The Future of Veganism from Five Different Perspectives
When thinking about the typical American diet, one usually pin points that having meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables, etc. is necessary to maintaining optimum health. On the contrary, many people believe that animal products are not an essential part that need to be included in the human diet and should not be consumed for multiple reasons. Given that animal farming is a huge contributor to the global warming issues that are continuing to increase, people may be more open minded when considering moving away from animal products.
I am curious to know how college students think diets will change in the future due to environmental issues and their thoughts on veganism I asked five University at Buffalo students their thoughts on a vegan diet and if they think there will be a future increase in the number of vegans within the next ten years due to the environmental effects animal agriculture has on the planet.
When asking each interviewee their thoughts on giving up meat, four out of the five students gave a similar answer that involved how hard it is to even imagine taking meat out of their daily routine. One student even added, “You know, I don’t drink, but barbecuing for me is similar. I get sick after, but I had an amazing time throughout”.
One student who saw a future for vegan dieting said, “Giving up meat and animal products is something I would try, but would not stick too. It’d be hard to not be able to eat what everyone else around me is eating”.
After asking their thoughts on switching to the diet, I then prompted the interviewees with the question, “Do you think there is a chance that vegan diets will increase in the future due to the harsh effects that agriculture farming has on the planets CO2 emissions?”.
To my surprise, three students brought up the fact that they think lab grown meat will increase in the future instead of solely switching to a vegan diet. One student went into detail by explaining, “Personally, I think it is a stretch to say more Americans will become vegans, but it is very likely that we will continue to research lab grown meats and eventually make them accessible nationwide so that prices aren’t insanely high…”. Another student added, “Independent of the environmental impact, it’s cheaper time wise and money wise to have lab grown meat”.
Two students brought up that they think that there will be a shift to vegan diets, but not so major that it will make a significant impact. One student stated, “Given that 20% of the energy is transferred from the food for the animals into the animal, then 20% of the energy of the animal is retained by us, it’s a giant waste to bother raising animals as widespread as we do. I don’t think we will entirely transition to plant based though”.
Altogether, it seems like these five students know how hard of a switch it would be for many Americans, just like themselves, to transition to a diet that excludes animal products. Even though they know of its harsh effects, a few of the students did not see a future for giving up meat themselves.
The students were very knowledgeable and brought up lab grown meat numerous times. This idea is growing in the media and may be looked at as another alternative instead of veganism to decrease the pollution caused by animal farming. Even though there are many pros to all Americans going vegan, having another option helps humans have a positive outlook for the Earth’s future, and keeping their animal product cravings at bay.
