It’s hard for the market to decide on its own when the environmental damage of meat production is left as an unpriced externality and when government subsidies are handed out like candy.

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irishcoffee 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Pretty sure the western US states are in a water shortage because they grow almonds et. al. In places that were not meant to be agricultural, importing water, fucking up the entire ecosystem of the region and causing massive water shortages, and massive environmental damage.

But yeah, we can keep focusing on the farting cows, that’s the problem.

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_aavaa_ 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Ask yourself why they are growing almonds there if it’s such a problem? Because those almond growers have water right contracts that are absurdly cheap and are use it or lose it.

Fine by me though, add in the environmental costs for almonds too. Would you support an initiative of pricing these externalities on food, or is it just a snarky comment about cow farts?

	▲	irishcoffee an hour ago \| parent [-]
		So you're good with artificially fucking the water supply?

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tracker1 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[flagged]

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datsci_est_2015 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Is the deforestation of the Amazon overblown? What about the draining of American aquifers?

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tracker1 4 hours ago | parent [-]

In terms of the Amazon... that was done BY humans... the cattle didn't tear down any trees. In terms of aquifers in the US... if the cattle are naturally raised in grassland areas or areas where regeneration is a goal, then it's largely using water for the health of the land, not strictly the cattle.

MOST water used by cattle is rain water that would have fallen on the land with or without the cattle there.

	▲	_aavaa_ 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> In terms of the Amazon... that was done BY humans... the cattle didn't tear down any trees. This is a pedantic distinction that accomplishes nothing. The humans did it to grow cattle for food. If the price of that destruction had to be paid by the producers/consumers there would be a lot less people eating meat.
	▲	GeoAtreides 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		>In terms of the Amazon... that was done BY humans... the cattle didn't tear down any trees literally the funniest thing I have ever read on HN, well done