EatRealFest and sustainable meat eating

[Guest guest]

There is a whole movement out there promoting "sustainable" meat-eating. The main argument is that if you "grow" animals on marginal land that eat grasses that humans cannot eat, you will then create sustainable protein from otherwise unusable land. There were some comprehensive postings explaining the counter-argument in the last few weeks after someone posted a link to a "sustainable" meat-eating article. My bullet-point arguments against it are:

 

!) You can turn that unusable land into usable land with drought-tolerant nitrogen-fixing legumes (beans) instead and

2) That you can still only have a limited number of animals on that land so the argument for "sustainable" meat production needs to encompass a drastic reduction in the quantity of meat/milk consumed and/or large portions of the population still going vegan ("sustainable" meat is only for the elite).

3) Because the land and space is limited, "sustainable" meat and dairy inevitably mean killing baby animals that are born to keep the population in check.

4) Teaching humans to chop the heads off other animals simply for a yummy meal promotes an acceptance of violence that can be turned against other humans.

5) As to the Michael Pollan argument that we are helping animal species to survive by continuing farming because these domesticated species would otherwise not survive in the wild and cease to exist: they can continue to exist in sanctuaries where breeding would be drastically reduced but they would live their lives peacefully and respectfully alongside humans.

 

Someone also recently posted a good argument about how wolves and other wildlife that could be predators of farm animals are killed through government and cattle-farmer programs to continue these "sustainable" farms.

 

-Beth

--- On Wed, 8/26/09, wgjii <wgjii wrote:

wgjii <wgjiiRe: EatRealFestvegart, , baarn Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 4:36 PM

They use the word sustainable a lot on the Eat Real website. Meat and dairy products are not sustainable and it's important that the public knows this is a lie.WarrenIn a message dated 8/26/09 12:22:08 PM, vegart (AT) ymail (DOT) com writes:

Here is an article on Marin Sun Farms, one of the main suppliers of the butchery contest at Jack London Square in Oakland this weekend. My friend and I will be distributing vegan booklets on Saturday morning. It seems that killing is even more trendy among certain omnivores. Claire Wylde http://www.sanfranm http://www. sahttp:// wwwhttp:/ /www

 

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[Guest guest]

Wow.  this is so well researched, cogent and sensible.  I especially like the rejoinder to the unfortunately very popular Michael Pollan.  Thanks for posting this!  Stephanie

On 8/26/09, Beth <bcs_mail wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a whole movement out there promoting " sustainable " meat-eating.  The main argument is that if you " grow " animals on marginal land that eat grasses that humans cannot eat, you will then create sustainable protein from otherwise unusable land.  There were some comprehensive postings explaining the counter-argument in the last few weeks after someone posted a link to a " sustainable " meat-eating article.  My bullet-point arguments against it are:

 

!) You can turn that unusable land into usable land with drought-tolerant nitrogen-fixing legumes (beans) instead and

2) That you can still only have a limited number of animals on that land so the argument for " sustainable " meat production needs to encompass a drastic reduction in the quantity of meat/milk consumed and/or large portions of the population still going vegan ( " sustainable " meat is only for the elite).

3)  Because the land and space is limited,  " sustainable " meat and dairy inevitably mean killing baby animals that are born to keep the population in check.

4)  Teaching humans to chop the heads off other animals simply for a yummy meal promotes an acceptance of violence that can be turned against other humans.

5)  As to the Michael Pollan argument that we are helping animal species to survive by continuing farming because these domesticated species would otherwise not survive in the wild and cease to exist:  they can continue to exist in sanctuaries where breeding would be drastically reduced but they would live their lives peacefully and respectfully alongside humans.

 

Someone also recently posted a good argument about how wolves and other wildlife that could be predators of farm animals are killed through government and cattle-farmer programs to continue these " sustainable " farms.

 

-Beth

--- On Wed, 8/26/09, wgjii <wgjii wrote:

 

wgjii <wgjii

Re: EatRealFestvegart, , baarn

Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 4:36 PM

 

They use the word sustainable a lot on the Eat Real website. Meat and dairy products are not sustainable and it's important that the public knows this is a lie.

WarrenIn a message dated 8/26/09 12:22:08 PM, vegart (AT) ymail (DOT) com writes:

  Here is an article on Marin Sun Farms, one of the main suppliers of the butchery contest at Jack London Square in Oakland this weekend.  My friend and I will be distributing vegan booklets on Saturday morning.  It seems that killing is even more trendy among certain omnivores.

 Claire Wylde   http://www.sanfranm http://www. sahttp:// wwwhttp:/ /www

 

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-- " Our task must be to widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. "   Albert Einstein

" The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated. "    Mahatma Gandhi

[Guest guest]

My wife and I have produced a flyer on the topic of sustainable meat which we will be printing out and handing out tomorrow at the eat real festival. Please feel free to print out the flyer yourself or come and help us to hand them out. 

Yours, Vasile StănescuPhD Candidate Program in Modern Thought and LiteratureStanford University vts650-303-5615

On Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 11:23 PM, Beth <bcs_mail wrote:

 

 

 

 

 

There is a whole movement out there promoting " sustainable " meat-eating.  The main argument is that if you " grow " animals on marginal land that eat grasses that humans cannot eat, you will then create sustainable protein from otherwise unusable land.  There were some comprehensive postings explaining the counter-argument in the last few weeks after someone posted a link to a " sustainable " meat-eating article.  My bullet-point arguments against it are:

 

!) You can turn that unusable land into usable land with drought-tolerant nitrogen-fixing legumes (beans) instead and

2) That you can still only have a limited number of animals on that land so the argument for " sustainable " meat production needs to encompass a drastic reduction in the quantity of meat/milk consumed and/or large portions of the population still going vegan ( " sustainable " meat is only for the elite).

3)  Because the land and space is limited,  " sustainable " meat and dairy inevitably mean killing baby animals that are born to keep the population in check.

4)  Teaching humans to chop the heads off other animals simply for a yummy meal promotes an acceptance of violence that can be turned against other humans.

5)  As to the Michael Pollan argument that we are helping animal species to survive by continuing farming because these domesticated species would otherwise not survive in the wild and cease to exist:  they can continue to exist in sanctuaries where breeding would be drastically reduced but they would live their lives peacefully and respectfully alongside humans.

 

Someone also recently posted a good argument about how wolves and other wildlife that could be predators of farm animals are killed through government and cattle-farmer programs to continue these " sustainable " farms.

 

-Beth

--- On Wed, 8/26/09, wgjii <wgjii wrote:

wgjii <wgjiiRe: EatRealFest

vegart, , baarn

Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 4:36 PM

 

They use the word sustainable a lot on the Eat Real website. Meat and dairy products are not sustainable and it's important that the public knows this is a lie.

WarrenIn a message dated 8/26/09 12:22:08 PM, vegart (AT) ymail (DOT) com writes:

  Here is an article on Marin Sun Farms, one of the main suppliers of the butchery contest at Jack London Square in Oakland this weekend.  My friend and I will be distributing vegan booklets on Saturday morning.  It seems that killing is even more trendy among certain omnivores.

 Claire Wylde   http://www.sanfranm http://www. sahttp:// wwwhttp:/ /www

 

 

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The Myth of Sustainable Meat (1).docx