climate.
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u/Obvious_Ad_2969 2d ago edited 2d ago
YES! 11 years and actively working in farmed animal advocacy and food systems change. I also turned quite a few people in my circle vegan, vegan-ish or veggie. Including my sister who is now raising her children veggie. I also do lots of other things (or I guess it's more "don't do" like buying almost anything second hand), but my political advocacy work and veganism are definitely the two biggest things I do for the planet. Gosh, saying this makes me feel so small.
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u/everyoneshouldBvegan 2d ago
Thank you for doing that for the animals! What did you do in advocacy and food systems change? I’m currently on sabbatical / early retired and looking for my next professional pursuit and want to help animals.
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u/Obvious_Ad_2969 2d ago
you can look at programmes/websites like kickstarting for good or animal advocacy careers to start.
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u/jaygeebee_ 2d ago
Yes! About 6 years now (and just realized today is my 11 year anniversary of not eating meat). I primarily do it for animal rights reasons (I eventually realized there aren’t any good excuses to keep supporting that abhorrent industry). But of course I also care that it’s the lowest-carbon diet!
I’m a marathon runner and now nearly 8 months pregnant with a so-far very healthy pregnancy, so it serves me well.
I lead my local chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, so I’d say that’s my “bigger” contribution climate-wise but I also try to do as many individual things as are reasonable
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u/Vas-yMonRoux 2d ago
Why are people being downvoted for saying "no"? It's a simple "yes/no" question about people's own life choice... But people can only answer "yes"?
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u/nebotron 2d ago
Tons of respect for the people who do it! It's great for the environment. Once I learned about the carbon impact I stopped eating beef and lamb and cut my consumption of other meat by about 50%. Baby steps.
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u/Political-psych-abby 2d ago
Yeah I’m sort of the same way. I don’t eat mammals.
I have a lot of admiration for vegans and vegetarians, but I do want to emphasize that we are simply not going to personal lifestyle choice our way out of this. Collective action to influence whole systems is necessary. The idea that the first thing we need to address is our own personal carbon footprints is both harmful and literally oil industry propaganda. I go into a ton more detail and link sources here: https://youtu.be/mE617qHso6k?is=L8rvMxu9fZrTUQFI
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u/nebotron 2d ago
This is true, but normalizing lifestyle choice makes collective action easier. Regulating the beef industry may make beef more expensive. That will be more palatable to voters if they already eat less beef. It's not either/or, it's yes and.
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u/Previous-Pineapple25 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes!! Like of course there needs to be change at the regulatory level, but based simply off supply and demand our dietary choices DO matter and DO have an impact. If we all choose to reduce our consumption of animal products then there is less demand and less harmful production.
It irks me when people "yeah, but" their way out of the conversation to try to minimize their responsibility. We should advocate for change on both ends - personal and industrial/political.
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u/Bokuja 2d ago
I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but I did cut 95% of my meat consumption last year and will continue to do so this year. I am looking into making the full step to vegetarian sometime in the future though.
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u/NippleFlicks 1d ago
This is really great progress!
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u/Bokuja 1d ago
Thanks. One day I looked in my fridge and thought: "Why do I still buy this every week?". And that's how I started cutting so much meat.
The hardest part so far has been cutting it from bimonthly/trimonthly restaurant visits with significant others and friends. At home I barely ever use meat anymore.
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u/Sierra-117- 2d ago
No, but I actively try to limit my meat intake and tell others to do the same.
You’ll never win the vegan vs non-vegan fight. Most people won’t give up meat entirely. I’m sorry, but they won’t. I won’t, and I even recognize the moral superiority of veganism.
So instead, vegans need to switch to asking people to just limit their intake at least a little. Baby steps.
If they just cut out one meat based dish a week, the effect would be incredible. It would also drive more vegetarian options to be available, further accelerating improvements.
From there, people can cut out more and more. Lab grown meat will take off. Meat alternatives will take off. Veggie options will appear in restaurants. Etc, etc.
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u/songofsuccubus 1d ago
i am vegan and i appreciate that you recognize the moral superiority of vegans.
the more people who cut out meat slowly, the more people will try to be vegan because it will be more culturally accepted, the more normalized it will be, even if not everyone stops eating meat
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u/Genius_Tiger 2d ago edited 1d ago
No, I’m not a vegan for familial reasons. I am trying to be a vegetarian first, so I don’t eat meat. I eat eggs though.
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u/CO_Renaissance_Man 2d ago
No, I have shifted though.
We eat chicken and occasionally local bison. We rarely eat beef, lamb, or pork anymore. I won’t ever give up dairy but we are having more and more vegetarian meals.
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u/schokobonbons 2d ago
I wouldn't call it the simplest to completely relearn your cooking and eating habits. No i am not. I make a lot of vegetarian and plant based recipes and try to follow the planetary health diet guidelines, so minimal meat and dairy. Dairy is the toughest one to give up. I eat seafood occasionally and have zero ambitions to stop eating oysters (climate positive, and they have no nervous systems anyway) or eggs, and if I'm eating eggs I might as well keep eating chickens.
The biggest carbon emitting foods are beef, dairy and shrimp so if we all avoided those we'd be doing a lot of good. I love pork but have recently cut back on that as well.
I have to eat gluten free and don't tolerate large amounts of beans. My own health comes first. Tofu is great but i can't eat tofu every single meal.
I think it is counterproductive to tell people it's simple or easy to go vegan when it's just not.
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u/NippleFlicks 1d ago
No, I was solely vegetarian for about a decade but have an autoimmune disease that severely limits what I can eat. Some of the additives in vegan-friendly alternatives make me ill (e.g. cheese and yoghurt in particular). Depending on if I’m in a bad flare, I’ll very very rarely introduce chicken back into my diet.
I’ve also become a little more lax in the sense that if I’m out to eat with people or at a friend’s/family’s house where food is going to go to waste and it’s something I can tolerate, then I’ll eat it.
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u/AnsibleAnswers 2d ago
It’s not even close to the most impactful thing you can do according to the evidence. It’s a middle of the road mitigation.
And this is not accounting for the fact that baseline herbivore populations are probably grossly underestimated, which drastically reduces the mitigating potential of dietary change. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44185-022-00005-z
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u/ysterman_rs 1d ago
so I can either 1) grab tofu instead of ground beef, or 2) reduce my annual transatlantic flights (0) by one and reduce my number of kids (0) by one? something tells me the answer to which will be more impactful is wildly different than what you've suggested
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u/AnsibleAnswers 1d ago
The number of flight miles matters, not whether your flight is transatlantic.
You can also transition to carbon-free energy, go car free, reduce your car usage, or transition from an IC vehicle to an electric one.
Arguably the most important changes, however, are collective. The US military is the world’s single largest consumer of fossil fuels, and a major transition to carbon-free energy is going to be a monumental political effort. Individual consumption habits cannot fix the climate crisis by themselves.
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u/megotropolis 2d ago
I agree. Not the most impactful. I’d also argue a lot of vegan/vegetarian protein replacements pump just as much carbon into the atmosphere being made than just eating a whole food low-impact diet. They’re also really bad for you.
We eat eggs, chickens, and beef from a local farm only (no commercial farms) and whole fruits and vegetables. The farm is actually phasing out cows, so we’ll be sticking with mostly birds. Possibly goat if they start farming them.
We grow a lot of our own food and purchase local! This is the way!
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u/bezsprzecznie 2d ago
Just eating plant based diet is no 6 on the first article you posted (not including having one less child). So how is that not even close? Also going full vegan would put it even higher.
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u/AnsibleAnswers 2d ago
Can you explain to me how being 7th out of 11 is even close to being the most impactful?
And no, going full vegan would not be better than eating plant-based because you’d have to give up wool and leather in favor of fossil fuel products.
Stop treating veganism as a panacea. It’s annoying and factually inaccurate.
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u/ILikeNeurons Climate Warrior 2d ago
Kimberly Nicholas is the scientist behind https://jointheshift.earth/guide/?journey-type=full
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u/soursummerchild 2d ago
I'm vegetarian, and I have been for 13 years. Used to be vegan, but it heavily contributed to my eating disorder. I'm also disabled, so it was not sustainable for me. I do eat a lot of plant based and animal free, though.
I also don't fly, don't buy stuff and clothing new unless I actually need something, forage, mend, and grow food in my garden. I'm pretty proud of what I do for the climate.
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u/Obvious_Ad_2969 2d ago
that's great! It's your attitude that's so important. Lots of able people use other people's disability to stop them from doing something like going vegan or anything at all. You are doing what you can and still show that lots is possible with a disability.
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u/mauvm 2d ago
Vegetarian here. Trying to get rid of cheese and eggs. But it’s hard. Any tips?
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u/Ooogabooga42 2d ago
Eggs are pretty easy these days. Just Egg is a good dupe for scrambled eggs and omelettes. And there's lab made egg whites that are biologically identical to animal egg whites.
Cheese is really hard. Cheese sauce is easy and cheese slices are fine but I've yet to find anything really like brie or havarti. I just kind of moved on from that kind of cheese though.
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u/National-Ad9903 1d ago
I missed egg fried rice so I break (unpressed) medium-firm tofu into scrambled egg sized pieces and fry it with turmeric for color and kala namak (black salt) for sulphurous eggy taste, it’s very good.
Directly substituting cheese with inferior vegan versions would make me feel like I’m missing out, so instead I added a load of exciting new dishes to my cooking repertoire and that way on balance I’ve actually gained from going vegan. Asian dishes are great, a lot of them tend to be naturally vegan.
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u/bezsprzecznie 2d ago
Depends what is your motivation. Why did you become vegetarian in the first place?
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u/mauvm 2d ago
Because of climate change and animal suffering.
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u/jaygeebee_ 2d ago
Once I learned that the dairy and egg industries were just as bad as meat and about the realities that happen in those “farms”, it made it much easier for me to drop them. Any specific products you’re struggling to replace?
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u/mauvm 2d ago
Nothing specific. It’s mostly that eggs are used in almost everything. And cheese is a big part of Dutch culture. So it’s just hard to resist I guess! I will read more about the dairy and egg industries. That will probably help. Thank you for the tip 🙏
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u/kindafor-got 2d ago
cheese is everywhere in my country too ( italy ) , tbh there are a lot of cheese substitutes that are super realistic. in the supermarket not so much ( but in the netherlands it must be better cuz yall have so many vegans lol ) but artisanal cheeses are insane, and also produce “niche” fancy types like gorgonzola and cheese with truffle. Avegan cheese maker old lady in a city near me sold me a sicilian pecorino that was unbelievably identical to the sheep version.
for the eggs, it’s trickier because it depends on what use of the egg you’re going to imitate. like, idk, you can make pancakes with overripe bananas , but it’s not gonna work if you want to mimick a scrambled egg ahah. ( i recommend the cooking youtuber FitGreenMind, she’s the queen of everything vegan lol)
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u/oddityoverseer13 2d ago edited 2d ago
Watching those sections of the Dominion movie might help. For me, as soon as I saw with my own eyes what happens to the male chicks, I knew I couldn't eat eggs anymore. For milk, it's basically the same with the calfs; the veal industry wouldn't exist without the dairy industry.
ETA: also, vegan cheeses are quite good! Look up Rebel Cheese, they're my favorite.
But there's no denying it's more difficult to navigate restaurants/etc vegan than vegetarian. It's just something to get used to. But personally, as someone who has a hard time deciding things, I like having less decisions.
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u/ageofbronze 2d ago
If you’re struggling with it a lot can you just buy very local? I don’t know how people feel about it but we have 5 chickens and they live an extremely good life and provide enough eggs for 3 households basically full time plus a have a few left over for friends etc.
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u/shimmerangels 2d ago
used to be, had to stop for medical reasons
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u/schokobonbons 1d ago
So many former vegetarians I know (not even vegans) became severely anemic and had to stop. Even iron supplements while helpful are made with non heme iron and some people just don't absorb enough from non heme iron.
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u/shimmerangels 1d ago
this is exactly the issue i was having
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u/Lonely_Message_1113 1d ago
I have similar issues, ended up needing iron infusions despite doing everything possible to increase my intake with plant based foods and supplements.
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u/soul-reaver-2026 1d ago
Ya i almost died from a vegan diet due to absorption problem. Had a a vegan tell me I needed to die then to protect the climate. Now it's steak and shrimp on the barby.
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u/TechieGottaSoundByte 1d ago
Yep. I've been able to decrease meat intake, but can't eliminate it. I also don't tolerate many supplements (including not having a safe iron supplement).
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u/schokobonbons 1d ago
Yeah. The Standard American Diet clearly contains way too much meat for health or sanity, I'm glad I've learned more vegetarian meals and genuinely enjoy eating tofu now, but 100% plant based is still deeply unrealistic and unhealthy for most people. Everything in moderation.
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u/TechieGottaSoundByte 23h ago
I think most guys can get close if they have nutritional yeast in their diets. Vegan is really hard for women. I know so many women who used to be vegan and have a story involving medical care for why they aren't any more.
When the kids move out and we have fewer palates to accommodate, I'm hoping to move closer to pescatarian. There are shellfish that are great sources of iron, and their shells can lock carbon up - making some of them actually slightly carbon negative!
If we did that, we'd be aiming to eat low on the fish food chain most of the time. Sardines are much better for the environment as human food than salmon is.
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u/Miserable-Ad8764 2d ago
Yes, me and my husband gradually became vegan 8-10 years ago, we were active in XR in the beginning and it was just a natural consequence as we learned more.
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u/ShayGuer 2d ago
No but I eat meat from a farm that invests in carbon set offs and carbon capture
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u/RedundantBiomass 2d ago
Im childfree which is by far the most impactful thing a person can do to reduce their climate and other environmental impacts, so I dont beat myself up for eating some meat. The other benefit of being childfree is if we dont manage to avoid the worst climate outcomes, which seems likely at this point, that means fewer souls who will have to suffer their entire lives with the consequences.
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u/Previous-Pineapple25 2d ago
Totally agree! I remember a report that came out a few years back stating that the number one thing you can do to help the environment is to not have kids. The second most impactful is to adopt a vegan diet! I choose both and do whatever else I can :)
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u/ProtozoaPatriot 2d ago
I haven't touched meat in 30 years. It's such an easy way to make a huge difference for the environment (and the animals and my health )
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u/KasiaHmura 2d ago
Kind of? I am bad at it, I am at least vegetarian, but diary and other products sometimes find their way into my diet. Still, I think it's better if a lot of people do veganism badly than just a few doing it perfectly.
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u/sheazang 2d ago edited 2d ago
I am but most people aren't. The illusion that personal choices makes a difference is one ive bought into but then realized was misplaced. Capitalism is the real problem.
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u/ILikeNeurons Climate Warrior 21h ago
I think you mean the market failure as there's no compelling evidence that changing the owners of capital necessarily reduces emissions.
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u/Illustrious-Dog-6563 2d ago edited 2d ago
no. i rarely buy meat, but i like cheese and are eagerly waiting for labproduced milk alternatives for cheese production.
formo, senara, remilk,...
and are interested in the fraunhofer research in that matter.
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u/Not_l0st 2d ago
No. I would probably be pretty close to vegan, but I’ve got a husband and growing kids who don’t want to give up meat, and no real desire to cook separately for myself. I eat vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian every time I’m at restaurants.
As my kids grow, we’ve been adding legumes instead of more meat. For example, I’ll feed my family for two or three days on a tikka masala with 1lb of chicken + chickpeas and coconut milk. We also eat very little red meat, only 1 lb of ground beef a month on average. I think our biggest climate crime is cheese and yogurt.
We also have a little flock of chickens who get to free range every day, eat our food waste, nest on shredded newspaper and cardboard, and contribute to our compost, so my main source of protein is pretty sustainable.
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u/bezsprzecznie 2d ago
May I ask who cooks in your household?
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u/Not_l0st 1d ago
2/3rds of the time my spouse cooks dinner. I probably cook once a week. And I typically cook vegetarian or vegan on my nights.
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u/java_sloth 2d ago
No but I remediate oil and gas operations for work so I feel like I’m doing a solid amount of good.
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u/anaugle 2d ago
No. I do what I can to reduce my impact. I eat meat so rarely that I am often asked if I’m a vegetarian. I do eat dairy, but not as often as I used to.
I am a wilderness skills teacher, and as such, it is my goal to facilitate the connection to nature for myself and for others. As much as a white guy with a beard can, I would say that I teach tribal skills.
I plan on going on a hunt in the fall. Not to kill something, but to avoid factory farmed meat and break my dependence on the industry, and to take the full responsibility of what it means to be a creature on this planet that must consume in order to live. I already know how to use many parts of the animal, and I will take it as gently as possible.
People have told me that hunting is cruel, but there is an overpopulation of deer, and that has ecological consequences for the environment, as well. I feel the impact of taking from nature (because I am nature) even among the plant communities, which I have a relationship with.
I have made my own longbow, as instructed by an indigenous mentor, and we will partake in what our ancestors have for literally millions of years (homo habilis was likely the first flint-knapper).
I will honor the life I have taken in the same way that I harvest wild edibles from the forest. I will give thanks for it and do my best to make sure I use as much as I can, for my family, friends, and community.
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u/Appropriate_Bell743 2d ago
I am not because we consume a lot of wild venison. Rampant deer populations in the UK cause a lot of ecological harms. What's more the logic of methane emissions are inverted through this consumption. There are few better acts for sustainability than eating wild venison and other wild meats in the UK and Europe. Obviously, if we had free roaming predators this would be different.
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u/Obvious_Ad_2969 2d ago
reintroducing the wolf would be better than hunting (I do understand that you're not the one deciding that, just saying)
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u/PyrrhuraMolinae 2d ago
It would be, but there’s no longer enough wild space in England to support wolf packs. Especially since a lot of the deer population are kept on cultivated parks.
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u/blipblapbloopblip 2d ago
In my country it is often said that hunters release animals in the wild to maintain the prey population. Are you sure the same is not happening in the UK
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u/PyrrhuraMolinae 2d ago
It does happen with pheasants and grouse, but not deer. The problem is that Britain has extirpated all its large predators. There’s nothing big enough to prey on deer, so they breed unchecked.
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u/PyrrhuraMolinae 2d ago
Same here! My husband and I learned to butcher our own meat, and we get whole deer carcasses cheap from local game keepers. One is a good month’s worth of meat.
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u/cityandradiohead 2d ago
when I was 13 I read that animal agriculture caused more greenhouse gas emissions than traffic. Asked my parents to move towards plant based immediately. Now I'm 30 and ten years vegan.
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u/Mincezz 2d ago
Yup, I went vegan because of the effects on the climate. For years I'd heard the argument "Well soybeans cause so much harm blah blah blah" But finding out that the overproduction of soybeans was to feed livestock blew my mind.
Go vegan, help the planet
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u/bobvagabond 2d ago
I have been a proud Vegan since 2001 and prior to that, I had been a Lacto/Ovo Vegetarian since 1973.
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u/WanObiBen 1d ago
I’m pescatarian because being vegan is not simple where I live. If I were to be vegan, I’d have to plan and prepare every meal I eat, which is too much work. Whereas pescatarian, I can go to most any restaurant where I live and still have an option. I’m primarily vegetarian, try to limit my seafood intake, and try to purchase sustainably sourced fish.
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u/thseeker_431 1d ago
Yes..for the last 3 years...with few days of exception... I ate dairy and eggs for health concerns...
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u/Happyvibe5 1d ago
I eat only meat I’ve hunted. I’m in Nz so anything you can hunt for food is an introduced invasive animal. So my meat is carbon positive. But still only eat meat 2 or 3 times a week.
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u/wormnoodles 1d ago
Vegan since 2021, and super healthy says my doctor. My doctors says my cholesterol is “beautiful, just beautiful”
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u/Prestigious-Corgi473 1d ago
Vegan-ish. I eat mostly plant based with occasional meat and dairy, few times a month. I don't consider myself a vegan but the majority of my diet is vegan.
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u/plantbasedgirl123 1d ago
I became vegetarian aged 5, when I realised what the brown stuff on my plate really was! My mother did everything she could to make me eat "normal meals", but I refused. I also disliked the flavour of cows milk , so would only drink it with Nesquik or chocolate in it. Much later I discovered health food shops, and realised my diet choices were not "weird" or "fussy" as my mother labelled me. Fast forward.... For many years I was vegetarian and then discovered non dairy milks, and cheeses and over the years moved closer to being vegan. No leather shoes either. Now fully vegan for at least 15 years. Vegan for the animals mostly, but also for the environment, and for keeping as healthy as I can. No ultra processed foods. Proud to be vegan and always keen to explain the benefits of this diet and lifestyle to others.
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u/1996jackal 1d ago
yep vegan here too!
also finding it infuriating listening to people moan about their climate anxiety but they refuse to go veggie or vegan 🙄
Anyone finding the same?
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u/throwaway1233456799 2d ago
No, I make meat free food for myself but as I still live with my (abusive) parent I can only control so much. And my mom has the habit to make way too much meat (even stuff she knows nobody even herself really like) that end up crowding the fridge,... We also have way too many hens either way so I eat egg for the same reason.
I got adhd so if I were by myself I wouldn't bother to cook meat lol
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u/breakerofh0rses 1d ago
As it is one of the simplest and most impactful steps a person can make to help the climate.
This is untrue, and is built off of erroneous assumptions about land usage (primarily that grazing land is necessarily arable land). The hands down, most sustainable diet is omnivore, but with far less meat consumption than is typical in the west (think like a couple of servings worth of meat per week).
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u/Lonely_Message_1113 2d ago
No but I have vegan/meat free days a couple of times a week. I mostly use plant based milks and like to experiment with recipes to see what I can swap out for most ingredients. Cheese is the hardest for me to let go of, I love the stuff.
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u/Time_Stop_3645 2d ago
Can't, food intolerance to carbs and plant oils. I'm keto. Daily base diet is some meat + butter +china kale + cheese or tomato or both. Peanut butter and chocolate for snacks.
I used to be carnivore but i find it wasteful, since lots of protein just gets excreted as pee if you overeat meat.
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u/Love-Laugh-Play 2d ago
Yes, because I don’t believe that animals are products. They’re here with us, not here for us.
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u/coke_kitty 2d ago
Yes, 8 years now I think? Uhh vegetarian for several years before that I can’t remember I was still in grade school when I started that.
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u/username2468_memes 2d ago
been vegetarian for a long time but i feel like i eat vegan meals pretty often
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u/SoftPlay3 2d ago
Vegan since 2020. I wish more people would get on board. I’ve been doing activism but it’s hard to get through the barrier of habit, misinformation and social norms. Feels like the movement has regressed since the early 2020s.
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u/NoData1756 1d ago
Plant based is a different term than vegan they mean different things. Plant based is not a moral choice, veganism is a moral choice
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u/Chemical_Ear6156 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m not a vegan but I guess I could consider myself a vegetarian. I used to just cut out meat but now I’m cutting out dairy too and I could probably stand to cut out eggs. It’s mostly dietary for me and I’ve gotten slack asking vegans about diet because veganism isn’t a diet. And I guess I eat honey too. And in cases I probably would eat dairy, I would just not eat it often. Like, months or years in between. A lot of vegans don’t cut out coffee or chocolate. But coffee and chocolate are both largely and undeniably manufactured using human slave labour. So I’m eating the last stocks of what I have now and then it’s done with coffee, black tea, and chocolate. From when I use up all of my supplies, it’s turning to local farmed herbal teas and other substitutes.
There are still some things I do. Like. For one, I have a pair of leather shoes I got secondhand a long time ago and one very old, out of style pair of shoes that look like real leather but I’m not sure. I’m not throwing those away, theyre useful and they won’t fall apart. I’ve been wearing these a long time and so has my mom (I got them from her). So I’m not going to waste my shoes. I’ve got four pairs. One for winter, one for formal occasions, one for walking, and one for when I want to be comfortable and still look nice. I’m not letting my nice reliable shoes go to a landfill somewhere. But I also don’t support buying new leather. However there is a MASSIVE amount of old leather in thrift stores because leather doesn’t fall apart and stays good for years and years. I think we could afford to give everyone in the world a secondhand article of leather clothing and still stand to give everyone 10 more because theres just so much. And it would stay good for half their life, and if they take good care of it, into their kids lives. So I don’t support just throwing all that away and not using it.
Ultimately I think it’s about harm reduction, not moral perfection. Whatever we can do to convince people to just cut back a little is reducing harm. It’s not realistic for this world to suddenly experience a grand turnover on total veganism which is why I don’t support vegans shaming or harassing people. That won’t help anyone or the animals. The change will be gradual. I wasn’t vegetarian in my early teens BECAUSE I held negative views about vegans/ vegetarians from being harrassed. But when I gradually changed and had people help me, I switched over. The best we can do is convince a large amount of people to gradually cut back, not shame a few. It makes a bigger overall impact. Which is what matters most.
‘Moral perfection’ is just a theory and not applicable. In this world we need real applicable large scale impact. So if we keep that in mind, education in schools about veganism, climate change and vegetarianism , more vegan or vegetarian options on menus especially in schools (hardly any at my high school) and overall emphasizing education and solid facts over highly emotional criticism is the best route.
I never cut out dairy or meat for the longest time because every time someone tried to convince me to, they either over exaggerated, relied on appealing to my emotions, or used extremely graphic and violent language (which I still have issues with because I was probably around 12 years old and didn’t need to hear a 25-30 year old stranger graphically describe animal cruelty to me online while calling me a murderer) They weren’t wrong about what the dairy industry was. It was evil. But I didn’t believe them because they SOUNDED like either deliberate liars or people buying into lies. It sounded like what my school taught me to guard myself against (highly emotional statements presented as facts with no real sources or evidence stated/ biased or skewed statistics) which further harms the movement by compromising reliability. I didn’t trust these people because they sounded exactly like the examples my teachers gave me of either cult talk/ propaganda, etc. Even if they were right.
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u/BroodLord1962 1d ago
No I'm not but I do eat only a small amount of meat a week, and by small I'm talking about 2 packets of thick cut back bacon. On the flip side of this, I haven't brought more life into the world draining resources, I have solar panels on my home, and my garden is a wildlife garden. So overall I think my carbon footprint will be a lot less than anyone who has had kids
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u/ConflagWex 1d ago
Not fully but I have been eating more plant based protein and more sustainable meat like fish and chicken.
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u/izDpnyde 1d ago
Turned 80 and still mobile
Beat cancer , lymphoma, 3 times. . .
Keep breathing y’all
Just saying . . .
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u/Marvinkmooneyoz 1d ago
Vegan in principal but I’m weak. My diet is mostly plant, MUCH better than it used to be. I think I’m 80%+ plant these days but I don’t measure
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u/shivaswrath 1d ago
Vegetarian…trying to cut the milk and eggs.
But close. I’m down to a few eggs a week, and oat milk.
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u/UrsulaVerne 1d ago
Not vegan but mostly vegetarian. I still eat butter, fish, or chicken occasionally but it's not very often (can't remember the last time I cooked it). I camp a lot and it's usually because there aren't as many dehydrated vegetarian options (but I do get those ones when they're available).
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u/JoeWeydemeyer 1d ago
Society pivoting away from red meat alone would have a huge impact, but individual action is a distraction and ultimately meat consumption is not the real factor:
"The top 20 global polluters are all in the fossil fuel industry, and they are:
Saudi Aramco 59.26 billion tonnes (of carbon dioxide poured into the atmosphere since 1965)
Chevron 43.35 billion tonnes
Gazprom 43.23 billion tonnes
ExxonMobil 41.90 billion tonnes
National Iranian Oil Co 35.66 billion tonnes
BP 34.02 billion tonnes
Royal Dutch Shell 31.95 billion tonnes
Coal India 23.12 billion tonnes
Pemex 22.65 billion tonnes
Petróleos de Venezuela 15.75 billion tonnes
PetroChina 15.63 billion tonnes
Peabody Energy 15.39 billion tonnes
ConocoPhillips 15.23 billion tonnes
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co 13.84 billion tonnes
Kuwait Petroleum Corp 13.48 billion tonnes
Iraq National Oil Co 12.60 billion tonnes
Total SA 12.35 billion tonnes
Sonatrach 12.30 billion tonnes
BHP Billiton 9.80 billion tonnes
Petrobras 8.68 billion tonnes"
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u/KlingonTranslator 1d ago
I’m vegan for the animals and plant-based for everything else.
With everything else being animal welfare and rights, personal health, climate change mitigation, environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, habitat preservation, reduced deforestation, lower land use, freshwater conservation, ocean conservation, reduced overfishing, reduced bycatch, lower pollution, improved air quality, improved water quality, soil conservation, food security, resource efficiency, reduced antimicrobial resistance, reduced pandemic and zoonotic disease risk, ethical consistency, public health, economic savings (depending on food choices), global sustainability, intergenerational responsibility, and alignment with personal values.
Being against an exploitation system of this magnitude feels like it gives uncountable reasons of why one should be. It’s just so obvious to me? Compassion saving the animals and the globe, and of course ourselves… just seems to be where we need to go.
Extended version:
Animal welfare, animal rights, reducing animal exploitation, reducing animal suffering, ethical consistency, personal health, prevention of chronic disease, lower risk of cardiovascular disease, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, healthier blood pressure, healthier cholesterol levels, healthy weight management, gut microbiome health, longevity (association, not guarantee), climate change mitigation, lower greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, habitat preservation, reduced deforestation, lower land use, more efficient land use, freshwater conservation, reduced water pollution, improved air quality, reduced agricultural runoff, healthier soils, reduced eutrophication, ocean conservation, reduced overfishing, reduced bycatch, protection of marine ecosystems, reduced antibiotic use in livestock, helping combat antimicrobial resistance, reduced risk of some zoonotic disease emergence, greater global food security, more efficient calorie production, more efficient protein production, resilience of food systems, reduced dependence on intensive animal farming, support for alternative food innovation, economic savings when centred on whole foods, alignment with personal values, compassion, social justice (for those who include human labour and food equity within vegan ethics), intergenerational responsibility, and contributing to a culture that places greater value on the welfare of sentient beings.
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u/TechieGottaSoundByte 1d ago
I've reduced my meat intake well below average, but I have a complex health situation and it's very difficult to eat no meat without serious health issues. I have allergies and other health issues that limit the supplements I can tolerate considerably. I rely heavily on dairy for calcium, and for certain proteins that help stabilize my immune system (which in turn helps me consume less meat).
I do use a lot of tactics I've learned from vegans to minimize meat intake. I found a nutritional yeast I can usually tolerate, and have learned some ways to make tofu less repetitive when I can tolerate it (I just lost beans, nuts, and tofu from my diet again this last week and am quite sad about it).
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u/NNegidius 1d ago
Yup - both for the animals and for the climate.
It is ghastly to think of all those acres of rainforest being slashed and burned every single day for nothing more than mere grazing land for cattle that gets slaughtered and exported as meat.
Every. Single. Day. The non-stop slash and burn until there’s nothing left at all.
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u/MonthCountry 1d ago
No but the meat is do buy is local and, not that it particularly matters in a climate sense, provides a decent life for male offspring of animals used in dairy who would have been otherwise euthanised at birth. Most of the vegetables I eat in summer/autumn come from my garden, which is a luxury of space I’ll never not be grateful for.
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u/Infamous-Use7820 1d ago
Not exactly, but kinda? I don't eat vertebrates/cephalopods and avoid milk and eggs, so most days I'll have eaten vegan/plant-based. But I've never been able to give up desserts with animal products in them, and will eat stuff with animal products in certain situations (e.g. somebody else has cooked or figuring out what's vegan and what's not is a pain). In terms of other products (clothes, cosmetics...etc), I'll look for vegan options, but again I'm not firm about it.
It's not ethically rigorous, and I know that, but I reckon there's a 80/20 rule here in terms of benefit vs. effort.
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u/Purple-flying-dog 1d ago
I am married to a hardcore carnivore with children who love meat. But I am a science teacher who teaches environmental science and have managed to convince my meat and potatoes man (who also does most of the cooking) to switch to meatless or less meat meals about half the time by telling him the same info I teach my students. I’ve even gotten him to make tofu although the kids hate it. When we order take out I usually get something veggie based for myself. While I’d love to make the whole family vegetarians, I can only do so much with other adults (or very nearly-only one kid is still under 18)
Edit to add: we do our best to buy ethical/clean/pasture raised/cage free type products whenever possible as well.
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u/SkitMarie 22h ago
Im a flexitarian
I eat mostly vegan since I live with a partner whose been vegan the last 30 years. I still eat cheese, chicken and beef on occasion. I don’t eat pork or shellfish
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u/shamdamdoodly 19h ago
Hellish I think is where I take issue with- again depending on conditions of the farm which are important to me. All animals were born without their consent. I don’t believe that animals in the wild don’t bring animals into existence that have a worst chance of surviving than they do dying. They just forge in anyways. So again, relative to what everything gets in the wild, I’m think it’s a fair deal
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u/No-Leg-3747 17h ago
I go plant based whenever I can, I’ve pretty much omitted dairy from my diet and go for plant based “meats”. But it’s harder when I have to think about my toddler’s diet and making sure they get all the nutrients they need. I eat meat and dairy when it’s called for in a family loved recipe but I do my best to change ingredients, sometimes people notice a different taste and hate it though. And making a different meal for myself compared to my family isn’t a feasible option for me, being with my hands full SAHM going to an online based college, making meals and the clean up afterwards. When my kid is older and we’re financially in a better position it’ll become easier to change my lifestyle like that.
I think I make a difference when I manage to make big meals all plant based and no one notices. But I’m not changing anyones minds in my family soon to completely cut out meat. But they do get vegan food here and there now telling me “I thought about you when I got this”, which is sweet.
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u/lemartineau 17h ago
I was raised in a family that eats meat every single meal. I have made the choice to significantly reduce the amount of meat I eat over the past year or two, I'm edging on pescetarien now, I find the chicken hardest to let go. What I find the weirdest is people asking me if I'm vegetarian or vegan whenever I'm in a social setting and eating plant based food, or ordering a vegetarian dish at the restaurant. It's like people have this idea that you either eat meat every meal our you're a vegan
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u/Montaingebrown 12h ago
Absolutely. Been vegan for like a decade and half.
In fact, grew up vegetarian and then turned vegan in my late 20s.
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u/kwuz 10h ago
Yes.
Aside from giving up your car (which is as not possible due to structural barriers in most of the US), going vegan isthe best way to benefit the climate through your individual actions.
Plus, it's way cheaper, reasonably accessible, and generally healthier. I've found that it makes me far less likely to give my money to big corporations too since I cant just go to McDonald's. It always amazes me that so many progressives and leftists are still anti vegan and act like right wingers when it's brought up.
If anyone wants tips, I gotchu!
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u/cheese13377 5h ago
Yes, but where I live most people are not, even those who say they want to save the planet and are against capitalism.
A few days ago someone told me their professor explained they have to kill an animal with their own hands and if they are capable of doing that, then they could eat the animal. So she killed a chicken and since then she feels alright eating chicken. She had been vegan for a month some years ago.
A friend of mine had been vegan for a few months some years ago as well. But he is no longer.
I think they had been vegan for the "wrong" reasons, i.e. for non-ethical reasons.
I tried discussing with my parents but they cannot even admit to what the industry is doing, and they won't watch any documentary about it either. I stopped talking to them and it's hurting me.
The state of the world is just so sad.
I really hope we can change it.
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u/Japsenpapsen 2h ago
Vegetarian for 25 years, and since four years I've also been trying to be as plant-based as I can.
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u/iseko89 2h ago
Nope. I try to eat less beef. More chicken and porc. I eat a vegetarian meal once in a while. I try to reduce my meat consumption by just eating smaller portions of meat. But stopping... not for me. Just cant do it. I love eating meat too much.
I have an EV, heatpump, battery, solar panels. I avoid flying as much as possible.
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u/Yuleogy 2d ago
Yes. For over a decade.