Seen a lot of posts on Lemmy with vegan-adjacent sentiments but the comments are typically very critical of vegan ideas, even when they don’t come from vegans themselves. Why is this topic in particular so polarising on the internet? Especially since unlike politics for example, it seems like people don’t really get upset by it IRL

  • kaffiene@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I think some meat lovers get aggressively opposed to vegan ideas because they know that vegans are morally correct. I say this as a meat lover

    • Atomic@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      I don’t think they’re more morally correct. Because I don’t think it’s morally incorrect to eat another animal.

      We can debate the treatment of animals in how they are kept. But that’s another topic. And a wide one because it varies a lot depending on where you’re from.

      • rudyharrelson@kbin.social
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        6 months ago

        I don’t think it’s morally incorrect to eat another animal.

        I don’t think most vegans think so, either. It isn’t the eating in and of itself, but the suffering that occurs on the path to being food. Gas (petroleum) is widely considered vegan because, even though it’s made from dead animals (dinosaurs), they didn’t suffer and weren’t exploited to create it; they died of natural causes. Vegans (typically, I believe) don’t consider eating meat to be cruel if the animal dies of natural causes. Steer, aka castrated bulls, get their balls chopped off because it helps produce more meat (ironically steer are more muscular than bulls, TIL). I’m a guy (albeit not a vegan), and it isn’t hard for me to see that’s unnecessarily cruel and inhumane treatment.

        We can debate the treatment of animals in how they are kept. But that’s another topic.

        It’s not a separate topic at all. Vegans primarily care about animal suffering, which is a direct result of how the industry largely operates. Not all vegans are opposed to simply killing an animal to survive; that isn’t the core issue for most. Yes, killing an animal for food can be avoided, but as long as it’s a quick/clean kill, like an arrow to a major artery, it’s fine from a survivalist perspective because it’s humane and not unnecessarily cruel.

        The meat industry is accountable for the undeniable mistreatment of animals in the course of producing food for the masses.

        • Atomic@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          It is two different topics.

          I know for fact plenty of vegans think it’s morally wrong to eat another living being. Regardless of how the animal is kept.

          You seem to be speaking on behalf of a lot of vegans. I don’t believe “most vegans” believe what you think they do. Certainly not the ones I’ve interacted with.

          The almighty “the” meat industry. As if everything is the same everywhere with the same framework, rules, and regulations.

          “quick/clean kill, like an arrow to a major artery”

          Holy shit, you think getting shot with an arrow produces a “quick/clean” kill? I can’t take anything you say seriously when your idea of a clean kill is a fucking arrow to an artery.

      • kaffiene@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Treatment of animals is very much a part of the moral issue. Causing suffering is clearly a moral issue. Also there are the environmental impacts to consider.

        • Atomic@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          And again . That varies quite a lot depending on where the meat comes from.

          To do what you do and just drag a giant blanket over everything is incredibly ignorant.

          And I’m just really over the incredible hypocrisy. Eating meat is wrong cause an animal suffered, but wearing clothes made in a Vietnamese,chineese or Bangladesh sweatshop is ok. Because that only includes human suffering and slave like conditions.

          • kaffiene@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            It varies yes, but it doesn’t change the fact that there is more animal suffering and environmental damage getting protein from animal sources than plants. Also talking about ssweatshops is changing the topic and moving the goalposts as you did previously with eggs. That’s not a good faith discussion

            • Atomic@sh.itjust.works
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              6 months ago

              Depends on who is farming the plants don’t you think? Not like there hasn’t been scandals about exploitation of workers in agriculture.

              Not to mention environmental damage from over fertilizing and pesticides, and dumping of waste.