Will COVID-19 be a game changer in our relationship with meat?

Yeah, there is "growing unease about factory farming." Not all factory farms are bad. In my opinion nothing beats ethically-raised grass-fed beef. As more and more people are moving towards a carnivore diet and demanding better quality meat, more and more farmers will hopefully change their ways.

Not all factory farms are bad. In my opinion nothing beats ethically-raised grass-fed beef.

Glad you like it. I don't care for the taste, much worse than grain fed beef, but I don't eat a lot of beef anyway. Grass fed beef I've eaten mostly in Australia was tough and gamy tasting. If that is all one could buy I certainly would find something else to eat.

There is a huge ugly dairy farm and cattle feed lot in the San Joaquin Valley adjacent a major freeway and at night especially you can almost see the methane cloud over it. The damp stench hits like a sledgehammer as you drive past. It's often called Cowschwitz.

What kind of retarded nonsense is this? Why must political activism intrude into every aspect of our lives? Why must every problem which comes up be turned into a weapon for activists? Enough is enough.

As more and more people are moving towards a carnivore diet

In China, maybe, but not in the west where meat consumption has peaked. Especially in English-speaking countries, veganism (or plant-based food, for those freaked out by that word) is no longer some fringe element of society. Those who continue to eat meat have always had access to it.

Even Doutor now has a vegan burger, although that might only be for a limited period. Sadly, there's nowhere near enough vegetarian/vegan stuff in Japan.

I saw The Game Changers. Interesting. Not many people can lift four other people, vegan or not.

Keto diet has been trending with positive reviews. So, meat is necessary almost everyday.

"Suspicion over a possible link between wild animal meat and COVID-19". How much more weak can the support for the case be? "Suspicion over a possible link" is about as weak as one can get.

If they want to sell mystery meat and someone wants to buy, that is fine, but people need to stop judging other's choices and shaming. If shaming is acceptable, then all kinds if shaming are on the table. I vote for none, especially when it is based on "suspicion" and gnawing at some misplaced righteousness.

Grain-fed, grass-fed, factory farmed - it all adds up to the same thing: you’re eating dead bodies.

There is no need to find a substitute for meat. There is plenty of tasty, nutritious food available that doesn’t involve torturing and killing the animals we share this planet with.

I saw The Game Changers. Interesting.

Game Changers has been widely debunked.

There are many examples of people getting out of veganism.

By carnivore, I don't mean people who eat some meat, it refers to people who who eat only (or mainly) meat. That is a relatively new a growing trend.

I mainly follow a ketogenic diet, but I'm tempted to try the carnivore diet. But I will NEVER be vegan...

@cleo: There is no need to find a substitute for meat. There is plenty of tasty, nutritious food available that doesn’t involve torturing and killing the animals we share this planet with.

That also goes for eggs and dairy products. Yet, why is it acceptable for an animal to be tortured and killed just as long as it has served your gastronomic purposes first? The hypocrisy of many lacto-ovo vegetarians is tiresome and laughable at the same time. If one is to follow their skewed rationalization, it's inhumane to slaughter a cow, pig, or chicken for its meat; however, it's somehow perfectly okay to consume dairy products and eggs, as well as the innumerable foods made from these things, all the while knowing that these animals will be butchered in a few short years or less once they're no longer able to produce the milk and eggs for someone's veggie omelette, favourite cheese, or creamy dessert.

Moreover, prior to being killed, it's not like the life of a dairy cow or laying hen is any more idyllic than that of a beef cow, pig, or broiler (meat bird). And it's not like these animals disappear in a puff of pink smoke and sparkles once they've stopped producing milk and eggs. They're slaughtered in just the same way as their meaty cousins. A lacto-ovo vegetarian really has no greater moral high ground on which to self-righteously stand compared to anyone who eats meat.

fleg

You’re absolutely right about the fate of dairy cattle and egg-layers. If I could wean myself off dairy and eggs, I would. As the saying goes, The spirit is willing, but....

I have nothing but respect for strict vegans.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, though; I still can’t stomach the thought of literally chewing on dead bodies. Not being able to go without cheese or a bit of butter on my potatoes doesn’t mean the only alternative is to go down the ‘meat at every meal’ road.

...does it?

There is no need to find a substitute for meat. There is plenty of tasty, nutritious food available that doesn’t involve torturing and killing the animals we share this planet with.

I have no problems whatsoever with my position in the food chain nor with eating meat, eggs and dairy products. Few animals in the wild die of natural causes. Most as they age and can no longer out run their predators end up as another animal's meal. You make your diet choices, I make mine. I might even try the manufactured meat too. What the heck. But you'll never shame me into not eating rotisserie chicken or pork baozi, and I probably drink more milk than I drink water on any given day.

Moreover, prior to being killed, it's not like the life of a dairy cow or laying hen is any more idyllic than that of a beef cow, pig, or broiler (meat bird). And it's not like these animals disappear in a puff of pink smoke and sparkles once they've stopped producing milk and eggs. They're slaughtered in just the same way as their meaty cousins. A lacto-ovo vegetarian really has no greater moral high ground on which to self-righteously stand compared to anyone who eats meat.

If any of these creatures existed in the wild, as soon as they were old and slow they would be chased down, killed by a predator and eaten. The carcass would probably become the food for many creatures after the original predator had its fill. What's left becomes nutrients for the soil. Very few bovines or wild pigs die of natural causes in the wild. They get eaten by other animals. So what if I'm that other animal. I don't agree with wanton cruelty towards farm animals, caging chickens and pigs, but likewise have no problem eating meat, eggs and dairy products. I tried the vegetarian thing for a couple of years and was miserable. No energy, never felt good. Everyone is different.

Cleo

I’m not arguing that because you consume dairy products and eggs you also have to eat meat.  It’s all a matter of personal choice. 

To be disgusted by the thought of eating meat is one thing.  Some people would find consuming bovine milk and chicken ova to be just as repulsive. However, to also take issue with and to be morally disgusted by the fact that animals are being tortured and killed for their meat when these same animals are also being tortured and killed for their milk and eggs comes off as hypocritical.