Vegans: If everyone became a vegan, where would the animals go?

Farm animals would be nonexistent because meat and dairy would be unnecessary.

People would die younger because the diet (unlike a vegetarian) is too restrictive

Many cultures that rely on animal protein (like northern climates) would die off (like the Inuit's in Northern Canada, Russia and Alaska that rely on 90% animal protein in their diets.

Vegetable farmers would also suffer because the bee keepers that produce honey (not allowed as a vegan) are also the major source of pollination of our crops.

PETA would become the new tour de force political party

Is anyone else so sick of this question...? It's covered in almost every Animal Rights book, if you want to know, then do some proper research instead of relying upon other people.

A good analogy would be slavery - just because we no longer rely upon them doesn't mean we just shot them all (well...) Animals had no problem surviving on this Earth before we showed up - we should stop mass breeding them, domesticating them, and let them sort themselves out... To put it in simple terms, at least.

Hypothesis of things that would never happen are worthless.

Demand causes production. As demand dwindles you would raise less and less animals. It wouldn't happen all at once. There was a man you was a rancher and then became vegan. I'm not sure what he did but I'm sure it would be similar. Also, I've heard of hog farmers deciding they didn't want to do it anymore. Most just sold the animals. Pigs are great at turning the earth for farmers. They could be used for that.

The aninal kindom is smarter than humans.They will breed in a number that the environment can sustain.As artifical breeding of animals would stop,that generation would die of old age,and than the process of natural mating would occur that is sustainable.

"what do you think would happen to all the animals" you ask.

Well it would not be necessary to produce them for food obviously. If you are suggesting that because it would be necessary to shoot the animals you have on your farm, therefore it is logical to keep producing them indefinately, that doesn't really make sense.

I don't think animals have rights. Vegetarianism is a choice. A hundred and fifty years ago black people were property, animals. Views change. Vegetarianism is rapidly increasing. Meat eating, a choice I respect, shows our ignorance, our lack of respect, the limits of our empathy for other animals that have feelings.

Well, i have cattle, sheep and chickens and all mine would be safe.

Sure, i agree your animals would have to be shot, or more accurately you would likely not raise new ones once your current stock was sold.

The "where would animals go" is a common question. They woud not be raised in the first place. Livestock is only there because of supply and demand.

Cattle, ship, pigs would assume natural population levels as wild animals. Just like Aardvarks and Zebras.

Hybrid animals specifically reared for large beef or dairy production would die out, but they are not natural breeds anyway.

"Most breeds have become too domesticated to survive" - not true. My cattle and sheep are perfectly capable of looking after themselves for year-on-year.

The breeds you talk of are so far from a natural animal that they should perhaps be allowed to go extinct anyway so we can return to a more natural environment.

Like you, I have a small farm but it's for personal (family) use and I have not gotten to the point where I have excess for sale but in terms of commercial farms, those animals who have to be culled if the owner did not have the means to keep feeding them. Domesticate animals cannot survive on their own for the most part. It would be a sad day if veganism was the law because our diet is a right.

edit: yeah I know but there are plenty of vegans that would be happy if it (a law) came into effect.

I completely agree with Orange.

The Bible depicts vegetarianism as God’s ideal, and the diet conforms to the central biblical principle of steward-ship. Several prophecies, such as Isaiah 11:6–9, foresee a return to this vegetarian world, where we would coexist with the animals peacefully. We should strive toward the harmonious world Isaiah envisioned.

It is said that we started out as vegetarians, and it has even been supported that one day we will go back to vegetarianism but that will not happen overnight. I doubt all of the human population will become vegetarians, but we cannot tell the future. As time changes, our future generations will adapt as our ancestors have.

Do you even realize cows alone outnumber people 10 to one in the US? People talk about manditory birth control for people, but what about the animals WE are breeding to feed our love of flesh?

Science estimates that we may run out of grain to feed our love of flesh as soon as 2020. We're already taking grain and water from other countries to feed our love of flesh.

They die of starvation and thirst to satisfy our factory farms. Factory farms are the number one thing killing this world.

It's the factory farms that need to go. Smaller farms are not bad at all.

That's a good question. Farm animals exist in such large numbers only because human beings breed them for slaughter, often through artificial insemination.

Keep in mind that the world isn't going to go vegetarian overnight. As more people become vegetarian/vegan over time, fewer farm animals will be bred and their population will be reduced.

If everyone eventually became vegan, then the number of farm animals would only be a tiny fraction of the number that exist today.

Good question! I'm a vegetarian (used to be vegan but went back to eating eggs) and I think the animals would have to be turned into targets for hunting sport or culled. I know it sounds cruel, but I really think that without meat eaters, the animal population would grow out of control, and really, what's worse? Eating the animal and being nourished by it or killing the animal for sport or out of necessity and wasting it? I also think the meat farming industry would go underground, driving up the price of meat until it was a real luxury, but the price of plant based foods would also skyrocket because it would be in such demand. If everyone became vegan, it would be a disaster!