The unequal struggle between animal and vegetable meat.

The meat industry is a lobby strong like that of oil, internet, smoking, alcohol, gambling and many other economic activities that live on empathy with the consumer.

It is to be considered a sort of addiction to taste, an irresistible call to satisfy the impulse of food corroborated by the sensation of satisfaction of the palate. An irresistible appeal, combined with the fact that normally we do not ask ourselves whether such a delicious food can harm the environment.

The primary need to eat, supported by the pleasure of doing it to live a pleasant culinary experience, almost never ignites a process of impartial and detached reasoning on the problem of the world some meat.

Unfortunately it is well known that the animal breeding industry for slaughter has a huge impact on climate change, both directly caused by living animals and by necessity of ever larger spaces of deforested territories to be assigned to grazing, both by the enormous quantity of land and water necessary to produce food for the animals.

If we consider that the nutrients that meat can give to our body are easily replaceable with others, perhaps less tasty, but with a low climate impact, the game is it only plays on the sensations expressed by the flavor of the product.

The chain of subjects that protects this treasure chest of flavor, with which the consumer is tied to their business, starts from afar, starting with the politics that should legislate for protect the environment but also the health of citizens (meat has many important contraindications for our body).

The marketing of meat companies that leverages the sensations of taste to promote the product to be sold, affecting the weaknesses of citizens.

Companies in the sector that fight against any form of vegetable competition of alternative products, prohibiting the names of finished products that are in common language, such as hamburger, steak, etc. .. trying to hinder the spread of products not based on meat but with a similar appearance.

In a democratic world it is right that food choices depend on ourselves, but we have, in the same way, the right to correct information on the impacts that meat industry has not only on our planet but also on our health.

But at the same time, we have the right that plant-based products, which can replace meat products, have the freedom to spread to the market in in order to leave ample room for choice to the consumer who wants to buy them.

The consumer aware of the impact on the earth that the production of meat has, gives us a certain hope that, in any case, sooner or later, the choice will it will shift to a vegetable meat that does not create such macroscopic environmental imbalances.

Instead, for consumers who do not have this environmental awareness and are guided by choices dictated by the taste of the product, we must wait for the plant-based meat to reach pleasant olfactory and taste standards like animal meat.

Only at that point will it be possible to increase the number of subjects who will be able to move towards a food with a lower ecological impact.

Certainly the states could discourage the consumption of meat, given that the problem of its permanence on the tables involves a worsening of the climate and health, values that the states must pursue and protect.

The systems to discourage, for example, smoking and alcohol, are normally applied in many states, with the result that year after year, citizens are are adapting to these limitations. This does not mean not smoking or drinking, but trying to limit the opportunities and make them more expensive for the wallet of those who want to consume these products.

Also for meat a policy of disincentive should be made, creating a counter marketing, without exceeding in provocations or fears, but accurately illustrating the environmental impacts the meat industry and the long-term impact on our health.

Related articles: The great world capitals aim for vegetable meat.

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.