The Prius-driving vegan vs. the meat-eating bicyclist: Who is the better environmentalist?
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Comments(19)
Posted By Mmm... cow... - Tue, Feb 23 2010 at 6:35 PM ESTMeat-eating Hummer driver
In an ideal world, I would go for the best of both sides and eat meat and drive a Hummer. Unfortunately, a Hummer is out of my price range at the moment. My solution? Try to consume at least 3 different types of meat per day. I had bacon this morning, chicken for lunch. So that means a steak tonight. Sounds fantastic, right?
Posted By Matt - Mon, Feb 22 2010 at 11:46 PM ESTOne Less Prius!
One Less Prius! Bike riding is super awesome.
Posted By Dan M - Mon, Feb 08 2010 at 12:01 AM ESTthis is a stupid discussion
Bike riders are much better citizens than car drivers. It does not matter what they eat. Driving a Prius does not excuse one from anything. A car dependent society is unhealthy for everyone; meat is an essential protein that people have been eating forever. I personally do not eat much red meat, but this is besides the point. A greater focus must be put upon the idea of driving vs. biking. For example, a bike rider is probably healthier than a car driver because he is getting exercise,.... More
Posted By Anonymous - Mon, Feb 08 2010 at 11:48 AM ESTIF the roads are safe!
Everyone seems to be assuming that the roads are safe to ride bikes. I walk my kids the 1/2 mile to school because there happen to be sidewalks, but the 3 miles to the public library or the short 1 - 1 1/2 miles to some shops have minimal sidewalks, NO shoulders, and steep ditches alongside the high-speed winding roads. There is NO WAY I'd ride my bike along those roads, or allow my children to do so. I don't care how safe we try to be as bicyclists, the simple fact is that motorists don't.... More
Posted By Anonymous - Sun, Feb 07 2010 at 8:16 PM ESTBattery Production
What about all of the energy it takes to produce the battery for a Prius? The materials for the battery have to be mined, then shipped around the world before finally making it back to America. Where the battery is then shipped to be installed in the Prius, the cars are finally shipped to a selling location. The carbon footprint of the battery production needs to be taken into account if you are comparing carbon footprints. The footprint does not start when the consumer buys the car, it starts.... More
Posted By Anonymous - Mon, Feb 08 2010 at 9:04 AM ESTmany paths
I am a car driving meat eating man with a vasectomy who will produce no children to impact the future world. In the long term nothing produces less pollution than fewer people.
Posted By Anonymous - Sat, Feb 06 2010 at 11:16 PM ESTVegan shortsightedness
Veganism/Vegetarianism might get more interest if those who practiced it didn't act so infuriatingly superior. Also, I'm curious... if everyone stopped eating meat, what would happen to the cows? Would the vegans take them all in as pets or would we let them roam wild or just let them go extinct? They've been bred for centuries for meat and milk. How does this work? No one has explained this to my feeble evil carniverous mind.
Posted By vegan - Sun, Feb 07 2010 at 12:48 AM ESTartificially insemination
shortsightedness is your comment, Animals that are raised for food are Artificially inseminated and live a life of misery,
Watch Earthlings the Movie for your shot of empathy
Posted By hypatia - Sun, Feb 07 2010 at 4:35 PM ESTMissing the point
Artificial insemination is besides the point. If numbers of meat eaters start dropping quickly there will be more animals born into the supply chain then there is demand and there will be overpopulation.
They could just slaughter them regardless. They could be "rescued" but who really wants a bovine pasture ornament? It's hard enough to get people to take proper care of horses most of the time. You could also put them in a sanctuary, but who is going to pay for the care then? They will.... More
Posted By Anonymous - Tue, Feb 23 2010 at 4:03 AM ESTSupply and demand
If people stopped eating cow (even all of a sudden), then they would stop artificially inseminating cows to produce the supply. As far as the cows that were already born: I'm sure the people "producing" them would find a way to make a buck off of them, just like some horse owners sell of their old horses to slaughter houses. Anything for a buck. It's sad.
Posted By Lawrence - Sat, Feb 06 2010 at 3:09 PM ESTWhat about the footprint of car/bike production?
A 2010 Prius is a new car. That means when you're calculating its footprint, you have to take into account the energy that went into its production, not just the fuel used while driving.
I don't have any hard numbers, but I'm going to suspect that more energy goes into producing a Prius than a bike, just due to sheer complexity.
Posted By Thinkr - Sat, Feb 06 2010 at 6:40 AM ESTGovernment, the biggest problem
Better than both would be to fight for the retraction of all laws that pay farmers to leave half their land fallow, since this law forces farmers to pollute the water supply by using heavy doses of pesticides.
Unfortunately, once passed, bad laws are almost never vetoed, so the government-forced pollution continues.
Posted By August M. - Sat, Feb 06 2010 at 3:08 AM ESTVegan Bicyclist
Cheese was hard to give up but there are some great alternatives out there! Love the Environmental Savings and the vindication but I weigh the Ethics of my dietery choices heavily too on my rides when I see a cow I know I didn't butcher its cousin.
Posted By tr33 - Sat, Feb 06 2010 at 1:39 AM ESTYYYYeeeaaa
I am a proud vegetarian (I can't give up cheese!) cyclist.
Posted By Anon - Fri, Feb 05 2010 at 10:37 PM ESTProduction costs
The meat-eating bicyclist has something else significant on their side though. You're not factoring in the costs of producing the Prius vs the bicycle over their potential lifespans. The energy that goes into refining the materials that make up the two, mining those materials, batteries that need to be replaced in the Prius, the energy that goes into making them, maintenance, etc.
If you factor all of that in, your bicyclist is going to be looking much better.
Private.... More
Posted By James M. Dow - Fri, Feb 05 2010 at 8:25 AM ESTThe Prius-Driving Vegan Vs. the Meat-Eating Cyclist...
"And regardless of your food preferences, the comparison depends on how the food was produced and whether or not it was delivered from a local source, etc. Though even in a best-case scenario, the comparison should stay relatively close." What is your evidence for this claim? Is there really no difference in footprint between a largescale ranch with 500 head and a local farm with say 10?
Posted By Michael Chandler - Sat, Feb 06 2010 at 1:09 PM ESTYes there is a difference
Waste lagoons associated with industrial meat production create methane through anaerobic digestion which is not created by pasture raised meat. So local free-range pork and chicken have far lower global warming impact than the industrial alternatives and generally have less antibiotic and other chemical impact as well. Beef is a global warming loser pretty much any way you slice it due to enteric fermentation in their stomachs but local free range is still somewhat better (and healthier) than.... More
lol
You're both *******.