CLIMATE CHANGE

Why Going Vegan Might Not Be a Solution at All

Some suggestions for better solutions.

Our sustainability debate is hijacked by many forceful groups that say that we have to do this or have to do that.

• We have to go vegan
• We have to clean up trash to arrive at zero waste
• We have to vote for radical right parties to avoid big groups of migrant workers in our rural villages

In the next couple of stories, I want to show that it is not so simple and on the other hand, it is simple. We have to adopt a mindset change and a fierce trust in our own heart-and-soul’s wisdom.

Solutions might be counter-intuitive. We need to shape our own brains to come to our own conclusions and become co-creators of our future instead of walking behind the people who shout the loudest.

In this story, I make a case for not going vegan. I make a case for raising even more cattle than we do now because we will need to collaborate with cattle in the transition period to a sustainable future. And I make a case for a mindset change.

Let’s be wise, let’s be curious, and let’s make our own decisions.

As always, I’m very open to comments or discussions.

Meat Wastes Water

The shouters are loud in our sustainability debate. Animal rights activists and many sustainability experts are telling us that the world needs to go vegan to save the planet.

The animal rights organization PETA tells us: here’s proof that meat wastes water:

• It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce just 1 pound of meat.
• Only 25 gallons of water are required to grow 1 pound of wheat.
• You can save more water by not eating a pound of meat than you can by not showering for six months!

These are not wrong facts. The facts are definitely right. And I don’t disagree with PETA that animals are not human possessions. They are living beings on our planet and they have a right to live their best lives.

Many people now argue that we need to eat less meat and go vegetarian. And the vegans go one step further and say we should also not be drinking milk or use leather for our shoes.

In order to produce milk, a cow needs to give birth. And the calves are quickly taken from the mom because we want their milk for humans. So yes, meat and milk are combined in our food systems.

Leather is cattle skin, so yes, also leather will always be linked to eating meat and drinking milk. And if we look at it from a sustainability point of view, the very toxic nature of leather tanning is an issue that needs to be taken into account as well.

In this article by Gizmodo, we get an idea of the toxic production processes that are killing people and the planet in the places where leather is produced.

Nitrogen and Phosphorus Problems

Another argument for going vegan is that we have nitrogen and phosphorus problems on our planet. Well, we do have those problems. And according to leading scientists, the nitrogen and phosphorus problems might be bigger than climate change.

Our big meat consumption and the way we raise cattle are contributing to these problems. Well, these facts are definitely right.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is saying:

“Animal agriculture manure is a primary source of nitrogen and phosphorus to surface and groundwater. Manure runoff from cropland and pastures or discharging animal feeding operations and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) often reaches surface and groundwater systems through surface runoff or infiltration.” — EPA

Counter-Intuitive Solutions

If we read all this information, going vegan is the intuitive solution. Let’s not eat meat anymore. Let’s not drink milk. And let’s walk on plastic shoes instead of leather ones.

Is that the way towards a sustainable future?

In my opinion, no.

In my opinion, we need more cattle at the moment instead of less. And before you shoot my head off, let me explain why.

The Ideal Situation of the Future

The sustainable future I see is a future in which we live as humans as wise beings amidst the other species of our planet.

And our planet operates according to nature’s laws. Our planet works in cycles. Water cycles. Nitrogen cycles. Phosphorus cycles.

All species have a role on our planet. And they live their lives purposefully to fulfill that role with as much love and care as they can muster. And they eat. A lion eats meat, a giraffe has a plant-based diet and humans are omnivores.

In order to have a balance on our planet, we need biodiversity.

We need as much diversity as possible to prevent pests from forming. In this little film, it is explained clearly with an example of the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the USA.

We are aware that wolves kill various animals. But perhaps we are less aware that wolves give life to many others. In the absence of wolves, the number of deer had built up and built up. And the deer ate all the young trees.

When the wolves came, they not only killed deer and rabbits. The deer and rabbits also became more careful not to roam around in places where they could be hunted down easily — the valleys and the gorges.

Areas started to regenerate. The height of the trees increased five-fold in just six years. Birdlife increased. Biodiversity as a whole increased. And what’s really interesting, the wolves changed the behavior of the rivers. They began to meander less, there was less erosion. Regenerating forests stabled the banks.

When you tug at one little thing in nature, you find that it is attached to everything else.

Why More Cattle?

Well, what does this all have to do with more cattle?

We live in a broken world. And we want to come to a sustainable, desirable world like I just described. We want to be wise humans living within the ecosystems.

And don’t think that means we will be going back in time, living like cavemen. I’m convinced we will be living in harmony with nature in cities too.

But for that to happen, we need a transition period.

And the most important part of the transition is the restoration of the soil of our planet. We have been degrading the soil for ages and ages by maximizing our food production without care for the land.

We need to increase biodiversity and scientists estimate that at least one-quarter of our species on planet Earth live in the soil.

And the damage is so bad by now that farmland and nature reserve land both are very degraded. All over the world. Soil creatures cannot breathe anymore because the layers have compacted. Due to this compaction, water cannot be stored in the soil and plants grow with very superficial roots.

I work with farmers in my home country the Netherlands and the first thing we teach in nature-inclusive farming is that we have to prevent more compaction from happening. We have to stop compacting the soil with heavy tractors. If we don’t do that, all other efforts for creating biodiversity will fail.

The next steps are natural manure to give enough nitrogen and phosphorous to our soils combined with lots and lots of decomposing organic matter to build up humus. The healthy topsoil that our planet needs so badly.

Our agriculture has played a large role in degrading the land. Mindful agriculture can play a big part in restoring our soil to become healthy again. And that’s where cattle and chickens and pigs come in.

Animals are an intrinsic part of the web of life.

Cattle have hooves and they trample the soil in such a way that compaction is solved in a natural way. Chickens have claws and they love to eat the maggots out of the cattle manure. And pigs just love to turn soil with their snouts.

Allan Savory makes the case for more cattle with what he calls Holistic Management. Yes, overgrazing has been a problem degrading our soil. A solution, however, is not to go for less grazing.

Allan says we need more cattle and chickens and pigs doing what they do best, graze our grasslands, poo and trample the soil. We need to make sure the cattle need to be in big herds, grazing very quickly. Pooping an immense amount of manure. And then moving on and leaving the land alone for one of two complete years (natural cycles of plant growth).

I do agree with Allan very much when he says to environmentalist organizations that they need to work with cattle in Nature Reserves to restore degraded soils this way. Yes, we should.

And in this short film, permaculture expert Geoff Lawton gives his perspective on the matter. He gives nuances to Allan’s story that I relate to very much. We need to look at every situation locally and decide what tools of people-and-animal-collaboration works best.

Yes, we need animals.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that we need animals on a healthy planet. So what about the ammonia farts of cows, you ask? Healthy soil will absorb all. The problem is we don’t have healthy soil anymore…

Sorry, dear vegans, I will personally not go vegan. And I do not think that going vegan is a solution to all of our problems.

During the transition period, we need to work together. People in teams with animals to make our planet healthy again. And make sure we have enough food for all. And earn a living in our economies.

We have to find new ways of being together, producing our human food as well as restoring ecosystems.

Use the River Metaphor

Pfew. Some of my readers will think I’m making things more and more difficult. But I’m not. I’m just saying to every human being: you were born with a soul full of care and responsibility. It’s time to start using your soul.

Humans are omnivores.

We have a free choice of what we eat and what is healthy for us. And it’s time that we stop looking at others to tell us what to do. We need to feel our own bodies and eat what feeds our bodies and our souls.

I have friends who had been vegetarian for ages and who craved meat during the time of their pregnancy. This is a sign from our female bodies and the only wise decision is to listen to those signs.

If you are in doubt about what to do, please use the river metaphor before you choose.

We have been going downstream for ages. Fighting nature and applying bandaids every time we come across a problem.

We overgrazed our soils with human agriculture. Then we use chemical fertilizer to make sure we have enough nitrogen and phosphorus to grow crops. At the same time degrading our soils even further. Then we use pesticides because pests destroy our monoculture crops. Polluting our soils and our waters even further.

Do you see us going downstream?

Upstream solutions will vary depending on our roles in life.

• For farmers, it means we will adopt regenerative farming methods
• For entrepreneurs, it means we stop making our business models with toxic triggers (such as producing kg of uniform food instead of kg of varied nutrients) maximizing our profit at the expense of all other values
• For citizens, it means we will become co-creators of the better world instead of consumers. We will spend their money as wisely as possible for our local economy. Choosing to buy from farmers directly and avoiding anonymous multinational companies and supermarkets
• For eaters, it means we listen to our bodies and eat what our bodies tell us to. Some will choose to be vegan because their souls cannot stand the killing of animals. Some will eat meat and buy it as much as possible directly from an organic or biodynamic farmer.

Happy eating whatever you decide to eat, dear omnivores!

Happy transitioning into a sustainable future.

If you want to connect, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Or via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, ManyStories, my website.