The Next Time You Talk To A Vegan…
Some counterarguments you can ask them to consider:
#1 Veganism Can Have Worse Environmental Impacts In Other Areas Of The Food Chain
While veganism is often promoted as an environmentally friendly diet, it’s not a panacea for all environmental problems. Some plant-based foods may have significant environmental footprints.
- Intensive Farming Practices: Large-scale monoculture farming of crops like soy, corn, and wheat, which are common staples in vegan diets, can lead to soil degradation, erosion, and loss of biodiversity.
- Land Use and Habitat Destruction: The expansion of agricultural land to meet the growing demand for plant-based foods can result in deforestation and habitat destruction. Clearing land for crop cultivation contributes to the loss of biodiversity and disrupts fragile ecosystems.
- Water Usage: While plant-based diets generally require less water compared to animal agriculture, certain crops, particularly those grown in arid regions or using irrigation, can still have significant water footprints. For example, almonds and avocados, popular vegan foods, require large amounts of water to grow, leading to concerns about water scarcity and depletion in some areas.
- Transportation: The global supply chain for plant-based foods involves transportation over long distances, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
#2 Veganism Is Not Economically Sustainable
The vegan diet can be expensive and inaccessible to low-income individuals or those living in “food deserts” where fresh produce is scarce and more expensive.
Plant-based meat substitutes and specialty vegan products can simply be cost-prohibitive.
It can’t even be a realistic option for people who live in places where a wide range of plant sources is available.
Veganism can only grow in a country (and in a time) with a wide choice of readily available food. For other countries, it’s “take what’s there,” regardless if it’s plant or animal.
#3 Nutrition From Plants & Nutrition From Animals Are Different. We Need Both.
A vegan diet may lack essential nutrients such as vitamin B12, iron, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, and certain amino acids like lysine.
While these nutrients are readily available in animal products, vegans must carefully plan their diets to ensure they obtain adequate amounts from plant-based sources or supplements.
And where do you think these industrially-produced vitamins and mineral supplements are taken? Many are environmentally mined or have animal sources.
With veganism, the environmental impact, as intimated earlier, is obscured, more complex and not readily observable.
#4 More Humane Treatment Of Animals
There’s no way around cruelty to animals because, in the end, they die. The most we can do is to treat them humanely from start to finish — not subjecting them to unnecessary suffering.
When there is a question between the hierarchy of human life and animal life, human life will have primacy. Man has more moral value than animals. The fact that there are other plant sources of food does not change this equation.
There is no inherent “evil” in killing animals for food.
Let’s wrap this up.
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to food choices. What works for one person may not work for another, and that’s okay. Let’s respect vegans in their food choices, and hopefully, they will return the favor.
Instead of getting caught up in black-and-white thinking, let’s embrace the shades of gray and engage in conversations that respect diverse perspectives.
