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If the world goes completely vegan

  • 21-11-2020 8:25pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,230 ✭✭✭


    [skip to 4th paragraph if you want to get straight to the point of this thread]



    Hello all. First off, I ain't vegan/vegetarian so let's get that outta the way swiftly. There's one thing which I've never seen being discussed, and something I'd love to get an overview on what vegans think about it. I have a huge respect for animals and the natural world, even though yes I'm a meat eater, though not a huge meat eater to be perfectly honest. Anyways I'm not here to discuss that.

    Please don't take this as any attack on veganism or anything of the sort. I've seen plenty of people attacking veganism, I even read recently some idiots referring to it as a religion. My head is still sore from how hard I facepalmed myself after reading that drivel. I'm genuinely interested in all your opinions on this.

    Let's say tomorrow the entire world goes vegan, just like that. Would it be a good thing if that happened? Honestly, I think it would. God knows we've been doing enough damage to the planet for millennia now, including countless harm towards animals, plants and so on. But the thing I have never seeing being discussed is this:

    What happens to all the farm animals? Cows, pigs, chickens, and all the rest. They can't be released into the wild, they're no longer part of the wild ecosystem much like ourselves. If they were released into the wild, in my opinion we'd only be causing even more damage to wildlife. There would be much more pressure on natural food sources for herbivores. If you take cows, pigs and sheep, there are no predators here to control their populations. Young piglets and lambs would be susceptible to birds of prey alright, but adults? The largest terrestrial predator we have is the badger and I'm no wildlife expert but badgers surely wouldn't be able to take down adults, cows especially? There were calls there not too long ago for wolves to be reintroduced into Ireland. I actually think this should be done, absolutely.

    If we don't release them into the wild, what then? Cull them all? I don't think anyone wants that. But we cannot release them into the wild, as I said before they haven't been part of the natural ecosystem in centuries. What becomes of them all then? I'm genuinely interested in what anyone has to say about this. I know it's a bit weird, going from humans killing farm animals to how they would be killed in the wild. But we've been playing god for far too long, and have caused untold damage to our planet. Look at the amount of damage that has been caused to the Amazon rainforest because of farming. When I was in school, it was said that there was like 40 football fields worth of forest lost every day. Is it the same today? All this because of farming.

    I love animals, I do. And I know that sounds hypocritical seeing as how I eat meat. But I look beyond that, I look at the wider effects on the planet, or I try my best to at least. If the world went completely vegan, what does become of all these farm animals?I really would love to know everyone's opinions on this. Thank you.


«134567

Comments

  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    ‘Let’s say tomorrow the whole world goes vegan’

    I’ll save a lot of time here.

    It won’t.

    The whole world won’t go vegan tomorrow.

    There’s your answer.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,230 ✭✭✭jaxxx


    Thank you for being completely unhelpful. Can you not deal with hypothetical scenarios or did you get out of the wrong side of the bed? Please enlighten me as to how your so-called 'answer' answers what happens to farm animals if the whole world becomes vegan? The time period is irrelevant, whether tomorrow or 10 years. Please don't make a mockery of a genuine question.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,495 ✭✭✭✭eviltwin


    Not really interested in what other people do. Vegetarian and vegans don’t care about what other people eat half as much people think we do. It’s not the responsibility of vegans to solve the issue of farming. Maybe you should ask the people who actually have the animals what they would do.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,495 ✭✭✭✭eviltwin


    frag420 wrote: »
    I’m vegan intolerant...

    So why are you here ?


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    jaxxx wrote: »
    Thank you for being completely unhelpful. Can you not deal with hypothetical scenarios or did you get out of the wrong side of the bed? Please enlighten me as to how your so-called 'answer' answers what happens to farm animals if the whole world becomes vegan? The time period is irrelevant, whether tomorrow or 10 years. Please don't make a mockery of a genuine question.

    You say you love animals.

    Then stop paying people to kill them on your behalf.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,230 ✭✭✭jaxxx


    You say you love animals.

    Then stop paying people to kill them on your behalf.

    Again, not even close to addressing the actual point of this thread. Why are you even here if you're not gonna give a serious answer or have an actual discussion?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,047 ✭✭✭Unearthly


    well it's very hypothetical and most people would have their biases about what would happen.

    Logically it would not happen in just 1 night, so the idea of a massive cull of animals would not be needed as supply and demand would gradually decrease at the same rate and the farmed animals would reduce at significant amounts naturally.

    Would they go extinct? Definitely not in my opinion as there are so many groups out there that wouldn't allow that to happen so I reckon there'd be sanctuaries where animals can live out a life that doesn't end in slaughter.

    In terms of health I'm not sure we'd see a change there. A whole foods diet would make the world much healthier but if the entire world went vegan, then you'd have fast food types of every meat equalivent. Some people would live entirely on that.

    Environmentally the world would improve. Too much science out there to say it wouldn't.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,063 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ten of Swords


    frag420 your posts have been deleted as they added nothing to the discussion and were just baiting others, do not post in this thread again


    jaxxx you are getting engagement on your question. It appears to me that you are not getting the responses you want


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 9,041 Mod ✭✭✭✭greysides


    If there were a gradual changeover where farm animals were not needed for food then numbers of animals on farms would gradually decline in response to market forces. Most animals reared for meat have relatively short lives so it wouldn't take long for their numbers to decrease once no more were being breed. Cows live longer, as they are productive for longer, and so would numbers would drop more slowly; though a lot would probably be culled earlier than otherwise as they need to 'earn their living' and it wouldn't be economically possible to keep them on if they didn't. Some might live on as pets of a sort. Also, if land use was changing over to arable then there wouldn't be food/grass available for them and they couldn't be allowed starve. Horses, kept for sports activities would probably escape the cull. The farm dog would be mindlessly bored and dizzy from chasing it's tail. The farm cat would have to do without it's milk and go hunt mice and rats instead.

    The people who like to drive through the countryside or live in the countryside might get a bit upset. Driving through some of the intensive cereal producing areas of England is very boring. Animals in fields add in variation and the features that go with them add interest and beauty. There would be a dearth of lush green fields of grass and winding lanes of hedgerows with a variety of tree species. In a way, wild-life would suffer too as the reduction in variety of habitats affected their diversity too.

    The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress. Joseph Joubert

    The ultimate purpose of debate is not to produce consensus. It's to promote critical thinking.

    Adam Grant



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,230 ✭✭✭jaxxx


    Unearthly wrote: »
    well it's very hypothetical and most people would have their biases about what would happen.

    Logically it would not happen in just 1 night, so the idea of a massive cull of animals would not be needed as supply and demand would gradually decrease at the same rate and the farmed animals would reduce at significant amounts naturally.

    Would they go extinct? Definitely not in my opinion as there are so many groups out there that wouldn't allow that to happen so I reckon there'd be sanctuaries where animals can live out a life that doesn't end in slaughter.

    In terms of health I'm not sure we'd see a change there. A whole foods diet would make the world much healthier but if the entire world went vegan, then you'd have fast food types of every meat equalivent. Some people would live entirely on that.

    Environmentally the world would improve. Too much science out there to say it wouldn't.


    A sanctuary as a protected species? Yes I'd never considered that actually. I agree, I think the world would improve from an environmental perspective.

    greysides wrote: »
    If there were a gradual changeover where farm animals were not needed for food then numbers of animals on farms would gradually decline in response to market forces. Most animals reared for meat have relatively short lives so it wouldn't take long for their numbers to decrease once no more were being breed. Cows live longer, as they are productive for longer, and so would numbers would drop more slowly; though a lot would probably be culled earlier than otherwise as they need to 'earn their living' and it wouldn't be economically possible to keep them on if they didn't. Some might live on as pets of a sort. Also, if land use was changing over to arable then there wouldn't be food/grass available for them and they couldn't be allowed starve. Horses, kept for sports activities would probably escape the cull. The farm dog would be mindlessly bored and dizzy from chasing it's tail. The farm cat would have to do without it's milk and go hunt mice and rats instead.

    The people who like to drive through the countryside or live in the countryside might get a bit upset. Driving through some of the intensive cereal producing areas of England is very boring. Animals in fields add in variation and the features that go with them add interest and beauty. There would be a dearth of lush green fields of grass and winding lanes of hedgerows with a variety of tree species. In a way, wild-life would suffer too as the reduction in variety of habitats affected their diversity too.
    More trees would be a marvellous thing though. We have what, only 15% tree coverage on the island? Way too low. I know what you're saying about driving through the countryside and it looking boring cos of the fields of cereal, but that's just something people would need to get used to. It's an interesting one though. As Unearthly said above with sanctuaries for them so they wouldn't go extinct. Might be hard to get steady funding though. Animal welfare charities struggle at the best of times.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,497 ✭✭✭auspicious


    "The uncertainty about future forest ownership and a slow down in the rate of planting may mean a decline in biodiversity and some species of conservation concern, reliant on the forests.”

    These incredibly low numbers are primarily due to human activity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and to a lesser extent also activities in the early 20th century.

    Deforestation originally occurred due to the needs of growing agriculture trends in Ireland and this activity then escalated with the birth and growth of the Industrial Age. Trees were cut down in the thousands as wood requirements hit unprecedented levels and, despite numerous initiatives throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, forest levels have never recovered.

    Unfortunately that is the reality in modern day Ireland but, as we’ve said many times before, it doesn’t have to be the case!

    https://emerald-heritage.com/blog/2018/why-ireland-has-no-trees

    Yes my heart bleeds for the poor Sunday drivers sheding a tear for the missing 'employees'( forced labour) in the fields....no. If the whole world went vegan tomorrow , well we'd all every last person on Earth be quite content with animal liberation, and countryside biodiversity would surge in 10 to 20 years.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    greysides wrote: »
    If there were a gradual changeover where farm animals were not needed for food then numbers of animals on farms would gradually decline in response to market forces. Most animals reared for meat have relatively short lives so it wouldn't take long for their numbers to decrease once no more were being breed. Cows live longer, as they are productive for longer, and so would numbers would drop more slowly; though a lot would probably be culled earlier than otherwise as they need to 'earn their living' and it wouldn't be economically possible to keep them on if they didn't. Some might live on as pets of a sort. Also, if land use was changing over to arable then there wouldn't be food/grass available for them and they couldn't be allowed starve. Horses, kept for sports activities would probably escape the cull. The farm dog would be mindlessly bored and dizzy from chasing it's tail. The farm cat would have to do without it's milk and go hunt mice and rats instead.

    The people who like to drive through the countryside or live in the countryside might get a bit upset. Driving through some of the intensive cereal producing areas of England is very boring. Animals in fields add in variation and the features that go with them add interest and beauty. There would be a dearth of lush green fields of grass and winding lanes of hedgerows with a variety of tree species. In a way, wild-life would suffer too as the reduction in variety of habitats affected their diversity too.

    Jesus that’s some amount of drivel to be posting.

    I currently don’t have the time required to address each and every insensitive ‘point’ you’ve raised.

    Not sure you get how vegans or vegetarians feel about the animal cruelty. This forum mightn’t be for you.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 229 ✭✭Bigbooty


    The world wouldn't go vegan overnight. A move to a more plant based diet would phase out demands for animal products. I'm ultimately less optimistic as demand is projected to grow by 25% in the next ten years as developing countries grow economically.

    As per your point about introduction of predators. There would really need to be a wider discussion on rural land use and ecosystem restoration. It simply isn't feasible in Ireland at present because of the extent of farming in this country. Perhaps you should look at what they've got planned for lynx introduction in Scotland. It seems more feasible than reintroducing wolves.

    Endless fields of sheep and cows with the odd bit of hedgerow/forest does not constitute biodiversity in my view. We need to reforest areas and we could start doing this by rewilding uplands which would ultimately require a massive reduction in sheep grazing.

    You hit on so many different topics, not all of which is really applicable to veganism. You might find the answers your looking for among environmentalists. Veganism is a social justice issue that pursues animal rights.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭dubrov


    Jesus that’s some amount of drivel to be posting.

    I literally don’t have the time required to address each and every insensitive ‘point’ you’ve raised.

    Maybe try and add something to the discussion rather than spouting the above


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,495 ✭✭✭✭eviltwin


    What is the point of this forum? Is it a place for veggies and vegan to share ideas or a place to discuss the ethics of same?


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 253 ✭✭Xtrail14


    Would ye not give wafer thin ham a try?


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    eviltwin wrote: »
    What is the point of this forum? Is it a place for veggies and vegan to share ideas or a place to discuss the ethics of same?

    This was recently addressed in the charter.

    It should be a place to V & V’s to come and relax but it’s not currently.

    It’s a daily defence of our beliefs.

    Daily.

    A dissection of the ethics involved. Nothing the regular users on the forum want to do. Daily.

    Rinse and repeat.

    And from the same posters.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,063 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ten of Swords


    Xtrail14 do not post in this thread again


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,495 ✭✭✭✭eviltwin


    This was recently addressed in the charter.

    It should be a place to V & V’s to come and relax but it’s not currently.

    It’s a daily defence of our beliefs.

    Daily.

    A dissection of the ethics involved. Nothing the regular users on the forum want to do. Daily.

    Rinse and repeat.

    And from the same posters.

    It’s absolutely ridiculous.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    greysides wrote: »
    If there were a gradual changeover where farm animals were not needed for food then numbers of animals on farms would gradually decline in response to market forces. Most animals reared for meat have relatively short lives so it wouldn't take long for their numbers to decrease once no more were being breed. Cows live longer, as they are productive for longer, and so would numbers would drop more slowly; though a lot would probably be culled earlier than otherwise as they need to 'earn their living' and it wouldn't be economically possible to keep them on if they didn't. Some might live on as pets of a sort. Also, if land use was changing over to arable then there wouldn't be food/grass available for them and they couldn't be allowed starve. Horses, kept for sports activities would probably escape the cull. The farm dog would be mindlessly bored and dizzy from chasing it's tail. The farm cat would have to do without it's milk and go hunt mice and rats instead.

    The people who like to drive through the countryside or live in the countryside might get a bit upset. Driving through some of the intensive cereal producing areas of England is very boring. Animals in fields add in variation and the features that go with them add interest and beauty. There would be a dearth of lush green fields of grass and winding lanes of hedgerows with a variety of tree species. In a way, wild-life would suffer too as the reduction in variety of habitats affected their diversity too.

    Gonna call this for what it is.

    Drivel and bad form.

    Bad form because you’re a moderator and should have some respect for the work your fellow moderators do.

    Drivel because it’s incitement. You know what forum you’re in. Your comments are completely and unquestionably out of order.

    You should be held to a higher standard as a moderator. If you’re not familiar with the beliefs of vegans or vegetarians then you should educate yourself before chipping in with such nonsense.

    The following in particular is distasteful - ‘ Horses, kept for sports activities would probably escape the cull. The farm dog would be mindlessly bored and dizzy from chasing it's tail. The farm cat would have to do without it's milk and go hunt mice and rats instead.

    The people who like to drive through the countryside or live in the countryside might get a bit upset. Driving through some of the intensive cereal producing areas of England is very boring. Animals in fields add in variation and the features that go with them add interest and beauty.’

    What forums do you moderate ?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,766 ✭✭✭Quantum Erasure


    Would there be any livestock let roam wild in Ireland? Sheep maybe in the mountains, i dont think we'd see cows or pigs anyway, ...


  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    You can't be respectful to anyone klopp. Your hiding behind it's the v&v forum but your just an ass.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Gary kk wrote: »
    You can't be respectful to anyone klopp. Your hiding behind it's the v&v forum but your just an ass.

    Pathetic post.

    It’s amazing how brave cowards are when hiding behind a keyboard.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,324 ✭✭✭Tilikum17


    Pathetic post.

    It’s amazing how brave cowards are when hiding behind a keyboard.

    Not even 8am on a Sunday morning and the first thing a farmer does is check the vegan/vegetarian forum lol.


  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    Pathetic post.

    It’s amazing how brave cowards are when hiding behind a keyboard.

    You got me in one. That's exactly who I am, a keyboard warrior.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 34,105 ✭✭✭✭listermint


    auspicious wrote: »

    Yes my heart bleeds for the poor Sunday drivers sheding a tear for the missing 'employees'( forced labour) in the fields....no. If the whole world went vegan tomorrow , well we'd all every last person on Earth be quite content with animal liberation, and countryside biodiversity would surge in 10 to 20 years.

    Wtf did I just read..... ... ???!


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Gary kk wrote: »
    You got me in one. That's exactly who I am, a keyboard warrior.

    I didn’t say that.


  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    I didn’t say that.

    Sorry right a coward behind a keyboard. My bad.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Gary kk wrote: »
    Sorry right a coward behind a keyboard. My bad.

    That’s right.

    That would be my definition of someone that will say something online (or behind someone’s back) but wouldn’t say it to someone’s face.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    That’s right.

    That would be my definition of someone that will say something online (or behind someone’s back) but wouldn’t say it to someone’s face.

    Behind ones back?


    Edit:
    Klopp did a mod tell you that I reported one of your post.
    Seriously Klopp tell me that was a just a stupid post.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,807 ✭✭✭The J Stands for Jay


    auspicious wrote: »
    countryside biodiversity would surge in 10 to 20 years.

    Land would be monoculture, producing food crops. It doesn't matter what we do, producing food is not good for the environment.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,807 ✭✭✭The J Stands for Jay


    eviltwin wrote: »
    . Maybe you should ask the people who actually have the animals what they would do.

    I imagine the response on the farming forum would be extremely hostile to a three on this subject. The EU would probably pay farmers to keep the status quo, regardless of the pintlessnes of the endeavour in the face of falling consumer demand.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,495 ✭✭✭✭eviltwin


    McGaggs wrote: »
    I imagine the response on the farming forum would be extremely hostile to a three on this subject. The EU would probably pay farmers to keep the status quo, regardless of the pintlessnes of the endeavour in the face of falling consumer demand.

    I wouldn’t blame them being hostile, the question is designed to inflame people. Seems to happen a lot here. Pointless posting it here. It’s not like we have any control over what farmers do with their animals.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,471 ✭✭✭Panch18


    Anybody who thinks a vegan diet is somehow better for the environment has no clue how food is produced on a scale to feed 8 billion people

    It’s absolutely amazing that people can look at a field of barley, wheat, spuds, carrots, broccoli or whatever and actually come to the conclusion that it would be more diverse than a field of grass that cows would be grazing in

    It’s really mind boggling that people actually believe that


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,116 ✭✭✭Enquiring


    If the world goes vegan the land will be used to produce food to cater for that. The population of farm animals will be decimated.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    Enquiring wrote: »
    If the world goes vegan the land will be used to produce food to cater for that. The population of farm animals will be decimated.

    Not so sure would still need high om to keep things growing. I can't see people wanting to eat food that has been fert by human waste. So could have a system where animals are farmed for waste


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,116 ✭✭✭Enquiring


    Gary kk wrote: »
    Not so sure would still need high om to keep things growing. I can't see people wanting to eat food that has been fert by human waste. So could have a system where animals are farmed for waste

    That would still mean a decimation in the population of farm animals.


  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    Enquiring wrote: »
    That would still mean a decimation in the population of farm animals.

    One in 10 yeah probably and some ;) but not all. Would end up with most in sheds I would guess to get the most out of them. Send it to get processed get some gas, power a few houses then send it on to the fields.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 333 ✭✭Vieira82


    jaxxx wrote: »
    [skip to 4th paragraph if you want to get straight to the point of this thread]



    Hello all. First off, I ain't vegan/vegetarian so let's get that outta the way swiftly. There's one thing which I've never seen being discussed, and something I'd love to get an overview on what vegans think about it. I have a huge respect for animals and the natural world, even though yes I'm a meat eater, though not a huge meat eater to be perfectly honest. Anyways I'm not here to discuss that.

    Please don't take this as any attack on veganism or anything of the sort. I've seen plenty of people attacking veganism, I even read recently some idiots referring to it as a religion. My head is still sore from how hard I facepalmed myself after reading that drivel. I'm genuinely interested in all your opinions on this.

    Let's say tomorrow the entire world goes vegan, just like that. Would it be a good thing if that happened? Honestly, I think it would. God knows we've been doing enough damage to the planet for millennia now, including countless harm towards animals, plants and so on. But the thing I have never seeing being discussed is this:

    What happens to all the farm animals? Cows, pigs, chickens, and all the rest. They can't be released into the wild, they're no longer part of the wild ecosystem much like ourselves. If they were released into the wild, in my opinion we'd only be causing even more damage to wildlife. There would be much more pressure on natural food sources for herbivores. If you take cows, pigs and sheep, there are no predators here to control their populations. Young piglets and lambs would be susceptible to birds of prey alright, but adults? The largest terrestrial predator we have is the badger and I'm no wildlife expert but badgers surely wouldn't be able to take down adults, cows especially? There were calls there not too long ago for wolves to be reintroduced into Ireland. I actually think this should be done, absolutely.

    If we don't release them into the wild, what then? Cull them all? I don't think anyone wants that. But we cannot release them into the wild, as I said before they haven't been part of the natural ecosystem in centuries. What becomes of them all then? I'm genuinely interested in what anyone has to say about this. I know it's a bit weird, going from humans killing farm animals to how they would be killed in the wild. But we've been playing god for far too long, and have caused untold damage to our planet. Look at the amount of damage that has been caused to the Amazon rainforest because of farming. When I was in school, it was said that there was like 40 football fields worth of forest lost every day. Is it the same today? All this because of farming.

    I love animals, I do. And I know that sounds hypocritical seeing as how I eat meat. But I look beyond that, I look at the wider effects on the planet, or I try my best to at least. If the world went completely vegan, what does become of all these farm animals?I really would love to know everyone's opinions on this. Thank you.

    The transition to veganism will be progressive and slow paced. I've talked extensively with friends about this. I think for Ireland specifically the "radical" first step is the government offer subsidies for non-animal based farming. Those farmers that do the transition could do one of two things:

    - Sustain the animals until end of life (this would be a part of the gov subsidy)
    - Animals sent to sanctuaries that should have a state support if they take a quota of farm animals in one go

    This obviously is still too radical despite the fact it's simply diverting some of the subsidies for beef and dairy to diversify agriculture in Ireland.

    In other parts of Europe there is a diverse agriculture system so it's easier to do this and progressively end the bulk of animal agriculture I don't think it will all be done in one go, it will be progressively in at least a two decade scenario.

    Also and at the same time it's important to ensure monocrops are culled in favor or plural crops that will ensure the land self-regenerates as much as possible without human or artificial interference

    I also don't think it will ever happen that animal farming will be 100% banned in the short term but the less demand for meat and dairy the more factory farming will tend to diminish.

    Eventually as society progress I'd say in 100 years time at least and with animal farming practically obsolete we could then see legislation banning any kind of animal consumption happening effectively veganism becoming law.

    So in my opinion the most important thing at the moment is to make society understand as much as possible how unethical and unsustainable animal farming is and bet on demand continuing to go down. Most regular people don't even dream on how animals are produced and what happens at abbatoirs and places where the animals are kept...


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,116 ✭✭✭Enquiring


    Gary kk wrote: »
    One in 10 yeah probably and some ;) but not all. Would end up with most in sheds I would guess to get the most out of them. Send it to get processed get some gas, power a few houses then send it on to the fields.

    One in ten surviving?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,561 ✭✭✭Finty Lemon


    What will carnivorous animals eat if the entire world goes vegan? Or are they exempt?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,791 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    You can't set up an argument that one the one hand allows a fantasy hypothesis that the world suddenly becomes entirely vegan, then expect other people to solve the problem of the (suddenly surplus) animals that would result!

    It is possible that the world could go vegan - at a push - but by the time it happened all the animals would have been 'processed' so there would not suddenly be a glut.

    It is of course possible that some sort of disease aggressively infected all farm animals which would require an immediate culling, but in that extreme case the human population would be also affected, and we would be in more trouble than wondering what to do with excess animals.

    If the world going vegan required vast amounts of commercially produced food that imitates carnivorous food - vegan sausages!! then the huge processing industry that resulted/replaced similar non-vegan processing would make its own contribution to climate and ecological issues. Meanwhile the need for food supplements would also require industrial input; the human body developed to be omnivorous and some necessary nutrients are not naturally available from plants. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/vegetarian-and-vegan-diets-q-and-a/
    Vegan baby formula is possible but very specialised; babies need human milk to thrive, it is the animal based nutrition needed by the human body.

    An argument discussing whether a 'predominantly vegetarian' diet for humanity might be advantageous to the world and to humans would make a good deal more sense, but this requires discussion of a 'middle of the road' solution rather than leaping to one extreme or the other, and thus is not likely to happen.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,310 ✭✭✭Pkiernan


    To get back on topic, I believed that long-term veganism is predicted to reduce human fertility, and so if the whole human population were to go vegan the planet may be better off.

    The animals would work out their own population balance naturally.


  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    Enquiring wrote: »
    One in ten surviving?

    I thought decimate meant to kill / remove one in ten


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,116 ✭✭✭Enquiring


    Gary kk wrote: »
    I thought decimate meant to kill / remove one in ten

    No, decimate as in kill/remove a large proportion. More than one in ten, far more I would say.


  • Registered Users Posts: 675 ✭✭✭Gary kk


    Enquiring wrote: »
    No, decimate as in kill/remove a large proportion. More than one in ten, far more I would say.

    The actual meaning of the word it was a punishment given to Roman legions I think were one in ten would be killed. Or so think


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,116 ✭✭✭Enquiring


    Gary kk wrote: »
    The actual meaning of the word it was a punishment given to Roman legions I think were one in ten would be killed. Or so think

    Yes but it's used to describe the killing/reducing of something by a large amount.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,791 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    Enquiring wrote: »
    Yes but it's used to describe the killing/reducing of something by a large amount.

    Getting off topic and semantic here, but decimate means reduce by one in ten, as defined above. It is used now to mean take out a large proportion/most, and that interpretation has been accepted, which removes a perfectly good word with a precise definition from the lexicon. But hey, the language has to develop!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 229 ✭✭Bigbooty


    Pkiernan wrote: »
    To get back on topic, I believed that long-term veganism is predicted to reduce human fertility, and so if the whole human population were to go vegan the planet may be better off.

    The animals would work out their own population balance naturally.
    What the actual. Are you a reproductive medicine consultant? Seriously this is some Alex Jones level nonsense. You've absolutely no evidence.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,665 ✭✭✭White Clover


    McGaggs wrote: »
    Land would be monoculture, producing food crops. It doesn't matter what we do, producing food is not good for the environment.

    Food produced from grazing livestock such as dairy, beef and sheep is good for the environment. Pasture grazing captures large amounts of carbon and stores it securely in the ground.
    On the other hand, when ground is tilled to plant crops, carbon is released. That is why, the promotion of a plant based diet is so dangerous to the environment.


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