A Logical Rant About Going Vegan for the Environment

This image was grabbed from the Rancher Advocacy Program’s public Facebook page.

“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth,” the Facebook post read.

False, false, false — all across the board. I rolled my eyes when I saw this post, for multiple reasons. The first being: five years ago, we wouldn’t have seen this as a “valid” argument against agriculture.

I’d say cutting meat from your diet is a tale as old as time, but really, it’s a tale as old as 2-5 years. In recent years, we’ve seen a drastic amount of vegan diet followers make the switch from a traditional diet to a plant-based diet in an attempt to “save the planet.” I blame the movie Cowspiracy as the main culprit and the rise of vegan, social media/justice influencers. 

Five years ago, the argument would’ve been all about animal welfare and animal cruelty.  It’d be an argument that tugged on the heart strings in an attempt to use a calf’s cuteness to sway a meat eater’s opinion. But then, out of nowhere, the infamous Cowspiracy was released and suddenly everyone was a climate activist.

The main problem with this movie is that its sources were invalid at the time due to biased and unreliable studies. Today, in 2021, its sources are outdated and still biased and unreliable.

Cowspiracy would give vast ranges of numbers for their “facts” — numbers that were so far apart it didn’t seem logical.

It’d be like me saying “I am currently between the ages of 20 and 80,” but not actually ever giving someone my age. In reality, I’m 24, and no, saying I’m between the ages of 20 and 80 is not a lie — Cowspiracy did this too with their obtuse ranges, but even some of their numbers from one end of the spectrum to the other were false.

After this movie came out, many celebrity vegans pushed for their fans to watch Cowspiracy and other movies. Leo DiCaprio even produced a new cut of the film called “Cowspiracy: the Sustainability Secret.”

Joaquin Phoenix, although he has no involvement with Cowspiracy specifically, is another outspoken celebrity who pushes the vegan agenda and masks it as a climate issue. In my opinion, he’s influenced the influencers. From attending protests to putting down animal agriculture in award show speeches, this dude has a passion for veganism. 

You know, I’ve said countless times that I can’t argue with someone who is vegan for ethical reasons. For a while there I didn’t want to argue with celebrities who ate vegan because they didn’t ethically approve of the killing of animals.

However, when a so called “role model” makes sure the paparazzi catches them at their next public appearance to “fight the climate crisis” while preaching alternative proteins and the end of animal ag then hops on their PRIVATE JET to go home to Southern California, the point is no longer made; the argument is invalid; there’s not even a soap box left to stand on. 

But dadgummit, I digress.

See, the truth about going vegan to save the environment is that there is no truth — only lies. Lies fed to us by biased sources, celebrities hungry to make headlines with their latest social justice crusade (and hungry for a burger, I bet), and anti-animal ags who want to see the industry destroyed.

Lies from those who, simply put, do not understand the way feeding the world works.

I’m not saying we can’t get protein from plants or that it’s pointless to reduce animal ag’s carbon footprint. I’m saying, the majority of the population doesn’t understand what it takes to actually feed the world, and we need to fix that.

Some think we can grow crops in the same area as livestock graze. Yes, this is the case in some instances — but not all land can be farmed just like not all land can be grazed.

Some think we could just eliminate animal ag all together and rely solely on plants for food production in order to “reduce water usage.” The reality behind this idea, however, is that you would still need a significant amount of land and water to produce protein heavy crops such as soy.

Some think livestock production doesn’t help the environment and “methane” is killing the planet.  The fact of the matter is: we’d still have livestock to tend to, we’d still have their methane production (which only accounts for about 3 percent of total US Greenhouse Gas Emissions, I might add), and we’d just be left with a bunch of skinny, feral animals, waiting for their death.

When I see posts that claim, “a vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce you impact on planet Earth,” I can’t help but roll my eyes.

There are infinite arguments for and against meat consumption, but if climate is involved, the train goes off the rails because truly, there’s so much more a person can do to help the environment.

Trade your vehicle in for an electric car or, better yet, ditch the motor all together and bike/walk. Recycle, repurpose, and reuse. Cut back on your home’s electrical needs and check out renewable energy options.

Take a few less flights per year; and for the love of God, quit hoping on your private jets to travel to climate change protests.

Think logically, do what you can, and don’t bash on the industry who produces the LEAST amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the country while doing what’s most important: feeding and clothing us all.