Steven Bissell wrote:
Just got to say it Maynard, I disagree on both counts. Vegetarian or Vegan
lifestyle and opposition to GMO should *not* be used as criteria for
"greenness" because neither are irrefutably environmentally solid. I'm
coming to believe GMO is more and more suspect, but I wouldn't hold it up as
an absolute yet. As to vegetarianism, I'll still argue that for most
situations that is a dietary choice, not environmental. In many cultures and
eco-regions, eating meat is much more sensible. I'm not trying to start the
old "vegetarianism is more healthy" debate, it might be and still not be
environmentally sound.
I'm not too sure whether I consider the vegetarian issue to be a truly
environmental issue and I'm quite disturbed by the amount of time spent
arguing this point... but I am including data collection on vegetarianism in
environmental organisations to see whether the connection is made by
individuals employed by environmental organisations.
At a meeting over the weekend, I met an ex-Greenpeace activist who said that
the debates over the "veg/vegan" issue created more warring problems than
the activists' external fight against corporations. I understand the
arguments but isn't there a lot more to being green than just changing your
diet? Is there a need for a spiritual dimension to environmentalism as well
as a practical one?
Regards,
Emma Fieldhouse
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