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Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

nature.com

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Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#521

Post by rotexo »

dsirola wrote: post #485
marcus_holmes wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm fascinated that the solutions to climate change appear to line up neatly with the things that hippies have been saying for years (capitalism needs to be replaced with a state-managed global economy, nuclear power is bad, vegetarianism is good, bicycling is good, plant more trees). Particularly the nuclear power option. That one makes no sense. Concrete is a major source of CO2 emissions. In some places, it contri…

Why is nuclear power a problem? It's one of the cleanest energy sources currently.

Sounds to me like the parent isn't anti-nuclear, just that there is some agenda downplaying the role of nuclear in fighting climate change.

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#523

Post by blisterpeanuts »

ulises314 wrote: post #427
blisterpeanuts wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paleontologists believe that it was the shift from fruits and nuts to a high protein diet of meat that allowed our brains to grow dramatically compared to other primates. We are omnivorous, and our bodies require a certain amount of plant matter ideally, but clearly meat is an integral component of a healthy human diet.

Quote a single paleontologist.

Okay, a physical anthropologist, not a paleontologist [1999]: https://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/99legacy/6-14-1...

A neuro-scientist from Brazil: https://www.livescience.com/24875-meat-human-brain.html

You can do your own internet search for more such information. It's not proven, but is a widely accepted theory.

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#524

Post by dkersten »

buckthundaz wrote: post #445
dkersten wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This reductionist mindset about the environment that doesn't even attempt to quantify trade offs or factor for the important role livestock plays in crop production is beyond tiresome. I'm not the one who wrote the UN report on climate change that recommends reducing meat consumption. Maybe take it up with the UN instead. > Not to mention the absurd amount of carbs we already consume from plant based foods. Speak f…

> I'm not the one who wrote the UN report on climate change that recommends reducing meat consumption. Maybe take it up with the UN instead. Appeal to authority. > There are plenty of valid reasons to restrict what people are allowed to eat. Name one. Sounds very tyrannical to me.

> Appeal to authority.

Uhhh.. the person implied that I was saying cows are killing the planet, I simply stated that I never said that, the UN did, so take it up with them instead of me. Why are you are you taking what I said out of context?

> Name one.

Are you just replying without reading the thread? My very first message named a few. I never said they were good reasons, but they are reasons nonetheless.

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#525

Post by blisterpeanuts »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #306
blisterpeanuts wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not scalable to 7b people, but maybe applicable to a few more millions of people in North America, for example, where meat consumption per capita is very high. Imagine the impact on the meat industry if one million more households in North America decided to keep chickens in the back yard, for example.

They'd buy 1 or 2 fewer chickens per year. I don't think it'd register. You vastly underestimate the Big Ag chicken infrastructure. E.g. when McD's started serving chicken McNuggets years ago, they contracted for Every Chicken In Canada to supply the demand. Currently Americans eat 8 billion chickens a year, not to even mention egg factories. A million chickens from back yards is literally 'chicken feed'.

LOL, maybe so. But some of the homesteading videos on Youtube show people receiving shipments of anywhere from 30 to 120 chicks, which they raise as meat chickens, then after 8 weeks they slaughter them and freeze them. That's a lot of meat. Probably not for everyone. But imagine going through about 15 chickens a year, out of your own freezer, totally separated from the industry except for a breeder.

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#526

Post by Scoundreller »

delecti wrote: post #328
Scoundreller wrote: post #199

Have they taken meat off the menu at UN offices and HQ? Or is this for « everyone else »?

Even if your implied assumption is correct, and they haven't taken meat off the menu at UN HQ, being a hypocrite doesn't mean you're wrong. And in any case, it's likely the scientists putting out climate reports aren't the people running the cafeteria.

> being a hypocrite doesn't mean you're wrong.

But it makes one unpalatable; which is a problem when you want to change human behaviour.

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#527

Post by JoeAltmaier »

blisterpeanuts wrote: post #525
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'd buy 1 or 2 fewer chickens per year. I don't think it'd register. You vastly underestimate the Big Ag chicken infrastructure. E.g. when McD's started serving chicken McNuggets years ago, they contracted for Every Chicken In Canada to supply the demand. Currently Americans eat 8 billion chickens a year, not to even mention egg factories. A million chickens from back yards is literally 'chicken feed'.

LOL, maybe so. But some of the homesteading videos on Youtube show people receiving shipments of anywhere from 30 to 120 chicks, which they raise as meat chickens, then after 8 weeks they slaughter them and freeze them. That's a lot of meat. Probably not for everyone. But imagine going through about 15 chickens a year, out of your own freezer, totally separated from the industry except for a breeder.

Then there's the freezer. Opting out of the (very efficient) chicken distribution system and choosing your own less-efficient freezer from whatever power grid, is arguably not going to be a smaller carbon footprint or whatever.

Its hard to beat big Ag for efficiency - that's cash-money to them and they've been at it for a century. Cottage industry agriculture is generally orders of magnitude less efficient.

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#528

Post by gbear605 »

magduf wrote: post #518
gbear605 wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s an established precedent in (American) law that it’s generally okay to forbid an action but it’s not okay to mandate an action. For example, you can stop people from driving without a license, but you can’t make everyone get a license.

I hate to point it out, but ObamaCare is an example of the reverse: you're mandated to purchase health insurance, or else pay a hefty penalty fee.

Yeah, and that’s part of why it was so controversial. On top of that, op seemed to be suggesting making it illegal - as in go to jail - not having a penalty, which is substantially different.

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#529

Post by frabbit »

alisonatwork wrote: post #483
Pxtl wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, as a vegetarian I can do some awesome things with lentils, but I remember the days when I could rub some spice on a pork chop and throw it on the grill and then have something boxed and starchy on the side and have a pretty decent meal. Meanwhile, a good lentil stew is a much more involved project. Much less home-made veggie burger patties which have dozens of ingredients and elaborate preparation processes. Go…

I felt similarly to you when i first decided to try eating mostly vegan a few years back. One of my go-to meals was a cheese sandwich. It tastes great, you can't beat the speed of prep and it's not completely unhealthy. But now i realize there are plenty of other fast things that hit the spot that actually i already knew how to make but i never really saw as go-to meals before. Here are some examples. I know it's a p…

I agree. I am not actually vegan, as I occasionally eat meat (love the taste still), but I try to reduce meat and dairy as much as possible.

Kenji of SeriousEats does a vegan-month every year and claims that he enjoys it because he focuses on dishes that taste exciting, but happen to be vegan.

A particular favorite of mine is this Mapo Dofu that he started out making with meat but migrated to silken tofu https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/02/vegan-food-mapo-tofu-veg...

Re: Eat less meat: UN climate change report calls for change to human diet

#530

Post by frabbit »

airstrike wrote: post #424
Pxtl wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, as a vegetarian I can do some awesome things with lentils, but I remember the days when I could rub some spice on a pork chop and throw it on the grill and then have something boxed and starchy on the side and have a pretty decent meal. Meanwhile, a good lentil stew is a much more involved project. Much less home-made veggie burger patties which have dozens of ingredients and elaborate preparation processes. Go…

> because cheese is a pretty good shortcut to making hearty food. Entirely anecdotal, but essentially cutting dairy entirely from my diet has done wonders for me and my wife in more ways that you can imagine. She literally cured her life-long respiratory allergies just from no longer drinking milk / eating cheese. Greek yogurt is fine, for some reason

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