TL;DR: the meat industry’s misleading messaging campaign + lobbying

  • Schedar@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    with chicken meat since it has a smaller impact on the environment.

    I had assumed that a plant-based burger would be better for the environment than a meat based burger (including chicken) - or am I entirely wrong here? (I guess there is complexity depending on the type of “plant-based” burger and the type of meat and where it was sourced from etc)

    • I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Think of it in terms of inputs and outputs. This is drastically simplified with rounded numbers, but gets the point across.

      I can take 1 acre of land, add seed, and 500,000 gallons of water. These are my inputs. From that, I get an output of 2000 pounds of grain. I could take that output and eat it myself. Or I could decide I want to grow meat.

      If I grow meat, I need another 1 acre of land, another 100,000 gallons of water, and at least half of that 2000 pounds of grain from my first acre. Now I can grow a cow.

      It is more efficient in terms of resource utilization to go directly from plant to human, instead of going from plant to animal to human.

      • Schedar@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        I agree, that is the major reason I try to choose plant based options. I was just thrown by @Hirom saying about chicken being better for the environment, I’m assume they meant it’s better than beef (which it is) but not as good as the plant-based versions.

        • Hirom@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Exactly, I meant chicken has less impact on the environment than beef. And chicken burger as an alternative to beef burger.