this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2024
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Perhaps we should start actually trying
But we’re out of ideas!
Fine. I'll finally give up plastic straws.
Breaking news, global warming stopped.
Plastic straws are not the problem. If we use petroleum to make plastic that carbon is effectively captured in that straw. It can create pollution for sure but it's not adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Nothing individually is “the” problem. We have a wide variety of problems to choose from.
First step to prove you actually mean it:
No more fucking meat on your plate!
We put like 6 fossil kalories in and get 1 animal tissue kalorie out. This is insane! Our species is about to commit suicide and we love to point fingers at greedy, selfish billionaires. Yet at the same time, every single one of us westerners keeps devouring our biosphere because we're accustomed to a taste.
I know this alone won't save us, but no solution will be enough if we don't agree on this simple thing:
Next time, I will no longer knowingly chose exploitation, misery and annihilation.
Buy cheap legumes or expensive meat alternatives, I don't care. But stop paying for this madness! Then go for CEOs, billionaires and politicians. But start with the most simple, obvious realization first.
If this feels insurmountable, find one vegetarian dish you like and put that into your rotation, and you've already improved.
My best tip is to go for something that's by nature vegetarian like an indian dal or some of the great lebanese stuff like hummus, muhammara, baba-ganoush etc, rather than "I can't believe it's not meat!" products.
Repeat untill you're on a mostly vegetarian diet you like. If you get close to full vegetarian, start easting vitamin-b supplements.
The idea of only demanding change from the people in power when the change already happened in the masses seems so weird to me. They have the power (or at least had the power, it might be too late now) of stopping this crisis. Each and every one of us can only contribute a little, and failing every once in a while is only human, considering the amount of ads and the sometimes overhelming disparity between availability of plant/animal based foods. (Edit: both obviously controlled by the aforementioned parties, because it benefits them directly).
We need to make it easy to go as vegan as possible. And we can only do that if the CEOs, Billionaires and politicians do it. Because they are the ones that are making it hard right now.
I demand change from every single capable human on earth, including the 1% and you. And if the elite isn't willing then we show them we are better than them. Aren't we? Or do we watch them do nothing while doing nothing as well?
What I'm challenging is the idea that the responsibilities are equally distributed. With great power comes even greater responsibility. The relationship between the two isn't even linear, that's why we tax bigger income and bigger wealth higher than lower incomes and the same applies to this.
Their potential to change is so much higher that it is fair to demand change more heavily from them than from the average Joe.
Edit: showing we are "better" is not the goal here and won't achieve any change in the 1% btw
I agree again. I want them to be held accountable for everything they do.
But what to do when the powerful won't move, because they live even more comfortable and save then us? It's classic prisoner's dilemma and I argue in favor of doing what is right, not what others should do first. And it's not even a sacrifice:
If you dare to look at each of the animal industries production chains it's plain evil from start to finish. It needs to be shut down fast. And it takes very little effort to change your diet. Quitting meat, going plant-based, is nothing more than a slight inconvenience. Again, I know this alone won't save us, but it would have a huge impact on our planet AND our health. It's the easiest Fuck You! you can send, no need to get off of the sofa, no need to protest, no need to riot. You just vote with your receipt at the supermarket, capitalism-style. It's an easy step to live up to your convictions and switch off one part of this global suicide machine we're running.
I'm gonna make a second comment here because I think it helps to keep separate discussions in separate threads.
This is not the situation we are in, and it's not what you are doing. You are arguing what everyone else should do first before the powerful can be demanded to change too. You aren't even arguing for both changing at the same time, you are saying "before you aren't holy you can't demand betterment from anyone else". Which is just illogical to me. A chainsmoker can tell me that smoking is bad and I should stop and they would be right. No need for them to stop smoking first.
I think this is not true. It is for you, because you see the animal industries as inherently evil. You have to acknowledge that for many people food is a big part of what defines their culture and for many cultures that includes meat. You don't have to like that fact, I certainly dont like it. And I agree that this has to change. But I don't think that any moral argument about cruelty against animals is going to bring that change.
I think it is fair for me to demand people change their habits and culture because the status quo is hurting me. I want to make clear what I mean with a thought experiment. Let's assume we bioengineered a cow that doesn't produce methan, and does photosynthesis so no food is required. The climate impact of mass-breeding this type of cow would be neglectable.
I wouldn't go out and tell people they should stop eating this type of cow. Not being a part of the cruel animal industry chain as a consumer is a choice anyone can make that doesn't affect anyone else and vice versa it's still true. You are hurting the cows and we should talk about that and make it public but I'd be in favor of people still being able to choose to eat that.
Mixing the altruistic arguments against animal abuse with climate protection doesn't help convince anyone to do this. The debate about becoming vegetarian/vegan for moral reasons is way older than the one because of climate change. The ones who where conviced by it already stopped eating animal products and the rest wont suddenly stop now because of those reasons. It might even be counterproductive, because it ties climate protection to an altruistic motivation where that isn't necessary. People can and should be interested in preventing climate change for very selfish reasons, which in my experience, is a way stronger motivator.
The irony that someone downvoted you because actually doing anything about it is a step too far for most people.
They just love to explain to me how their actions doesn't matter and more rich and powerful people should change first. Comfortably waiting for a revolution. The corporations they buy their stuff from. Those evil billionaires with their private jets!
But we are all the same.
You can afford a plane? Of course you fly to visit your friends party in Ibiza. You can afford meat? A car? Holidays in Asia, weekly packages from Amazon? Why say no to a good life, right? We're just as greedy, shortsighted and selfish, but with less resources.
So if you understand the horror that lurks in our near future, if you take responsibility for you actions and your life on this planet, then you change, one step at a time. And this really is a no brainer: Go buy some fucking beans.