“In this Our Changing Climate video essay, I look at the validity of vegan and plant-based diets as a solution to climate change. I dive into the human and planetary toll of the meat industry, looking at the massive emissions toll of beef production as well as the exploitative conditions in meat processing plants. Ultimately, I consider whether veganism is an effective tool to dismantling the meat industry and mitigating climate change.”
approaching the question from the economic/climate side with two big provisos
- while veganism is good for your personal carbon footprint, it is a consumer level change whereas we need to drastically change the production side of things
- it cannot be used as the moral justification to dictate imperialist policy to the rest of the world
For dealing with climate change, the most effective solution is to eat the rich… literally. No, I’m not kidding. One trip in their private plane to their private bunker or resort creates way more CO2 than going vegan would prevent. If we’d switch to a 1% diet, it would help the climate and the economy.