Vegetarians, Vegans, and Omnivores. What are your best arguments for your diet?

I'm vegan. The United Nations Environment Program released a report in 2010 describing all the industrial processes which are having the major negative impacts on the world's ecosystems. They concluded that the two things human are doing which is causing the most harm is the burning of fossil fuels and the production of livestock for food (meat AND dairy). This is because there are so many more humans than there ever have been in history, and the number is growing. And it isn't even the first international scientific report to indicate that livestock production is wasteful, it is merely the latest one.

This comes from the UNEP press release upon the publication of the report:

"Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, said: "Decoupling growth from environmental degradation is the number one challenge facing governments in a world of rising numbers of people, rising incomes, rising consumption demands and the persistent challenge of poverty alleviation-thus setting priorities would seem prudent and sensible in order to fast track a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy."

"The Panel have reviewed all the available science and conclude that two broad areas are currently having a disproportionately high impact on people and the planet's life support systems-these are energy in the form of fossil fuels and agriculture, especially the raising of livestock for meat and dairy products," he said." http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default...

The main problem is energy use. Energy is converted from sunlight into sugars by plants and algae. Animals eat these and use most of the energy in their metabolic processes. The larger the animal, the more energy they require. Humans are megafauna, meaning at maturity we weigh more than 44kg... so we require lots of energy but larger species like cattle require HUGE amounts. Since most of the energy is lost as you move up the food chain, the biomass (ie the total number of living organisms) is always smaller than the level below (see these diagrams: http://www.bcb.uwc.ac.za/sci_ed/grade10/ecology/im... and http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/sci_Ed/grade10/ecology... ). Our species currently exists in huge numbers, far greater than any other terrestrial vertebrate which eats meat... if there are any other megafauna numbering 7 billion (I've racked my brain and can't think of a single example) they will definitely be herbivores. Species that DO occur in such large numbers do not eat what we do, think of all the bugs and ants which eat decaying material. They have much lower energy requirements, so they can be supported in huge numbers. Hence it makes no sense to eat animals when we can all survive in perfect health relying only on non-animal foods and at the same time significantly reducing the amount of resources required to keep us fed and watered.

Livestock products make up less then 10% of the global food budget, but up to 50% of all crops produced are used to feed them. Hence it is a staggering waste of resources, and we live on a planet with finite resources. As more humans continue to be born (projected to reach 9 billion by 2050) we need to spread these resources out as best we can. On top of this, the loss of biodiversity from land use change associated with increasing crop production to feed more livestock means we could end up increasing the spread of some diseases through the loss of biodiversity. The logical conclusion is to produce fewer livestock products and being vegan means I rely on no livestock products for my nutrition and wellbeing.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report (2004): http://www.maweb.org/en/index.aspx

UNFAO Livestock's Long Shadow (2006): http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM

UNEP Assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production (2010): http://www.rona.unep.org/documents/partnerships/SC...

Water footprint- how much water is required to produce the foods you eat? http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/productg...

Keesing et al. (2010). Impacts of biodiversity on the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases. Nature Volume 468, Pages: 647–652: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v468/n7324/fu...

Nathan Pelletier and Peter Tyedmers. Forecasting potential global environmental costs of livestock production 2000–2050. PNAS October 26, 2010 vol. 107 no. 43 18371-18374: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/09/27/10046...

I first decided that I wasn't going to eat factory farmed animals - only things from local free range farms, or things caught wild. After doing this for a while, I realized I was eating very little meat, and didn't miss it at all. So I just cut it out altogether. Eventually, I decided to give up eggs -unless free range from local farms, and dairy, since those both still result in the same issues I had with meat.

I hope to keep my own hens someday (when I get a house with a yard) so I can eliminate the male infanticide from my plate. But I might just give up eggs altogether before I manage to save up enough for a downpayment.

I don't eat children.

My diet is really cheap.

No cholesterol.

No animal fat.

Leaves you feeling more vibrant than any other diet- I've tried most.

Morally- the animals etc. I can't pretend that was the reason I stopped eating junk food ( meat is junk food). But over time I now see the horrific and very real abuse of animals that has to happen for bluging blan dpopulation to get its meat.

The enviironment is a far far bigger concern. It takes 500 millionyears for a rainforest to grow and there are now enormous blad areas which have been ploughed to make way for cattle to feed- fast food and poor quality beef.

This rainforest will not grow back.

Ever.

This is criminal, the cures for diseases, animal's homes, homeland to undisicivered tribal people, people who've made the Borneo and Amazon rainforest for thousands of years are now being killed off, these people have to move into modern homes, and it makes me sick. I want to hurt peope who bulldose rainforest.

Even if you don't care about that, and will never visit any other country than rural middle america, supporting deforestation for meat production is making the planet filthy and polluted. No ozone, warming skies, no glaciers where they used to be, it's mostly down to the meat industry which is the biggest polluter on the face of the planet. and even mild mannered friends of mine get met with a blacnk stare when they mumble about how nice their stupid sesame steaks are.

I have no sympthy at all. I personally believe, if you crreate it, you should live with it. Therefore, these people who go on vacation should only look at trash in a landfill site, and not get to walk with orang utangs in Borneo, or see rare birds in the Amazin when they go there- they should get to see the barren blackened land of a fire-cleared forest, now a smoking death zone.

The tittle translates to: Omnivores, Herbivores, and Omnivores in my book.

I don't think of being vegan a diet, I like not eating animal products, I don't believe in morals, so if I can do it anyone can! The average vegetarian does little difference to what they are usually trying to change (caged chickens and penned cows).

I'm not that obsessive. I don't need to defend my diet, because there is nothing to defend. Live and let live. I can tell you one thing though, even free range animals are still slaughtered in the same gruesome way.

I respect any persons lifestyle choice just as I would like mine respected. btw - you should explore how you can best resource your meat, there are factories and there are those who exalt the meat. It's worth it.

I'm not responsible for ending the life of something that can feel pain and has the capacity for thought.

I don't need an argument for my diet. Its MY diet, not yours. What I eat is none of your business.

http://youtu.be/S-Unn7LjFkI

Go to this link" The Last Heart attack"

I am much happier this way, and my spiritual life is much better as well.

EDIT: @ J Christ: I missed you J Christ! Welcome back to the V&V section.