These transformations are tied to the changing American diet. Since the early 1980s, America’s per-person cheese consumption has doubled, largely in the form of mozzarella-covered pizza pies. And last year, for the first time, the average American ate 100 pounds of chicken, twice the amount 40 years ago.

    • @TurboDiesel
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      2511 months ago

      We need to take a whole-cloth look at how agribusiness operates. Why is there so much outrage over resources we’re using to farm chicken, which as you pointed out are lower calorie-for-calorie than beef, but crickets for the resources we’re wasting on growing alfalfa in Arizona.

      • @GraniteM
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        411 months ago

        Also, start eating crickets! They’re a great source of protein!

        • prole
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          110 months ago

          In b4 the pushback from the Fox News crowd…

          Oh. No, wait. It appears as though I’m too late.

        • @[email protected]
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          -411 months ago

          No, that sounds disgusting!

          I don’t know where this push for eating bugs came from, it’s not a valid solution

          • @[email protected]
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            111 months ago

            It is valid, it’s just not realistic. Bugs are incredible nutritious, but people also don’t like the idea of eating them. Not to mention vegetarians, who likely won’t eat bugs either.

            The real messaging here should be on reducing meat consumption, which will also improve health generally.

            • @Zron
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              111 months ago

              And I’m sure in a hundred years there will be an article about some vital resource that is being wasted by mass farming crickets.

              It’s almost like the ecosystem is not capable of sustaining 8 billion people over any serious time spans.

              Our plant based foods are less nutritious than before because we’re leeching nutrients out of the soil we grow them in. Our meat products are also going to be less nutritious because the meat is grown on animals that eat plants we farm. And the meat requires vast amounts of fresh water.

              The earth never had the resources to sustain our society. We just never stopped to think about it.

              • @[email protected]
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                211 months ago

                A lot of our problems lie with food distribution, not production, and poor use of water. We could support a larger population if we fix both.

                plant based foods are less nutritious

                That’s only somewhat true. We’ve basically prioritized quantity (and pest resistance) over quality, and foods are still quite nutritious. If you eat a varied diet, you should get plenty of nutrition even with the worst of it.

                meat products… less nutritious

                Maybe in ways that don’t really matter. Beef, for example, is produced from non-nutritious source foods, like grass, cows are just good at extracting what little nutrition they have. We don’t eat meat for the micronutrients, we eat it for proteins and fats, and fill in the rest with plant based foods. Chicken and pork will have a bigger impact since they actually eat foods we grow, but even then we don’t generally expect micronutrients from meats.

                Meat requiring large amounts of water is the real problem here. If we significantly reduce the amount of meat we produce, we’ll have lots of water to allocate toward more nutritious plant based foods.

                The earth never had the resources

                That’s some BS the eco people spread to scare people into being more eco friendly. The Earth absolutely has the resources to sustain our population and beyond, we just really suck at managing it. If we can switch energy and food production to be more efficient and convert business and residential areas to use less water and electricity, we’ll have plenty for even higher population numbers. But we need to make the step.

      • @Potatisen
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        -611 months ago

        Aren’t plants even worse?

        • Nightwatch Admin
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          1511 months ago

          I never get where this idea comes from. Also, what do you think all these animals eat?

        • @[email protected]OP
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          11 months ago

          No: chicken eats about 2 calories for each calorie of bird you get. With beef, the cow eats 10x. Cheese is similar.

        • @[email protected]
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          11 months ago

          Why would you possibly think that? When you eat the thing that eats the thing instead of just eating the first thing, obviously its less efficient. In this case, its around 90% less wasted energy to just eat plants than to eat the thing that ate the plants

        • @captainlezbian
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          411 months ago

          No because you have to feed every calorie to an animal to get animal proteins. So maybe you’re grazing animals on land that can’t produce human edible plants, but most of the grain and soy grown in America is grown as feed. We could be using the corn fields of the Midwest to grow human food

          • Sybil
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            011 months ago

            most of the grain and soy grown in America is grown as feed.

            almost all of the soy grown everywhere (including america) is pressed for oil. the byproduct of that process is called “soymeal” or “soycake” and that is the vast majority of the soy fed to animals. they are eating parts of the plant that people don’t want to.

    • @derf82
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      911 months ago

      Produce less people. Reducing the per person carbon production is meaningless when we keep adding people. In 1950, there way 1/3rd less people and less than half the number of Americans.

      We have eaten animal protein for millennia. It was instrumental to our evolution. It’s only a problem now that we have way too many people

        • @derf82
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          110 months ago

          That is natalist propaganda.

          Infinite growth isn’t possible. And there is no eugenics. EVERYONE needs to slow down

            • @derf82
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              110 months ago

              And how do you suppose we don’t have infinite growth if people are encouraged to have as many kids as possible?

                • @derf82
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                  110 months ago

                  Sure you are. You are telling people that we can continue growing for eternity with no damage to the environment.

                  Or do you agree each additional child adds further stress to the environment?

                  • @[email protected]
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                    010 months ago

                    You are telling people that we can continue growing for eternity with no damage to the environment.

                    no. you are putting words in my mouth.

          • @[email protected]
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            10 months ago

            your propaganda campaign isn’t addressing everyone equally. if it’s successful at all, it will disproportionately effect one segment of the population.

            • @derf82
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              110 months ago

              Facts are not propaganda.

              And, no, it won’t. Hell, I’d rather rich people stop having kids more than any other demographic. They use by far the most resources.

              • @[email protected]
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                010 months ago

                facts are propaganda when stated in the context of attempting to induce a political position.

                • @derf82
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                  110 months ago

                  So you admit everything I said is a fact?

                  But, no. Propaganda is misleading. And yours is propaganda.

                  • @[email protected]
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                    010 months ago

                    Propaganda is misleading.

                    not necessarily. it can be dishonest by simply not giving all the facts.

              • @[email protected]
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                010 months ago

                , no, it won’t.

                anyone who doesn’t have Internet access or who can’t read English can’t be effected by your propaganda campaign.

                • @derf82
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                  110 months ago

                  Jesus, get over it. It’s a fucking Lemmy post, not a campaign.

      • @captainlezbian
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        111 months ago

        We’re already reducing population. In order to stave off disaster without atrocity we will need to accept lifestyle changes. Groundwater issues are a problem now, not in a generation. And there have been vegans and vegetarians for millennia too.

      • @[email protected]
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        1011 months ago

        Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Most people aren’t going to stop eating meat, that’s an unrealistic expectation. If you’re telling people that eating chicken over beef isn’t good enough they will shrug their shoulders and go right back to beef.