Yes, but factory farming is a very new phenomenon. Painting any animal ag as an environmental problem distracts us from the fact that the entire system doesn’t have to be set up the way it is. For the record I am about as anti-big ag and factory farming as one can be. My issue with all of this is that we can argue about why system B is better than system A, but not even consider the possibility of system C.

It’s not exactly a mystery that when something costs more people do it less. If subsidies went away, the price of processed “foods” made up of highly subsidized ingredients would rise. Most fresh fruits and vegetables are not subsidized so they would not. Do you not think it’s possible that if the price of poptarts, frozen waffles, and white bread surpassed fresh ingredients, some amount of people would choose to make their own breakfast? Similarly, big dairy and meat operations recieve the majority of subsidies in their industry. During COVID as prices rose, many people began buying meat and dairy locally.

If you consider boxed meals, canned goods with chemical additives, and shelf stable bread to be real food then I won’t argue with you.

Yes it’s not hard to read a few articles and feel informed. I happen to have been studying these issues for nearly 10 years, do work with local agriculture organizations, and know dozens of farmers. These climate estimates are based on mathematical models, which are based on other models all of which make major assumptions. Raising animals for meat and dairy in natural conditions and on the right scale can be much more environmentally sustainable than growing beans and eating vegan. Factory farming level, I agree with you for the most part.

If you earnestly want to influence people to consider your beliefs, belittling is a sure way to do the opposite. I used to be vegan and buy into the plant-based narrative. If you want to understand these issues more I suggest meeting some farmers, if possible working on a farm, and in general understanding how exactly food (or milk) makes it into your fridge. Thanks for replying to my question.

Maybe you don’t live in the US. At least here, people spend a smaller portion of their income on food than any society at any time in history, but the most on health care. Not getting into the many reasons health care is so expensive, the fact that food is an afterthought has clearly led to major health issues. So what I am suggesting is that if we had to give more weight to decisions around food it could lead to better choices for our health. My bias is that I’m against the direction our society is heading tech-wise, so in my scenario people would be spending more time with their families and communities and less time and money rampantly consuming products.

Regarding your second comment, how would you describe the majority of products in grocery stores if not what I claimed they are?

What is your expertise in agriculture or nutrition? This comment and some of your others in this thread make assumptions that suggest you may not know as much as you think about the topic.

I can come up with my own, but what are some of the side effects you’re thinking of? Right now food is so cheap that most people’s only metric is price, with no consideration for quality, nutrition, environmental impact, etc. Most of what we are eating isn’t really food, just an engineered combination of four or five heavily subsidized crops.

Subsidies only benefit the big “farms” (industrial operations) and encourage producing the subsidized crop regardless of its value. The incentives are so perverse that farms end up dumping their milk because there is no market for the amount produced.

Personally am in favor of eliminating all food subsidies. Making food valuable could eliminate so many of our other societal problems - poor health, destruction of natural resources, overpopulation.

Subsidies have devalued food and the value of farms and farm labor. If they went away, meat and dairy consumption would fall simply because we would have to pay the true dollar value of producing those foods.

I don’t agree with the environmental assessment in this article though. The quantity produced might be the same, but a cup of cow milk has a lot more calories and micronutrients than plant milk. Sure, many people don’t have the genetics to digest it, but there’s a reason mammals drink milk until they can eat other foods. They wouldn’t survive long sipping puddles of soy water.

Mfw Guild Wars 2 ran like absolute ass on my Windows computer, and then I installed proton and it was smooth like butter.

Sadly, what it means in practice is that access to outdoors is strictly controlled or forbidden, and the factory will probably kill all the chickens and throw them in the trash if a disease outbreaks. There’s a bunch of talk now in big ag about biosecurity, and how small farms are a risk because they can introduce disease. How about actually have a natural farm instead of a micromanaged industrial operation, and then maybe the animals will be robust to illness.

Sustainable agriculture (small-scale, actually sustainable, not the corporate buzzword) has a huge positive impact on wildlife. Done right it can restore habitats and increase biodiversity in a matter of years. It’s the factory farms that make meat production an environmental catastrophe.

I’ve completely switched to eBay for most purchases. Yes they are also a giant company, but more focused on used goods and small sellers.

It’s often cheaper than Amazon too, and most major brands have their own official store page. Certified refurbished items come with a 1 or 2 year warranty. I always buy used if it’s available, and from the smallest seller, so it recirculates products and helps everyday people who are trying to declutter.

Selling fees have gone up over the years (about 13%, but still much lower than Amazon). And eBay does a lot more advertising for new products now, so I’m not so hopeful long-term. If there was a smaller company offering the same benefits I would switch, but so far nothing comes close (in the US at least).

In addition to Newpipe, there is Freetube for desktop: https://freetubeapp.io/

This assumes you have a 0 minute commute, so it only applies to remote workers, who are likely to be on salary anyway.

This isn’t true and how dare you suggest otherwise! 🌼

Besides their ignorance, why do you think that they think and process arguments as you have observed?

Never posted on reddit, most communities seemed hostile and unwilling to hear different perspectives. People here seem a lot more reasonable.

I’m managing a Google ad campaign for a non profit with a budget of a few hundred dollars a month. I came up with some keywords but have been using their automated stuff too. If you could suggest one thing I can do to improve what would it be?

That’s what I pictured when I read it

New home construction materials are the lowest possible quality that will meet specs. The allure of a new coat of paint and modern design masks the cheap quality and low durability. Some doors are basically slightly stronger cardboard. My theory as to why American homes have gotten so huge is that for the same budget you can get a much larger volume of materials than in the past.