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Discussion: BBC: What if the world went vegetarian?
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2006
Posts: 42,086
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BBC: What if the world went vegetarian?
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Eliminating meat from our diets would bring a bounty of benefits to both our own health and the planet’s – but it could also harm millions of people.
No matter how much their carnivorous friends might deny it, vegetarians have a point: cutting out meat delivers multiple benefits. And the more who make the switch, the more those perks would manifest on a global scale.
But if everyone became a committed vegetarian, there would be serious drawbacks for millions, if not billions, of people.
“It’s a tale of two worlds, really,” says Andrew Jarvis of Colombia’s International Centre for Tropical Agriculture. “In developed countries, vegetarianism would bring all sorts of environmental and health benefits. But in developing countries there would be negative effects in terms of poverty.”
Marco Springmann, a research fellow at the Oxford Martin School’s Future of Food programme, tried to quantify just how much better: he and his colleagues built computer models that predicted what would happen if everyone became vegetarian by 2050. The results indicate that – largely thanks to the elimination of red meat – food-related emissions would drop by about 60%. If the world went vegan instead, emissions declines would be around 70%.
People formerly engaged in the livestock industry would also need assistance transitioning to a new career, whether in agriculture, helping with reforestation or producing bioenergy from crop byproducts currently used as livestock feed.
Should we fail to provide clear career alternatives and subsidies for former livestock-related employees, meanwhile, we would probably face significant unemployment and social upheaval – especially in rural communities with close ties to the industry.
“There are over 3.5 billion domestic ruminants on earth, and tens of billions of chickens produced and killed each year for food,” says Ben Phalan, who researches the balance between food demand and biodiversity at the University of Cambridge. “We’d be talking about a huge amount of economic disruption.”
The effect on health is mixed, too. Springmann’s computer model study showed that, should everyone go vegetarian by 2050, we would see a global mortality reduction of 6-10%, thanks to a lessening of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers.
But realising these projected benefits would require replacing meat with nutritionally appropriate substitutes. Animal products contain more nutrients per calorie than vegetarian staples like grains and rice, so choosing the right replacement would be important, especially for the world’s estimated two billion-plus undernourished people. “Going vegetarian globally could create a health crisis in the developing world, because where would the micronutrients come from?” Benton says.
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More at: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2016...ent-vegetarian
Discuss
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 14,234
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But I wanna die
This earth is rotten and disgusting.
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 13,482
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Quote:
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Springmann’s computer model study showed that, should everyone go vegetarian by 2050, we would see a global mortality reduction of 6-10%
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meh I'm not gonna overstay my welcome
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 3,396
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The loss of jobs would be compensated for with higher demand for groceries..?
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 7,078
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let me not get into a fight with some crazy vegetable here
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 15,921
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humans are animals, and animals have basic instict of surviving by having to kill other animals in order to survive.
vegetarians and vegans are cute and all, but..
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Member Since: 3/21/2012
Posts: 55,134
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 2,531
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I wouldn't want the entire world to be vegetarian, but I wouldn't mind being one myself.
My friend is a vegetarian and her mom is a vegan. My friend lost a lot of weight from going vegetarian
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Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 31,029
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You know I've noticed that alot of the times when vegetarianism is discussed, at least on here, it's mostly about losing weight and staying in shape. But it has always been the moral side that has bothered me. Like if we consumed less meat, less animals would have to be killed, less lives would have ended. idk, it's just how I feel
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Member Since: 8/26/2012
Posts: 3,733
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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Quote:
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“It’s a tale of two worlds, really,” says Andrew Jarvis of Colombia’s International Centre for Tropical Agriculture. “In developed countries, vegetarianism would bring all sorts of environmental and health benefits. But in developing countries there would be negative effects in terms of poverty.”
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a lot of vegetarians don't necessarily want everyone to abandon meat though. the key point is that in developed countries, we have the privilege of choice as to whether we should consume meat or not, and thus should use our freedom to act in an ethical way.
i don't think many vegetarians would expect people in developing countries to do the same, since they may not have the same privilege of choice when it comes to their diet.
Quote:
Originally posted by AvrilLaQueen
humans are animals, and animals have basic instict of surviving by having to kill other animals in order to survive.
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the key word being: survive. a lion in the savannah needs to kill animals to survive. you, on the other hand, would not die if you went meat-free for a week.
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 624
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I'd be happy to go vegetarian but you can tear milk, cheese and eggs from my dead, lifeless hands 
Especially since veganism is only offering a 10% greater reduction in emissions than worldwide vegetarianism apparently.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 16,541
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Quote:
Originally posted by Yndda
meh I'm not gonna overstay my welcome
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 11,186
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Well, we can dream. But people are too selfish.
xox
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Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 22,877
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Just wrote a comment saying "if I won lotto and could afford a chef I'd become vegan" but then I remembered how good salmon and cream cheese on bagels is and... never mind!
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Member Since: 7/15/2012
Posts: 30,915
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Quote:
Originally posted by AvrilLaQueen
humans are animals, and animals have basic instict of surviving by having to kill other animals in order to survive.
vegetarians and vegans are cute and all, but..
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But no human (at least in the developed world) needs to kill another animal to survive. We have countless other alternatives because we are dominant and civilised. Your argument doesn't really have any merit in a modern society because it's based on our instincts and needs from thousands of years ago. How many times have you relied on your said "instinct"?
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 2,576
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I don't belive that everyone wants to be vegetarian, but the world definitely needs to consume less meat.
It's actually so scary how much meat we eat.
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Member Since: 8/7/2015
Posts: 1,047
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Quote:
Originally posted by AvrilLaQueen
humans are animals, and animals have basic instict of surviving by having to kill other animals in order to survive.
vegetarians and vegans are cute and all, but..
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Member Since: 1/4/2014
Posts: 31,029
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Quote:
Originally posted by skankle
I'd be happy to go vegetarian but you can tear milk, cheese and eggs from my dead, lifeless hands
Especially since veganism is only offering a 10% greater reduction in emissions than worldwide vegetarianism apparently. |
This is true. If we treat animals respectfully, feed them and take good care of them then I dont think getting stuff like milk and cheese from them is unethical. It's when we mistreat them that it crosses the line.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 5/20/2012
Posts: 1,318
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i'm a firm believer in destiny so what happens, happens
i'll enjoy my burgers and chicken nuggets until then
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