Can Mainstream animal agriculture compatible with Love?

For people living on the Turtle Island (aka the United States of America), average individual annual climate footprint needs to go down from about 50,000 to 5,000 pounds CO2e per year. Yes, most people living in this country are individually responsible for about 25 tons (which is roughly 50,000 pounds or 25,000 kgs) of carbon dioxide emissions every year. This ten-fold reduction at individual level cannot possibly happen without systematic work on all economic spheres of life globally. The global emissions of climate-heating gases are currently around 130 trillion pounds (60 billion tons) per year. Everything needs to shift: transportation, industrial processes as well as the energy, food and water production, distribution and storage systems. Thinkers and policy nerds across the world suggest that, at the very minimum, the following is necessary:

  • no new fossil fuel pipelines (Keep carbon in the ground)

  • build soil carbon + forests (Put carbon in the ground)

  • ration transport and invest heavily on public transport

  • let go of meat industry

Yes! Just from the climate perspective, we need to stop “animal agriculture”. Some of my scientist and policy-nerd colleagues are trying to come up with ways to reduce emissions from “animal agriculture”. I believe that even if one could reduce climate impacts of “eating animals” to zero, one should still examine the morality of eating animals from multiple other perspectives. 

I wonder if people realize that “animal agriculture” has also led to global decline in populations of charismatic wild animals that they might be wanting to conserve. 60% of all mammals in the world today are “Livestock” - a terrible name for a group of living beings. Only 4% of all mammals are wild animals. Similarly, 70% of all birds are poultry and only 30% are “wild” birds. The impact of animal agriculture on forests, water consumption and biodiversity is terrible and brutal.

World renowned venerable Zen Buddhist teacher Thich Naht Hahn wrote a letter in 2007 (actual letter starts with the words "UNESCO reported") which explained why all the meditation centres across the world that were associated with him, were going to become completely vegan. He layed out a complex and beautifully articulated argument by speaking about human ability to be truly love and respect animals, land, and waters. I highly encourage people to spend time with this letter and discuss it in your dharma community.

All animals (even when they are not our pets) have deep intelligence, feelings and sentience: How do they feel when they are limited to a cage or taken away from their families or injected with hormones and antibiotics to produce more “food” for humans? What does reciprocity, mutuality, kindness and kinship with animals look like for you? Is love compatible with how your actions impact animals, birds, reptiles or insects now? How will you truly love all life more fully?