What was your reason for writing this?

I’m not vegan, but I applaud vegans for doing their part to lessen the amount of suffering on the planet.

I’m an environmentalist, aka human who desires to “live in nature”, just like you. And so I’ve come to realize that you can’t call yourself an environmentalist and also eat meat.

I’m not tell you what to do — but just to be clear on the facts: eating meat is one of the greatest contributors to global warming. 51% of the climate change problem is directly linked to our addiction to eating meat. Industrialized meat production is responsible for more droughts, more wild fires, and more human deaths. As a result of climate change, each day 19,000 people die of pollution, and the temperature of the Earth is currently at an all time high. If you using renewable energy, but eating meat. You are still a large contributor to climate change.

In this article you’re asking us to “respect the planet.” But did I miss something, because I’d like to know how the Standard American Diet where millions of people are paying someone at Jack in the Box to slaughter an animal behind closed doors, by proxy, and then serving that animals in a shiny wrapper, how is that “how nature works”?

Where we can both agree: is that humans are far removed from nature. I can also agree that the murder of the animals isn’t the issue, in so much as it is that most people have never seen a slaughtered animals, or done it themselves. We are so far removed from the animals we eat, and thereby so far removed from the pain to both the animals and the planet. Wouldn’t you agree?

Yet I’m curious why you wrote this — because it seems less about advocating for a natural way of life, and more a story you’re telling yourself to justify your own meat consumption. Or to reach out to ignite a group of people to “hold down that clappping” so you feel included in your own beliefs? That’s just how it occurs to me — I could be wrong?

I applaud anyone that stands up with a strong belief and action to actively improve the planet. It’s those with a desire to make the world a better world, and then the HOW we get (are we vegan? Do we stop driving cars?, solar power? etc.) is all part of the experiment. I’m just not sure that putting down vegans, or trying to make them feel guilty about their indirect slaughter by means of cashews is progressing your and my shared love of nature.

I don’t want to hide behind comments, so I’m happy to chat at any time.