Indian Pirates should campaign against the use of meat as a food source

@vik you sound offended :| .. just so you know, my previous post wasn't meant to offend anyone

@vik , I cannot agree with you on "I think the real culprit of high priced vegetables is likely lack of resource - as that resource is being used for meat export.". Price of farm products in India is deeply linked to governance and economics. Government lure the farmers into producing in large quantities by promising them MSP. When they produce food government refuse to procure the product and farmers are left with no choice but to sell them to private wholesalers. Thus large quantity of food that should have been available at subsidised price is actually available at market price. Thus, the increase in price.

@abhijithb I think you can find local policies that will have upward impacts on the cost of vegetables - but we're talking here of a volume and scale that is global in nature.

If animal agriculture occupies 1/3 of all usable land (United Nations http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/News/2006/1000448/index.html) but provides only around 8% of the world calorie intake (FAOSTAT, 2009) - can you understand how that effects supply/demand/price of crops?

I'll say it again for emphasis. 1/3 of all of the land on earth to provide 8% of the calorific intake of the world population - that's not smart, for anyone, anywhere.

@arjun I wasn't offended :) I was being a little sarcastic perhaps. But my point remains - great idea to use the methane - but virtually impossible to collect it!

World Health Organisation declares processed meats a category 1 carcinogen:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/26/bacon-ham-sausages-processed-meats-cancer-risk-smoking-says-who

Now you wouldn't give your kids cigarettes for breakfast would you?

@vik , What about protien? http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=92

Also, "But my point remains - great idea to use the methane - but virtually impossible to collect it!"???

I have spent my entire childhood watching my neighbour cook food only using Bio Gas. It is very much possible.

While we debate the ill effects of meat products, we need to also understand the current situation, where meat bans are being made for a completely different reason, RELIGION.

If we ever reach a consensus against Meat we'll only be supplying reasons that this religious brigade can use to justify their Opposition to Meat as a Food Source, which stems from their very privileged sense of righteousness.

This thought has come to me in the last week or so, isn't Banning Meat or Beef equal to practicing Untouchability, because if what I consume something effects your sense of purity, that thought is on the same lines of Someone of higher caste feeling impure because of being touched by or having someones lower caste's shadow falling on them.

I know @vik is too evolved and hasn't got any Religious Agenda, Having met him, I am amply convinced he's no where close to the Saffron brigade that started banning meat.I didn't realize that @Vik was the same guy I met at SFD Mumbai hence my reactions of asking if he was doing this for religious reasons at the start of this thread. Just thought I put this out there...

My Point here is if we continue down this path and dig out logical, scientific reasons of why Meat shouldn't be used as food source, The only thing we could achieve is handing out a camouflage for the Saffron Brigade who want this for a totally different reason, and thus we'll be party to an evolved form of discrimination which can be equated to abolished (but continuing) forms of discrimination like untouchability. So in the interest of Social Justice, we should pause this discussion here.

thanks

Alex

@abhijithb ah - the old protein argument - I was wondering when that would rear is head. The major part of the protein argument actually comes from marketing by the meat industry - who have tried to frame this belief that somehow meat is required to get sufficient protein into a persons diet.

If you read the figures you have posted, you will see that soya bean is more protein dense than many meat products.

Here are more vegan foods that have more protein than beef:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/soy-free-vegan-foods-that-have-more-protein-than-beef/

@abhijithb As for BioGas - to be completely clear, what I am getting at here is - how are you going to collect the biogas from farting and belching animals?

I can think of developing a contraption for each animal to wear. I would suggest however, that it would better to have less grazing livestock and use some of that land to plan trees for fuel.

Timber for fuel is fairly carbon neutral if you replant after cutting down.

@vik how much is the calory value of a cow, if we include the milk into the equation.