An ad for a well-known toy company, in which singer Tasso Buga spits on the moon and sings, “Luna, I’m roasting lamb here because the vegans kicked me out of my Earth,” angered several vegans. We will not go into the process of determining the position, because watching ads is very subjective, but we can agree that in this case, the fact is confirmed that the discussion about excessive meat consumption is most often intense, often aggressive. From meat eaters who passionately defend their right to eat whatever they want without apologizing, and vegans who defend animal rights by talking about “screams that are never heard.”

In fact, the confrontation often develops into extreme provocations. We have seen instances of vandalism in butcher shops that are called “interventions” and justified as “a small retribution for the violence in which every butcher in practice participates.” But we were also surprised by some people who conspicuously eat meat at vegan demonstrations only to provoke them.

Serious problems associated with increased consumption of meat are rarely highlighted. Animal husbandry is the most environmentally burdensome food production industry. Livestock accounts for 14.5% of total emissions and, according to research, beef has the largest carbon footprint. Also an important factor are the risks associated with intensive animal husbandry to our health from viruses and the pandemics they cause. It seems that even the pandemic has not shocked us.

There was some discussion of certain practices being applied in the Chinese markets, but other than that, nothing significant. After all, principles for raising animals have been agreed upon in the past, but they have not been applied with absolute consistency.

Scientists agree that drastically reducing meat consumption is the only solution to avoid a worsening climate in the coming years. We don’t all have to go vegan if we don’t want to, but we definitely need to switch to a more plant-based and much more environmentally responsible diet.