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shauny

Vegetarians will say that removing meat from their diet means they have a low carbon footprint, all the while ignoring all the cheese they eat.

Cheese comes from cows, sheep, and goats which emit absolutely loads of greenhouse gases. The only way to save the planet is to eat plants.

@shauny This chart it clearly missing vegan milk alternatives for comparison.

@django @shauny Vegan milks don't make it onto the chart, their impact is too small.

@django @shauny

It should include all vegan alternatives to diary products.

If 2% milk is so low on the chart then it seems it's the processing, not the cow, that pushes cheese to the left.

@jamesbritt @django the yellow part is the processing. Cheese is way worse than milk because of how much milk is required to make cheese.

@shauny

I agree. But, being vegetarian is a good first step to reducing reliance on animal products.

@markgrieveson It's a good first step, of course it is. But it's not a good last step. No-one should remain vegetation - it's a stopgap on a process towards veganism.

There's not one argument for being vegetarian that doesn't also apply to going vegan. So vegetarians are at a halfway point.

@shauny

The best first step is getting people to eat way less lamb and beef. Literally anything else. Replacing them with pork, chicken, seafood, turkey are all a major step in the right direction.

@chidi_anagonye Except if you're changing diet, why not switch to plant proteins which are far, far better than pork, chicken, etc? It also is ethically a lot better.

@shauny

That would be ideal, but it is making perfect the enemy of good. It is easier to convince someone to make minor changes to their diet than major. Cutting beef is as simple as getting a chicken sandwich instead of a burger at a drive thru. It can be done by anyone, with minimal effort, and if done by most people, puts a significant dent in emissions.

@chidi_anagonye but your argument works exactly the same with getting a veggie burger instead of a beef burger - and in that instance, there is *FAR* fewer emissions involved and also no animal suffering, and is better for human health, so it's a much, much better answer.

“Just eat chicken”
“Just eat plants”

= same argument, but one is far, far better for the environment, for the animals, and for individual health (so it reduces cost on the health systems too).