this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2025
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There's something to be said about the ease of access and personal energy needed to deal with changing a diet that has been inherited by birth where the alternative is possibly much more expensive. I don't blame individuals who eat cheap meat out of necessity just as I don't blame people for not recycling since the responsibility of the exploitation and destruction of our planet lies entirely with the people who run the machine, not those who are forced under threat of violence to exist inside it.
Fair, however a balanced vegetarian diet is as cheap or cheaper than a cheap meat centric diet, and certainly healthier.
A can of beans is about a dollar, less depending on where you shop. Potatoes are a few dollars a bag, and for most people, a bag of large russets would last them several days if not a week. Same for leafy greens, frozen fruit and veggies, bags of rice, etc.
I agree that there can be other factors, but impoverished communities around the world for centuries have lived on staple foods like those.
I think some personal responsibility is necessary still. Sure the megacorps are the ones doing the most harm and push people to be more consumerist, but that doesn't absolve people of all their personal autonomy, otherwise you justify all kinds of "just following orders" arguments.
We ought to still resist the corpos and try to live our lives in ways that are better for the world as a whole. Sure, me recycling cans and trying to buy local isn't going to save the planet, but that doesn't mean I should just throw litter around in the street and buy everything from Amazon and Walmart.
I'm not sure I'd equate having your hand forced with following orders blindly. It's nearly impossible to change individuals' behaviors unless it's due to systemic forces (minus the few who just want to be correct as long as it is visible). But if you're more focused on individuals and their "responsibility" even though they had no input on the creation of this system, I'd only assume that you're fine with this system and would rather shout at the brick wall of "individual responsibility", then get frustrated when people end up hating vegetarians and vegans. I'm like 90% vegetarian nowadays because I can't really afford meat anyways as well as it giving me headaches and foul moods, but I don't think you're being realistic in what you're asking. Would the world be better with no factory farming? Absolutely yes. But we're in this situation not because of people's choices. We're in this situation because the choice has been made for a lot of us. Some people are a single paycheck away from homelessness, so they likely don't have the resources to learn how to cook, then ruin a bunch of food in the learning process, only to overspend, and be threatened with getting kicked out all for your own comfort. Go fight the people making this the reality we're living in.