Then, when you try to legislate any kind of standard for humane livestock treatment, the farmers throw a hissy fit and block all the roads with their tractors.
Memes
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Also featuring angry people because of a possible increase in price for meat/dairy.
Was that due to animal welfare regulations? Thought it had to do with regulations favoring mega farms and forcing small farms to stop.
It's because of all kinds of things in different places
We keep 10,000 chickens in a single huge building whose floor is literally layers of their old shit, give them just enough room to stand there and not move around, and leave it there without any environmental controls through the hottest days of the year. What do you mean disease is prevalent?
Don't forget that we also feed the cows the chicken shit to cut costs!
You mean to tell me that industries sacrifice long term consequences for short term profit?!
shockes Pikachu face
also "meat eaters: 😲"
Meat eaters: 😲🍗🤤😫💦
But but there is no ethical consumption under capitalism so that means I shouldn't even try
As a meat eater, it's shit like this which is why I've been buying more vegetarian shit. Every week there's a new food recall. People are getting real sick and dying.
As an ex meat eater, this is what made me eventually go vegan
Same here. I tried out blackbean burgers, plant-based hot dogs, tofu and almond milk in my last couple of grocery runs, just to see what's up. Turns out I really like tofu as a substitute for ground beef, and the veggie dogs tasted just like all beef franks to me. And none of these things were any more expensive than meat, so that's also a big plus.
It is in part a consumer issue. Consumers want things as cheaply as possible, and companies that produce as cheaply as possible sell more product. We've seen the same issue with apparel; America wants cheap clothing, and so the mills in the US have largely closed, and most production has been moved overseas in order to make the final products cheap enough.
And while it's partly a consumer issue, the fact that wages haven't kept up with productivity--that is, more and more money is being skimmed out of the system by investors and executives rather than going to the workers--has been the driver towards making consumer goods more and more cheaply, simply because people have less purchasing power.
Consumers have limited visibility into the conditions under which their products are made, and consumer behavior does not always result in the most desirable outcome for the public. Which makes it a regulation problem. That's why regulation exists.
Consumers have limited visibility into the conditions under which their products are made
This is by design.
Limited visibility, limited comprehension, limited attention, and limited risk aversion.
Just because something is expensive doesn't always mean that the standard of living of those making the product is any better. Nike sweat shops for example.
Consumers dont have a lot of transparent choices here. Governments have roles in regulating and making the true cost of products more transparent. I'd say businesses have that responsibility, but clearly that doesn't work, otherwise we wouldn't be here etc. Businesses dont want people feeling guilty when they buy their product, so why would they tell people.
For a business to be competitive in a harm free supply chain, then the playing field needs to be levelled. Transparent supply chains everywhere, make everyone feel guilty all the time, maybe something would change.
These problems are not all the fault of either the producers or consumers, we're both part of a fucked up cycle within an exploitative economic system and influence each other.
It doesn't make any more sense for the consumer to wash their hands of all blame and consume without concern and push all the blame on the producer than it does to say it's all about our "carbon footprint".
I thoroughly agree. Which is why we need governments and regulation IMO. Consumers are working in a vacuum of knowledge, businesses are not incentivised to give said knowledge.
I wouldn’t let consumers off the hook so easily.
Every time I comment in a thread with a topic like this suggesting people simply opt out of animal agriculture by changing what they buy at the store, I’m typically downvoted more than I’m upvoted.
Even the people who know we’re at higher risk of zoonotic diseases due to animal ag don’t care - they like the taste of meat, milk, and cheese and another pandemic just isn’t enough to get them to stop buying it.
As always, nobody could have seen this coming. Of course.
This should read as:
Regulators: allows the meat industry to put creatures in the filthiest conditions possible
disease starts spreading and affecting the industry
Regulators: 😧
More like:
Meat industry: lobbies regulators and focuses on profits above all else despite every warning against it
disease starts spreading and affecting the industry
Meat industry: 😮