Eating dead animals - the pros and cons

[Rusty Nails]

I don't smoke, so, I take my risks on the processed meats. Plus, on my visits to mainland Europe (home of processed meat), I note, it doesn't seem to do them any harm.

Not the ones left standing. It’s the dead ones are the problem.

 

[presta]

I eat low meat rather than no meat, about a third of the UK average, although the data I've found seems to vary quite widely.

Meat is really horrendous for the environment though, it takes about 30 acres of beef farm to produce the same amount calories as one acre of arable land. Food production accounts for over a quarter of all global greenhouse emissions:

When you look at the emissions from each type of foodstuff, it's apparent that for reducing the burden from food production, cutting out meat is the easy win:

To put beef into perspective:
From the ACSM Compendium of Physical Activity, cycling at 12mph uses 7.4 METs, ~5.7 METs more than driving, so a 64kg person will use 5.7*64 = 365kcal/hour, or 365/12 = 30.4kcal/mile. If all those calories were to come from beef at 36.44kg CO2eq per 1000kcals, that's 30.4*36.44 =1108g/mile.
A typical BEV emits 208g/mile.

Giving up meat is easy - I've done it loads of times!

The more often you eat meat the more more often you can give it up. Win win.

We are really lucky to have a small scale abbattoir close by

I used to work a few hundred yards downwind of an abattoir, the stench when they had a clear out wasn't very lucky.

 

[BoldonLad]

Not the ones left standing. It’s the dead ones are the problem.

Is life expectancy in France/Germany/Italy/Spain/Netherlands to name but a few significantly lower than UK? Wikipedia doesn't seem to think so.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Not the ones left standing. It’s the dead ones are the problem.

Even the French Govt. in the home of charcuterie having read their recent research agree that processed meats, especially cured meats, are a significant cancer risk and people must cut-down.
C'est vrai!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Is life expectancy in France/Germany/Italy/Spain/Netherlands to name but a few significantly lower than UK? Wikipedia doesn't seem to think so.

The question is, could they be better?

 

[BoldonLad]

The question is, could they be better?

Depends on your point of view, I suppose. One certainty is, we are all going to die.

My view is:
- may as well enjoy the ride
- there is a difference between being alive and living

But, as with most things, each to their own.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Is life expectancy in France/Germany/Italy/Spain/Netherlands to name but a few significantly lower than UK? Wikipedia doesn't seem to think so.

Perhaps I should have put a winking emoji after my post.

Luckily I didn't say it was, but life expectancy depends on lots of factors other than just consumption of processed meats, and our NHS is not the world leader it's sometimes made out to be. Our cancer treatment and survival rates also lag behind a lot of European countries.

 

[Solocle]

I eat low meat rather than no meat, about a third of the UK average, although the data I've found seems to vary quite widely.

Meat is really horrendous for the environment though, it takes about 30 acres of beef farm to produce the same amount calories as one acre of arable land. Food production accounts for over a quarter of all global greenhouse emissions:

View attachment 1984

When you look at the emissions from each type of foodstuff, it's apparent that for reducing the burden from food production, cutting out meat is the easy win:

View attachment 1985

To put beef into perspective:
From the ACSM Compendium of Physical Activity, cycling at 12mph uses 7.4 METs, ~5.7 METs more than driving, so a 64kg person will use 5.7*64 = 365kcal/hour, or 365/12 = 30.4kcal/mile. If all those calories were to come from beef at 36.44kg CO2eq per 1000kcals, that's 30.4*36.44 =1108g/mile.
A typical BEV emits 208g/mile.


The more often you eat meat the more more often you can give it up. Win win.

I used to work a few hundred yards downwind of an abattoir, the stench when they had a clear out wasn't very lucky.

Arable farming isn't necessarily a fair comparison. Admittedly in a lot of cases, but consider sheep.

Good luck getting your combine 'arvester around here!

So actually going full vegan reduces the capacity for food production than eating some meat.

I'm very much a meat eater, though, and could try to cut back somewhat.

 

[jowwy]

Arable farming isn't necessarily a fair comparison. Admittedly in a lot of cases, but consider sheep.

Good luck getting your combine 'arvester around here!
View attachment 1986
So actually going full vegan reduces the capacity for food production than eating some meat.

I'm very much a meat eater, though, and could try to cut back somewhat.

I could try and cut back on my meat eating too…….but im not

 

[theclaud]

Arable farming isn't necessarily a fair comparison. Admittedly in a lot of cases, but consider sheep.

Good luck getting your combine 'arvester around here!
View attachment 1986
So actually going full vegan reduces the capacity for food production than eating some meat.

I'm very much a meat eater, though, and could try to cut back somewhat.

Upland sheep farming is environmentally disastrous, as has been mentioned in another thread, and would be economically unviable without massive subsidies.

 

[BoldonLad]

Perhaps I should have put a winking emoji after my post.

Luckily I didn't say it was, but life expectancy depends on lots of factors other than just consumption of processed meats, and our NHS is not the world leader it's sometimes made out to be. Our cancer treatment and survival rates also lag behind a lot of European countries.

Agreed.

If only more people would stop believing this ‘world class’ NHS crap.

 

[winjim]

Agreed.

If only more people would stop believing this ‘world class’ NHS crap.

British exceptionalism innit. It seems to drive everything in this country's politics at the moment. The idea behind the NHS is IMO world class but the care provided is going to be proportionate to the way you invest in and administer it. There's no reason to think it should be any better or worse than that of any other medium sized European country.

 

[All uphill]

British exceptionalism innit. It seems to drive everything in this country's politics at the moment. The idea behind the NHS is IMO world class but the care provided is going to be proportionate to the way you invest in and administer it. There's no reason to think it should be any better or worse than that of any other medium sized European country.

It's a no lose situation for our political masters.

If the NHS is seen to be wonderful it's obviously because of the government's wonderful investment.

If it's seen to be failing then it should obviously be privatised.

 

[winjim]

It's a no lose situation for our political masters.

If the NHS is seen to be wonderful it's obviously because of the government's wonderful investment.

If it's seen to be failing then it should obviously be privatised.

See also Britain is best because we're British and if we're not it's only because of the people who live here who keep talking us down, want us to fail and are also very very lazy.

 

[Rusty Nails]

See also Britain is best because we're British and if we're not it's only because of the people who live here who keep talking us down, want us to fail and are also very very lazy.

Works both ways, as in we are British and we are crap because of our exceptionalism and our colonising history, and "Brexit was down to racists".

We're just another divided country with all the faults and stereotypes in our population that other countries have. People like to have a "them" to blame stuff on.