Many on the green left advocate a huge reduction in animal product consumption, society- and world-wide. They point to the industry's environmentally destructive impacts, and call for land to be freed up for rewilding, afforestation, and other climate interventions. Others see it as a distraction from tackling fossil capital, an incorrect assessment of agriculture, a concession to lifestyle politics, moralism, or even authoritarian. What should socialist environmentalists say and do? Workers' Liberty's monthly socialist environmentalist reading group read the articles below, and discussed "Meat: environmentally bad, good, or a non-issue?" in October 2021.
- "Phase out almost all animal products” is wrong — By Paul Vernadsky
- Reforestation: A science-based argument — Reply to Paul, by Misha Zubrowski
- Agriculture and climate: it's all about the soil — Contribution to debate by David Walters
- More cows will mend soil, will mend climate? No! — Reply to David Walters, by Zack Muddle
External articles:
- Extract from the essay "The Bright Bulbs" — Rob Wallace and Max Ajl, in Dead Epidemliogists: On the origins of COVID-19, by Rob Wallace
- "Regeneration", chapter from After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration — by Holly Buck
For additional readings, see:
- Women's Fightback: Eating meat to prove masculinity? — By Katy Dollar
- Official report calls for 50% less meat and dairy — By Zack Muddle
- Green politics and lifestyle change — By Mike Zubrowski
- Pandemics and the drives of capital — By Camila Bassi
- More, a debate, on pandemics and animal products — see 1, 2, 3, 4