Nature is utterly brutal and beautiful in the same breath, I chose to be part of both we are little more than beasts with some will to be noble, life is suffering do I wish to elevate that yes I do so I kill quickly.
This got me thinking about the often used argument between vegan/non vegans of why there is a perceived problem with humans eating animals but not other animals as part of the food chain.
We as humans have evolved over time to be the apex predator in the world.
Not through bigger claws and teeth or more muscle and speed but through intelligence with the cooperation and technology that comes with it.
Unfortunately we have a much larger footprint on any given place than say a lion or a wolf.
In essence we have evolved and created the ability kill and consume anything we please and in the last 100 years we have refined this on a scale never before seen.
City living is now the norm in western culture and with the rise of the supermarket and loss of traditional self sufficient garden farming and hunting practices we are more reliant that ever on industrial food production and supermarkets.
With this reliance comes the economic need to produce reasonably priced food to suit all needs, various economic downturns have pushed this to even greater levels and when the economy improves the food types and prices that have become the norm tend not to change with them.
As a race we generally consume far more than we need because this is the norm, along with our disposable society, and a more worthwhile goal IMO would be to address this.
In reality though how do we think any western society would respond to an enforced reduction in type and quantity of food?
The recent sugar tax was a joke, let’s increase the price of sugary food and drink to reduce how much people are eating.
The reasoning being sugar is bad and you should therefore only eat in moderation if at all.
The “tax” was minimal and simply meant people were paying more for the same quantity.
Likewise with the regular price hikes for tobacco products, my experience is they are generally met with comments like “bl**dy hell these are getting expensive” yet still buying the same amount at the same frequency.
It may be my cynical mind but as both these products are well known to cause health issues and lessen your lifespan would an outright ban, like illegal drugs not be a better answer?
That may be true but how would a nation addicted to these substance respond if they were suddenly denied them, of course we also have to consider the loss to various big businesses and the resulting tax.
Sorry I may have derailed things a little here however am very much enjoying this rather lively debate.
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