Crazy thought
- Thread starter Lou
- Start date
OP
OP
I'm regretting the title of this thread. Looking back it doesn't seem like such a crazy thought. Although, I can't think of what I would title it if I had to do it over again. This stuff makes me both sad and hopeful.
Can the Coronavirus be more effective than Joaquin Phoenix?
Years ago we had a fun thread of vegan headlines of when vegan news becomes too common to report on*.
This kind of news might be sort of like that - but sadder.
www.nytimes.com
Chickens Are Killed by Delaware Plant
as Workers Are Depleted by Covid-19
An industry group said nearly 2 million chickens were “depopulated” at the plant’s farms in Delaware and Maryland because of staffing challenges from illness and quarantines.
Depopulated is a euphemism for slaughtered?
*BTW, can anyone find that thread. I looked and can't find it. And I really liked it.
Can the Coronavirus be more effective than Joaquin Phoenix?
Years ago we had a fun thread of vegan headlines of when vegan news becomes too common to report on*.
This kind of news might be sort of like that - but sadder.
Chickens Are Killed by Delaware Plant as Workers Are Depleted by Covid-19
An industry group said nearly 2 million chickens were “depopulated” at the plant’s farms in Delaware and Maryland because of staffing challenges from illness and quarantines.
Chickens Are Killed by Delaware Plant
as Workers Are Depleted by Covid-19
An industry group said nearly 2 million chickens were “depopulated” at the plant’s farms in Delaware and Maryland because of staffing challenges from illness and quarantines.
*BTW, can anyone find that thread. I looked and can't find it. And I really liked it.
OP
OP
Farmers slaughter dairy cows amid coronavirus-fueled beef shortage
American dairy farmers are sending their cows to the slaughterhouse to become hamburgers amid a coronavirus-fueled meat-industry meltdown, according to a report. The number of milking cows butchere…
nypost.com
So next year there will be fewer dairy cows. So there will be less milk. (maybe a lot less as dairies go bankrupt). So milk prices will be higher. *
Meanwhile, my favorite farmer, Laura, has already got her soybeans planted.
(see -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpJ2Xe_cyeU
So here are my next crazy thoughts. Is 2020 the year soymilk is less expensive than cow's milk? and is 2021 the year that plant milks overtake dairy?
I may start a new thread - Looking for the Pandemics Silver Lining.
*Actually I'm not sure how milk prices work nowadays. I think there are a lot of government controls and such. So it might just be that there is just a lot less milk.
OP
OP
Edie Falco Tells Governor Cuomo: Don't Bail Out the Dairy Farmers
Actor and activist Edie Falco tells Governor Andrew Cuomo not to send $25 million in aid to help bail out dairy farmers. Help them grow vegetables instead.
thebeet.com
Well, Falco is just an actress, the NY Daily News is a rag. I never heard of The Beet before - but I am adding it to my newsfeed.
Yes, Bob's. I think mine were $7.99 apiece, about $1 more than I usually pay.
OP
OP
I think plant-based companies are seeing this as an opportunity. Didn't I just read how Beyond Meat is lowering their prices. And since they can't sell to restaurants anymore they are promoting themselves to more grocery stores.
OP
OP
HA! This guy is even crazier than me. He says Corvid19 is SAVING lives.
www.plantbasednews.org
Dr. Greger Reveals 'Silver Lining' Of Coronavirus Pandemic
The plant-based doctor, who now specializes in nutrition, has a background in infectious disease
www.plantbasednews.org
Please don't take Dr Greger out of context! That article solely focused in the drop in air pollution because of the quarentines--thats allHA! This guy is even crazier than me. He says Corvid19 is SAVING lives.
Dr. Greger Reveals 'Silver Lining' Of Coronavirus Pandemic
The plant-based doctor, who now specializes in nutrition, has a background in infectious disease
It could as easily be said it's saving lives by causing people to cook at home, and bean sales are up!
I get really sensitive about this because he is easy to take out of context, but he is the most reasonable and intelligent man I've listened to
COVID-19 Resources | NutritionFacts.org
Resources on COVID-19 and other pandemics. The history of past killer pandemics, what we should be doing today to stay safe.
nutritionfacts.org
and really, this should be the time to focus on health and nutrition in general, as lifestyle diseases like diabetes 2, & obesity that cause most of it's severe threats
OP
OP
Sorry. I was just trying to be funny. I also thought the hyperbole might get some people to read the article.
And you know I have been trying to find silver linings too.
I have a Masters Degree in economics. It is a degree of minimal practical value in the real world. Yet, I am impressed with the intelligence of the members in Vegan Forum. The posts on this thread about the economics of meat are very well reasoned.
I also like that people talk about market forces instead of recommending government intervention. I do not have much faith in government intervening to improve the economy or improve animal welfare.
I also like how vegans say, "I am going to vote with my wallet to promote animal welfare." It is the equivalent of saying "go-ahead and produce your worthless product. I just won't buy it." With this type of attitude, veganism will spread more quickly than the Coronavirus.
=====
One final note: If President Trump wins the election, it could be a pointless victory. I can see him getting diabetes, cancer, or a stroke by eating so much garbage.
I also like that people talk about market forces instead of recommending government intervention. I do not have much faith in government intervening to improve the economy or improve animal welfare.
I also like how vegans say, "I am going to vote with my wallet to promote animal welfare." It is the equivalent of saying "go-ahead and produce your worthless product. I just won't buy it." With this type of attitude, veganism will spread more quickly than the Coronavirus.
=====
One final note: If President Trump wins the election, it could be a pointless victory. I can see him getting diabetes, cancer, or a stroke by eating so much garbage.
OP
OP
Crazy thoughts are contagious.
www.theguardian.com
First paragraph
It's time to dismantle factory farms and get used to eating less meat | Gene Baur
We should envision a more resilient and sustainable food system, one that doesn’t commodify sentient life
First paragraph
slaughterhouses are a breeding ground for disease and hotspots for coronavirus, and dozens closed after thousands of workers became ill. President Trump ordered these operations open, and shielded them from legal liability for exposing disempowered workers to intolerable risks. At the same time, the government is spending $200m per month to support the meat and dairy industries, while agribusiness lobbies for more stimulus money to return to killing as normal. Industrial animal agriculture harms people, animals and the earth, and it should not receive government bailouts. It should be dismantled and replaced. To put it bluntly: it’s time to get used to eating less, or no, meat.
OP
OP
Biden: ‘No Worker’s Life Is Worth Me Getting A Cheaper Hamburger’
The former vice president also hit Trump for taking hydroxychloroquine at a Yahoo virtual town hall.
www.forbes.com
OP
OP
Plant-Based ‘Meats’ Catch On in the Pandemic (Published 2020)
As the meat industry struggles to respond to the outbreak, makers of vegan substitutes are ramping up production to meet new interest from shoppers.
"To meet the demand, Impossible Foods has been hiring more workers, increasing pay and adding more shifts. Beyond Meat reported record sales in the first quarter of this year."
OP
OP
More of the same. But this time from The Hill.
My favorite quote
My favorite quote
Here's the opportunity: If we stop packing animals into crowded, confined areas — to be slaughtered for protein or parts — and if we stop cutting down and endangering their habitat, we can avoid infectious, animal-borne diseases like COVID-19, SARS, the swine flu, and more. (For these reasons, and more, Goldman Sachs now says livestock commodities are looking as 'precarious as oil' and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker are calling for a ban on factory farms.)
And here are some more crazy thoughts
And if health reasons weren't sufficient to win the hearts and minds, perhaps economics will. Industrial animal farming is the least efficient and most expensive way to provide protein to humans. It's two-three times as valuable as plant-based proteins and incredibly inefficient use of cropland, grains, and water for animal consumption (akin to have multiple middle-managers in a supply chain). Turn those crops into direct plant-protein providers for humans — a much more efficient plant-to-mouth supply chain — and we could easily, and nutritiously feed our growing population — as many as 10 billion by 2050
The article doesn't leave out environmental concerns either
Beef protein's carbon footprint, for example, is 150 times as high as the same amount of plant protein. But if that hasn't yet motivated people to switch off their factory-farmed animal food, perhaps the prospect of another pandemic will.
OP
OP
This thread needs some love.
And this LiveKindly story is so interesting. and it is positive on so many levels.
One of the stupid questions that vegans get asked by omnivores looking for an argument, runs along the lines of "If the world goes vegan, what do we do with the cows?"
Well here is a group of people who are actually trying to answer that question.
I read an article years ago about what happens when someone solves (or attempts to solve) a problem that doesn't exist. They even gave it a cute name. This is a good example of that.
anyway its a cool story.
www.livekindly.co
And this LiveKindly story is so interesting. and it is positive on so many levels.
One of the stupid questions that vegans get asked by omnivores looking for an argument, runs along the lines of "If the world goes vegan, what do we do with the cows?"
Well here is a group of people who are actually trying to answer that question.
I read an article years ago about what happens when someone solves (or attempts to solve) a problem that doesn't exist. They even gave it a cute name. This is a good example of that.
anyway its a cool story.
Former Dairy Farms Now Make and Deliver Vegan Oat Milk
Refarm'd is helping former dairy farmers transition away from animal agriculture and produce and deliver vegan oat milk.
www.livekindly.co
OP
OP
Just got this article in my news feed. Pretty much the same news as the above article but from Plant Based News instead of LiveKindly.
I hope to see an Americanized version of this soon. Although in California they would probably choose to grow almonds.
www.plantbasednews.org
I hope to see an Americanized version of this soon. Although in California they would probably choose to grow almonds.
Dairy Farmer Retires Cows And Moves To Ethical Oat Milk Production
'We now working in a more ethical way...and can support the 17 cows in our retired herd who still live with us at the farm'
www.plantbasednews.org
OP
OP
Oh, BTW, I like to include a good quote or two when I reference an article. this one has a whole section I really liked
"Who like us want to enjoy their lives" makes sense. but how does "us want" turn into "uoptimizetrive"??
The 'war' between farmers and vegans
Starke was also aware of increasing tensions between vegans and farmers - as well the many struggles faced by the latter. "I believe veganism is about compassion for all, human beings as well," she said. "And that we need to work together to bring positive change."
Starke believes that giving farmers a new business model that doesn't benefit from the exploitation of sentient beings is key to making it work and starting to have a real impact on animal exploitation.
"It also helps the farmer connect to his animals on another level, where they don't need to put any monetary value on them, and can truly see them for the individuals they are, who like uoptimizetrive to enjoy their lives," she said.
I'm pretty sure " uoptimizetrive " is a spelling mistake. Not sure how it got past the editors. Also, I can't figure out what word it is supposed to be or how to pronounce it."Who like us want to enjoy their lives" makes sense. but how does "us want" turn into "uoptimizetrive"??
Forest Nymph
Forum Legend
Well eating animals is linked to many contagious diseases - including COVID. You can add tuberculosis, bird flu, swine flu, Ebola, HIV, and the common cold to that list. Zoonosis is a terrible thing, and doesn't just mean food poisoning or getting malaria from a mosquito.
If one believes in any sort of higher consciousness - be it God, a collective human consciousness, the Tao, or Gaia principle - this is clearly human karma and the Earth fighting back. Climate change and the pandemic are linked to poor human choices. I'm not saying God directly punishes people for their behavior. I'm saying - look, actions have consequences. The Earth is ALIVE.
This is compounded by how quickly COVID was spread at slaughterhouses and meat-packing plants. The evidence is undeniable. That people continue to even argue about it (or ignore it) frankly beggars all belief. Hey - in the 80s a person might have seemed a genius or enlightened, even 5-10 years ago it was like the smart/educated people's club, but now it's just like...dude wut.
Not crazy at all.
If one believes in any sort of higher consciousness - be it God, a collective human consciousness, the Tao, or Gaia principle - this is clearly human karma and the Earth fighting back. Climate change and the pandemic are linked to poor human choices. I'm not saying God directly punishes people for their behavior. I'm saying - look, actions have consequences. The Earth is ALIVE.
This is compounded by how quickly COVID was spread at slaughterhouses and meat-packing plants. The evidence is undeniable. That people continue to even argue about it (or ignore it) frankly beggars all belief. Hey - in the 80s a person might have seemed a genius or enlightened, even 5-10 years ago it was like the smart/educated people's club, but now it's just like...dude wut.
Not crazy at all.
OP
OP
Well here is another article. I've been saying this stuff for months now.
