If pigs are fed on residues and waste, and cattle on straw, stovers and grass from fallows and rangelands – food for which humans don’t compete – meat becomes a very efficient means of food production. Even though it is tilted by the profligate use of grain in rich countries, the global average conversion ratio of useful plant food to useful meat is not the 5:1 or 10:1 cited by almost everyone, but less than 2:1. If we stopped feeding edible grain to animals, we could still produce around half the current global meat supply with no loss to human nutrition: in fact it’s a significant net gain.
That’s the core of George Monbiot’s change of mind, and one we’ve always supported.
By keeping out of the debate over how livestock should be kept, those of us who have advocated veganism have allowed the champions of cruel, destructive, famine-inducing meat farming to prevail. It’s time we got stuck in.
Amen to that, George.
You know, on the west coast of India they wouldn’t go out to fish during the monsoon. Not because those amazing catamarans (the Malayali-origin word is ‘kattumaram’, more or less) can’t ride the big waves, but because the fish need time to breed. Then came mechanised fishing boats, then came trawlers, then came trawling fleets, and even then came fleets with factory ships. Our poor artisanal fisherfolk have taken up casual labour jobs and their wooden boats are on the beach above the high-tide line. People still don’t get to eat the fish their parents did (the fish that is caught costs so much no one except city tycoons can afford it), and every year it gets worse and the trawler owners sink deeper into debt. It’s a good thing they can’t force-feed fish, we thought, but then came aquaculture…
Please can you tell me your answer/ explanation (with reasons) to the question, “Is eating meat acceptable?”. Thanyou!xx
Sure. But first I need to know what you mean by “acceptable”.
Obviously it’s NOT right to eat meat?! And here are my reasons :
1) You die younger eating meat.
2) You’re more likely to catch cancer.
3) And it’s just sick, EATING an ANIMAL?!?!!