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Scott
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Jan 2007
Posts: 51
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 Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:39 pm Post subject: World Hunger And Meat Production by Scott Hughes |
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Check out this article I wrote: World Hunger And Meat Production
| Jim Motavalli wrote: | | The 4.8 pounds of grain fed to cattle to produce one pound of beef for human beings represents a colossal waste of resources in a world still teeming with people who suffer from profound hunger and malnutrition. |
What do you think? |
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Terri2
Joined: 01 Feb 2007
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Good article! I never realized the connection between meat production and world hunger. If I wasn't already a vegan, I'd probably have become one after reading that (even though you said you weren't trying to convert anyone). |
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catcaregal
Joined: 03 Mar 2007
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 9:48 am Post subject: |
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| It's not just about hunger. Meat production uses more resources in general, such as land and water. |
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govinda07
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Posts: 5
Location: NY, NY
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| Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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this is actually one of the main reasons (out of many) that i became vegan. Being vegan is directly related to world preservation. The amount of grain it takes to make a steak could feed 2 starving children for a week. Not to mention the emissions the industry causes. I didn't see that as a big focus in "an inconvenient truth" Even after the fact that it produces well more emissions than all transportation combined.
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Astrocat
Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 33
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Astrocat
Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:56 am Post subject: |
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 yo' good article, Scott - I've reposted it over at VegansRock.
I agree with most of what Scott has said, with a few exceptions and a couple of things which I feel moved to comment further about :
| Quote: | | I’m not a communist. I believe in free-trade and meritocracy. For example, if I worked twice as hard as you and grew twice as much fruit, than I deserve twice as much fruit. Similarly, if you worked twice as hard as I, and you grew twice as much fruit, then you deserve twice as much fruit. That’s fair. |
I strongly disagree.
That method of thinking would be fair IF everyone were 100% able-bodied and healthy at all times (which is obviously not the case)
... and IF there were equal employment and education opportunities for everyone... (which is clearly not the case, even among the able-bodied)
This way of thinking also assumes that fruit is just as easy to grow wherever in the world you may be....
for example, it assumes that the impact of one country's chosen main lifestyle (ie that of America) does not negatively impact the climate anywhere else, in any way..... although, in reality it clearly seems to do exactly that !
Also, if somebody becomes seriously ill and is likely to be ill or die unless they receive an extra dose of nutrition, then i would say that from a moral perspective they deserve a bit of extra fruit to give them an immune-system boost until they're past the grim phase of their life.
It is also a way of being which is likely to produce whole cities full of fruit growers and a huge dearth of non-heavy-labour workers - for example, linguists, computer technicians, entertainers, office-workers...... .....
I realise that it was a metaphor there about the fruit-growing, but my replies could also be interpreted metaphorically in the same manner.
| Quote: | | When we buy expensive meat, we perpetuate the socioeconomic problems that both victimize us and contribute to world hunger and poverty. Many Westerners willingly pay more for the luxury of meat than for vegetarian alternatives. For that reason, for example, instead of selling 4.8 pounds of grain, the farmer feeds it to a cattle, which only produces one pound of beef per 4.8 pounds of grain. Often on credit, the Westerns pay for all the excess land, grain, water, and such resources, thus denying those with less money (or less Western credit) the opportunity to use those natural resources. |
I do not see why you specifically mention "expensive meat"
The trophical level / misuse of grain situation still occurs however much profit the farmer is able to make out of selling the flesh.
The main difference is that expensive meat may come from bulls who have been raised to be sold as steaks, while cheap meat is likely to come from animals who have been raised to supply people with vegetarian products such as eggs, milk, cheese, yoghurt and ice-cream.
The cheaper the meat, the more likely that it has been heavily subsidised by the government (particularly in developed meat-heavy countries such as America, the UK, Spain, etc) .....
In this way, at least those who buy expensive flesh are less likely than those who buy cheap flesh, to force everyone (including vegans) to support their flesh-consumption financially..... whether they like it or not, through compulsory taxation.
| Quote: | | I’ve often been told that it takes 10 times as much land to feed a meat-eater, rather than a vegan. |
Although, many of the animals eaten by flesh-eaters are cast-offs from the egg and dairy industries, both of which are avidly supported by vegetarianism.
So, while the above estimate may be accurate when applied to vegans, vegetarians are typically far more deeply involved in the egg-flesh-and-dairy industries, and as such they are arguably just as responsible for it's negative repercussions as those who eat flesh.
| Quote: | | I’m not telling anyone to become a vegan or vegetarian. I’m not judging anyone who is not a vegan or vegetarian. I’m not going to throw stones, because I live in a glass house. We all contribute to the flawed socioeconomic system. We all have our vices, and we all have our different opinions on what constitutes a vice. |
If a man who beats his dog knows that his neighbour beats his wife, he can form an opinion about that.
Even if he views dog-beating as perfectly okay, his manner of thinking might lead him to view wife-beating as bad all the same (for example, he might feel that way because the wife is human and the dog is not)
He can choose to look the other way, to condone the wife-beating by not judging it as wrong, and can keep his eyes lowered and never mention it to the neighbour, justifying this decision by reckoning that it's his neighbour's business what he does with his wife, and anyway nobody is perfect.
Or, he can make a decision about whether or not he thinks that it is okay to beat your wife.... and can behave appropriately, forming judgements about others based on his conclusion rather than sitting on the fence indecisively.
| Quote: | To solve the problems plaguing our world, we need to look introspectively at ourselves and find ways to change ourselves.
Here’s a great quote by an unknown monk along those lines: |
The anecdote seems to be basically saying "If you want others to do something, the first step is to ensure that you yourself are not being hypocritical in expecting this of them." , which is fine advice |
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Saul
Joined: 21 Jun 2009
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 3:28 am Post subject: |
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| 18,000 children die everyday,we do take our food, shelter, clothes,for granted.As a christan the bible advises us to do good works,raise awareness or donate to help the hungry. |
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meganwhitney
Joined: 03 Sep 2009
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for sharing this article, I've re-linked it to my site to share with my readers. Things like this make me so angry at people who refuse to see the negative impacts meat has on people, not only to the health of consumers but to the health of those being effected by the need to consume it. |
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