For Christmas Eve dinner in my household, by some minor miracle, I managed to hoodwink my family into letting me cook. I say hoodwink because my intentions behind the act were not necessarily pure. I do find cooking for my loved ones to be a way to show my affection and care for them when words fail me. However, the reason I did so was to make an all plant-based (smeared labneh on some sprouts to cajole my sister into eating them) dinner. I was sick of having to eat a plate of sad-looking green beans and maybe, if I was lucky, a diary-free salad every holiday. Why do I have to be the one putting aside my food preferences, ethical, and frankly moral, beliefs for that of my meat-eating family members and friends? I can’t help but meditate on this far too frequently when I have meals with friends and family, go out to restaurants, and even watch people grocery shop. It’s 2022, how are people still eating meat? Dying planet, millions of animal deaths, and spiking cholesterol or not, more Canadians are eating meat than ever before.
We have known for far, far longer than acceptable how bad meat is for planetary health and how factory farming is not only one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions but how animal agriculture amounts to an abuse of sentient beings. If climate change and animal rights abuse are not big enough reasons to change one’s diet, what about your own health? The agriculture sector is globally one of the main three emitters of greenhouse gases. Cattle, sheep, and goat production currently takes up approximately half of the agriculture greenhouse gas emissions. In Canada, ten per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions are from crop and livestock production, but this figure does not include emissions from fossil fuels or fertilizer production or the emissions from imported animal products. These statistics aren’t anything new. Grim news reports on the effect of animal agriculture on the planet, atrocious animal rights abuses, and human rights abuses of workers in factory farms are released daily. It seems like every year there is a new movie decrying the deleterious effects of animal agriculture on human, planetary, and animal health. Society watches it, they talk about it, yet the vast majority do not change their behaviour.
As someone who loves food not only for the taste but the experiences it allows me to have and the social connection I make over a good meal, I understand that it is hard to break up with meat. Has society not gotten to the point where despite the hardship, it is necessary? It is difficult to conceptualize how a logical, liberal thinker who cares about the future of humanity is still eating meat. The arguments to not eat meat, fish, and dairy are well developed, convincing, and backed up by large swaths of credible scientific evidence. What is conceptually challenging to comprehend is the cognitive dissonance between what we eat and our beliefs. My family, concerned citizens who think combating climate change is the fundamental problem of our time, still looked at me with dismay when I presented them with their veganized Christmas feast. My little brother, who is on track to being an environmental engineer, notably said, “you’re joking me.”
It’s hard to give up something that brings you so much joy, social connection, cultural immersion, and sustenance, but it is worth it. Trust me, I know—though plant-based, I do indulge in dairy ice cream and almond croissants too frequently for my climate-minded liking. It’s a new year, a pivotal year for climate action as we set resolutions, listen to podcasts, and read articles about behaviour modification. I implore you to make a sustained effort to reduce the animal products in your diet. If you care about the world, if you care about animals, and if you care about yourself, it is your moral obligation to do so. At least this is what I tell myself when I am trying, with all my willpower, to put down the tub of Häagen-Dazs and opt for some SoyDelicious in the name of my beliefs over my cravings.