Bravo Chris, I've been an ethical vegan for 10 years but am shocked by how few climate and animal organisations promote veganism and how much they continue to support the meat, fish and dairy industries. All bought and paid for.
In the study “The global biomass of wild animals” Greenspoon, et al. 2023 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2204892120, the authors state that the total mammal biomass is about 1080 Mt with humans at about 36% of that at 390 Mt, and domesticated animals about 58% or 630 Mt, WITH MOST OF THAT CATTLE. Wild animals amount to about 20 Mt, less than 2% of the total, and amounting to about 3 kg per person. You eat more beef in a year than there are total live, wild mammals. The mass of dogs or sheep outweighs all the wild mammals. The mass of human-made things now outweighs the mass of all living things. Thus, ending consumption of beef should lower the total mass of cattle, which would be a good place to start. Think about "biodiversity" when wild animals are only 2%.
Excellent article, Chris. Disappointing to read, but human greed can make people and organizations run by humans forget what they initially found important.
Bravo Chris, I've been an ethical vegan for 10 years but am shocked by how few climate and animal organisations promote veganism and how much they continue to support the meat, fish and dairy industries. All bought and paid for.
https://jowaller.substack.com/p/yet-another-unsuccessful-attempt?utm_source=publication-search
Jo
Thanks Jo! And thanks for the link.
In the study “The global biomass of wild animals” Greenspoon, et al. 2023 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2204892120, the authors state that the total mammal biomass is about 1080 Mt with humans at about 36% of that at 390 Mt, and domesticated animals about 58% or 630 Mt, WITH MOST OF THAT CATTLE. Wild animals amount to about 20 Mt, less than 2% of the total, and amounting to about 3 kg per person. You eat more beef in a year than there are total live, wild mammals. The mass of dogs or sheep outweighs all the wild mammals. The mass of human-made things now outweighs the mass of all living things. Thus, ending consumption of beef should lower the total mass of cattle, which would be a good place to start. Think about "biodiversity" when wild animals are only 2%.
Excellent article, Chris. Disappointing to read, but human greed can make people and organizations run by humans forget what they initially found important.