One Simple Change to Reduce Your Climate Impact? Swap Out Beef

If a single rich asshole can fly in a private jet and release more CO2 in a year than I could produce in a decade…

Then my personal dinner plate is at the bottom on the list of steps to take.

As someone who never owned a car, bikes everywhere, and eats well… I’m FUCKING sick of being told that the issue is what I eat while the majority of the problem comes from those far richer, more culpable and FAR more capable of improving things than my dinner plate.

- Individual Action Matters: Despite the grossly outsized role of corporations in environmental degradation, individual actions are not just symbolic; they can cumulatively lead to significant impacts. Reducing meat consumption, minimizing waste, and choosing sustainable transportation options can drive demand for more eco-friendly products and services, influencing market trends. if people stop buying and using their products they'll have to stop or change.
  Power of Consumer Demand: Companies respond to consumer behavior. By choosing environmentally friendly products and services, individuals can signal to companies that there's a market for sustainability, encouraging them to innovate and reduce their environmental impact. We love in a capitalist system, this is the reality of how to change this.
  EVs and Energy Transition: The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is a critical component of reducing transportation-related emissions. While the current energy grid isn't perfect, the shift towards renewable energy sources means that EVs will become increasingly cleaner over time. Plus, advancements in battery technology and infrastructure are addressing concerns about range and charging times.
  Personal Responsibility and Education: By taking personal responsibility for our environmental footprint, we contribute to a culture of sustainability. Educating ourselves and others about the impact of our choices can lead to a greater collective effort to combat climate change.
  Grassroots Movements and Policy Change: Individual and community actions can lead to policy changes. Grassroots movements have historically been powerful agents for change, influencing local, national, and global policies on environmental issues.
  Sustainable Practices are Accessible: While not everyone can afford an EV, there are many other accessible ways to reduce one's carbon footprint, such as reducing energy consumption, supporting local and sustainable businesses, and advocating for green policies.
  **tldr its obviously important to recognize the role of evil corporations and demand systemic change, however underestimating the power of individual and collective action can be a missed opportunity. Each level of action reinforces the other, creating a more comprehensive approach to tackling climate change and environmental issues.
Every little bit helps...but also, eliminating billionaires would just be better.
- I mean, I agree with you I principle but as more time goes on I wonder if the “right” mentality is the least effective.
  Sure a 1% change in 1000 people can add up… But what if 2 people can outweigh all that change? What if 1000 people’s action are irrelevant if 2 people don’t care?
  So what is a better approach? Trying to convince 1000 people of altruistic sacrifice or regulating something crazy only 2 people are doing?
- Sounds like it's time for an obligatory "eat the rich". Two problems eliminated with one set of cutlery.
Rich asshole: see, they keep eating beef. Why should I change.
Reality: we all do
- More like…
  NOT rich asshole: I don’t even own a home. I had a steak last month I think.
  RICH asshole: I fly across the country twice a day in a private gulfstream and eat whatever I want.
  OBLIVIOUS HIPPIES: clearly middle class people eating beef is the issue. Why won’t you change?
Can you do anything about rich assholes flying?
Yes, maybe, if you get enough people together and convince them to work hard enough against the massive inertia of capitalism and insert steps three through fifty here and ultimately change the laws.
Can you change your diet?
Yes. You could do that today.

Another simple step? Might wanna try out plant based (i did not say vegan because if you go 'plant based' you dont have to 'restrict' yourself in any capacity but your own will).

The less animal the better, but a shift away from beef and lamb is a start, and it's something that in the US, relatively few people realize has an impact.
- Absolutely. However i often get the feeling that people do not really care (due to beeing stressed, occupied or something, i do not want to judge). Can't hurt to spread the awareness though.
- Wait, lamb? I thought sheep and goats were relatively low-impact.

Replace beef with Long Pork. The French invented a device that will properly cut the pigs that are causing all this.

That's gross to me. But for the rest of you cannibalism enthusiasts, why don't you share some recipes for cooking human flesh that you enjoy?
What sort of human meat dishes do you have in mind to eat those people? How will you prepare their carcasses for butchering, and what cuts of meat from the human body do you prefer?
- Human flesh?...
  Arent we talking about billionaires?
- When they interviewed cannibals they said humans taste like pork, so I'd imagine barbecue would help. Especially because humans have pretty terrible diets and won't taste good, so the smoke and seasoning would mask the off flavor.

We are long past the point where any self imposed limitations of the average person can change anything for the better, the world is burning and 90% of the population is still in denial or doesn't care. The only way anything major can change is if the lawmakers get their shit together, but chances for this are close to nill as long as we allow them to get bankrolled by corps.

Sure I could spend my last few good years eating nothing but gras while gluing myself onto the road in protest just to delay the inevitable by 5 nanoseconds, but I honestly don't care anymore. This world doesn't want to save itself and that includes everyone from boomers to zoomers.

Just a note on the climate science that might help here. We aren't facing a binary outcome. Our actions now, even small ones, have tangible effects on the outcomes we face in a highly non-linear way.
The FF (and meat) industry absolutely want you to feel that you have no agency and no amount of change will not make a difference so may as well give them your last lot of money as you settle for a worse (if any) future. Its absolutely not inevitable, other futures are possible. Avoiding the very worst is the difference between all out collapse of human and earth systems and a situation where things gets dicey for a while but one we can recover from. I know it can feel bleak and trigger the reaction you are talking about but the best solution to that is to pick up a shovel and start helping. There's so many ways to do that doing small but easy changes to your personal consumption is a good start. The best are those you do collectively with others as it multiplies your impact and gives you tangible resiliance networks for the changes that are coming.
- We aren't facing a binary outcome. Our actions now, even small ones, have tangible effects on the outcomes we face in a highly non-linear way.
  That would be the case if a global change for a better world would have started already and its just a question of how long it takes, but that simply isn't what's happening right now.
  Even the most impactfull laws made are only at the level of feel good politic like the plastic straw ban was. The only thing the EU seems fixed on are EVs which honestly aren't much of an improvement. And any government that tries to implement good policies looses tons of support cause people can't deal with any loss in quality of life.
  At the moment the only outcome we are facing is the worst possible one and no amount of personal change has any impact whatsoever.

nuh uh