Comment by micromacrofoot
2 days ago
if veganism was a real problem we'd have it made, that's the least of our worries... americans aren't dying at an alarming rate from heart disease because they've been lead astray from vegans
there's been little change in overall meat consumption in the US for decades... and it's actually higher than most places in the world
I don't think veganism is a societal problem.. but I do think it's a personal problem. The vegans I've known that have done it for a long period have had all sorts of weird health issues that could be attributed to malnutrition (if they actually had labs done, which they generally don't). To be a healthy vegan you generally have to take a lot of vitamins or eat an impractically high volume, which to me suggests it's a bad diet (health wise. Ethically, great!).
What kind of weird health issues? in my experience most vitamin deficiencies can be managed with slight effort and a single daily multivitamin. IMO it beats the pants off of being part of the American obesity epidemic that creates problems for 40% of the population.
But, if Americans ate more meat then the people who grow and sell that meat would make more money, and they would spend more of that money to lobby congresspeople to convince the populace to eat more meat so they would make more money so they would have more money to spend lobbying the congresspeople to convince the populace to eat more meat so they would make more money
I'm not convinced that advertising is why my refrigerator contains steak, chicken, octopus, salmon, and bacon.
I think my tongue and my belly are the real conspirators.
It doesn't have to be advertising; if policies were enacted to either restrict supply (by making it more difficult to produce in favor of some perceived public good) or to raise the price by reducing (currently significant) subsidies or imposing taxes on the supply chain, that might make your fridge less likely to contain those things.
Policy and advertising both work at the margins; if something affects consumer choices such that they swing 10% to or away from a sector, that has a huge impact on the sector. Can you imagine no changes that would convince you to eat 10% more or less meat?
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Lobbying is a real thing, propaganda is a real thing, corporate-government collusion is a real thing. The meat and dairy industries are definitely things, and are GIGANTIC, pouring millions and billions into deceiving the public.
If you're looking around the room and don't see the sucker, it might be you.
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