I really enjoyed chatting with Jordan Marr, even though we disagree on some things- but that makes a more interesting conversation!
Jordan supports eating meat but suggested that if we make the argument for eating meat based on environmental factors, we just can’t win. He sees animals as more resource intensive and claims that the data is clear on that.
This is why I wrote this book! Even people who don’t reject all animal agriculture, aren’t seeing the nuanced big picture. Well produced animal-sourced foods are absolutely sustainable and arguably much more so than plant-based foods.
Please listen to my conversation with Jordan and let me know what you think.
I’d also add that I don’t think the data is clear at all. Yes, there are studies that paint animal agriculture in a negative light but we need to look more critically at these and ask ourselves:
a) Who funded these studies and do they have a vested interest in plant based agriculture and processed food?
b) Are they looking at conventional practices? That’s not what I’m advocating for. We need proper ground cover and soil health!
c) Are we using common-sense? Animals are part of the natural carbon cycle and there have been large ruminants burbing for millenia. “It’s not the cow, it’s the how.”
d) Are these studies misleading? Remember in 2006 when the FAO came out with the study “Livestock’s Long Shadow” that claimed more emmisons came from meat production than the transportation sector? But then Frank Mitloehner of UC Davis pointed out they were looking at the lifecycle of animals and only the tailpipe emmissions of the transporation sector. The FAO has since adjusted their numbers but the idea that meat causes climate change has persisted.
I highly recommend reading The Great Plant-Based Con by Jayne Buxton and The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz to understand just how misleading scientific studies can be.
And to find out more about the positive impacts of regenerative agriculture check out the following:
