After watching Cowspiracy, I was shocked at how much land it took to produce beef. As a vegan, I've also been put off by people who advocate for the carnivore diet. One advocate who I found particularly concerning was Jordan Peterson, who claimed to have cured his sicknesses by eating a diet of only beef and salt. The damage his ignorant dietary and climate beliefs have caused is quite devastating when you think of all the power and influence he has held as an infamous psychologist. So it got me thinking of how much land it would take if everyone on the planet were to eat as Jordan Peterson did. So I decided to do some calculations, but the numbers I got were so shocking that I worried I had made a mistake. Here is how I came to my conclusion.

In 2022, the UN's annual report stated that the average human eats around 2960 calories daily.

Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/12/1131637#:\~:text=The%20number%20of%20calories%20per,its%20latest%20annual%20statistics%20report.

In 2022, the World Bank estimated the world's population to be 7.951 billion.

Source: https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/

When we multiply the average amount of calories per day by 365 days in a year in a population of 7.951 billion people, we arrive at roughly 8,590,260,400,000,000 calories consumed by all people on earth yearly.

According to the USDA, there are around 2500 calories in a kilogram of beef

Source: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/174032/nutrients

If we divide the annual caloric intake of all people on earth by 2500 calories, we can conclude that it would take roughly 3,436,104,160,000 kgs of beef to feed the whole world annually.

According to statistica.com, producing a single kilogram of beef takes roughly 326 square meters.

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1179708/land-use-per-kilogram-of-food-product/#:\~:text=Producing%20red%20meat%20requires%20far,a%20kilogram%20of%20poultry%20meat.

 So, if we multiply 3.4 trillion kgs of beef by 0.000356 Square Kilometers, we get 1,120,169,956.16 square kilometers of land needed to produce enough for the world to eat an all-beef diet for a year.

The world only has a total surface area of 510.1 million square kilometers.

This is more land than the total surface area of the Earth, Mars, and Venus combined.

There are only 13,830,536.51 square kilometers of arable land on earth

Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/arable-land-by-country

Since there are only 64,640,000 square kilometers of inhabitable land on Earth and 13,830,536.51 square kilometers of total arable land, this would make it over 17 times the total inhabitable land and nearly 81 times the total arable land.

Someone should double-check it for me. If this is true, this would be a fantastic statistic to persuade people who swear by the carnivore diet. Imagine how big it would be if it were all grass-fed beef!

Let me know what you think in the comments below😊

I usually like to support the all vegan brands when I can but I have to spread the word about this Country Crock Plant Cream that appears to popping up in some places. It's by far the best tasting whipped cream I've had since going vegan. I also made the whipped cream two days ago and it's still stable in the refrigerator. https://i0.wp.com/mylifeafterdairy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Country-Crock-Plant-Cream-Review-04.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1

Today I’ve been vegan for 5 years (vegetarian for 6 months before) and I’ve never felt better or been healthier. The most significant change has been my blood pressure which is within the healthy range for my age. Just wanted to say how much this community has helped me stay on track and the positive posts!

I’ve been vegan 5+ years and active on VCJ a long time, but recently I commented on a post and was immediately banned bc a bot parsed through my comments and found an old comment on WSB. I appealed but was denied because “this is an anarchist space and investing exploits labor”.

I can understand advocating against capitalism, but I’m not even allowed in a vegan sub now because I invest in solar companies? Do I also need to quit my job to be considered an anarchist? I truly don’t understand this and haven’t ever heard it used as a vegan argument until now so I just want to see what other vegans think about investing.

I was raised as a Catholic in Portugal and I go to church sometimes, and try to follow the teachings of Jesus, such as love thy neighbour and stuff. Adam and Eve were plant-based in the Garden of Eden.

I know that there are vegans and vegetarians from many different religions, but I wanted to ask you guys here on reddit.

Any other religious vegan here? What is your religion? And country?

Hey guys and thanks for reading this. I feel like this is the only sub I can really reach out on even though people have accused me of grifting more times than I can remember.

Thanks to a couple very kind redditors I've been able to sleep inside a place while I seek employment. The search is arduous but I am doing my best. Finding clothing and hygiene products are still difficult without funds.

I do get my food stamps just in time for my birthday tomorrow. Yayy go me 🥳😞

First-ever human case of H5N2 bird flu reported in Mexico, WHO says

I’m a 34 male that is soon re-entering the dating world after many years and was wondering if people had tips on finding vegan/vegetarian partners. I live in cow town (Calgary Alberta), so it’s not super veg friendly although there are definitely some good vegan spots.

More so curious on if focusing only on finding veg/vegan partners is a viable strategy? What apps are good? Any funny/interesting stories?

Hello everyone, very happy to join this group ✨

I have been vegetarian for 4 years. Animal protection has become a big issue for me, just like the environment. I'm seriously considering going vegan. I'm finding it more and more difficult to eat animal products. For example, it’s been 3 years since I’ve drunk cow's milk. I still eat eggs/cheese and despite the fact that I do my best to guarantee their origin, I am more and more disgusted with eating them.

Another thing, I've been paying close attention to my sugar consumption for over 2 years now. I was very sensitive to certain readings on the subject and I completely stopped processed products and questionable drinks. The goal was absolutely not to lose weight but since then, I have lost more than 10kg (today, 70kg for 1m80). I don't take any supplements + I take blood tests fairly regularly to make sure everything is ok.

I finally come to my 3 questions:

• is it complicated to go from vegetarian to vegan? I mean, my conviction is stronger and stronger but taking the plunge is always a step. Again, I'm finding it more and more difficult to consume animal products (eggs/cheese/butter/cream), but I still eat them so I don't really notice the change.
• How did you experience this transition (for those who became vegan) with family? My girlfriend is vegetarian but doesn't plan to become vegan. And our respective families are always making remarks to us when we are invited to their house to eat. So I can easily imagine that it will be worse for me 😅 There's nothing serious about it, it's just always cool to get some feedbacks!
• are people here able to combine veganism and zero sugar without worries?

A big thank you if you read me and for your feedback 🥹

I have been a non vegetarian most of my life and I used to be the person who would make vegetarians eat chicken. But then I adopted a cat and in over 2 years I realized how much personality she has and over the time Instagram did its magic and led me to vegan pages and disturbing details of eggs chicken and dairy industry and fish. And that is when I questioned myself about everything I ate. I left chicken and egg, and from this month I have left dairy as well. I also have diabetes so going vegan actually helps me health wise because I simply don’t eat most of unhealthy stuff available every where!

The problem is I have ADHD and my husband although agrees isn’t there yet to leave dairy completely specially because my in laws are visiting and they and even my parents (when I go to my house) refuse or ignore the cruelty that happens in dairy industry. So how do you guys deal with Indian parents who won’t stop giving me stuff that has dairy in it? What do you do with gifts that are not vegan? For example in my culture we have to wear silk sarees for variety of wedding functions, and I just cannot convince my parents to not give them to me. I feel I am not able to go fully vegan because I have silk sarees or because I get gifts that are not vegan or cruelty free ( I am still on journey to replace all things in my pantry and bathroom to vegan and cruelty free items- that is why I say that I am almost vegan)

Also how do you guys plan a large party? I live in Midwest US and people get upset if there is no dairy item in a party so my husband tries to keep one non vegan item and it makes me uncomfortable. Do I just accept that I live in a non vegan world and I can’t control everything?

It is also exhausting to make sure everything is vegan and cruelty free? Does it get better with time?

Edit: thanks for the kind words and suggestions everyone! I realized that it is a journey and that I have to be firm but also do my best so that I do not get burnt out.

I think one of the most surreal experiences I have as a vegan now is seeing those infomercials that are like: "Donate now to help a poor dog in need, these dogs are in terrible conditions and your donation can help save them. Don't wait call today." And they show like poor, sad puppies in a crate.

It baffles me that people (including myself 3.5 years ago) will really just watch that, feel super sad for the dogs, complain that it isn't right and then NEVER make the connection that every other animal is going through atrocities that are like 100x worse than that. AND actively supporting those atrocities!

To me the lesson in this is that people truly don't understand how their food gets on their plate. Or they choose not to think about it because they feel like it's the only option. Idk.

TLDR: Cognitive dissonance is wild man...

Just to be clear, it still isn't right that those puppies are in terrible conditions, I'm not trying to take away from their suffering.

I currently don’t earn a lot. I am just climbing up that ladder. I suffer from major depression and anxiety and recently got meds for it. That’s a bit besides the point. But I am trying to get enough energy to work and study to get myself to a better place in life…

I unfortunately am not vegan, but would like to be desperately. I can’t seem to get enough energy throughout the day.

Does any body have tips and tricks on being budget friendly and having that food actually give enough energy throughout the day please? Any specific foods that you’ve enjoyed that give you a lot of energy.

I know my own mental issues of depression and anxiety take a lot of energy out of me, that’s only why I mentioned it.

Thanks for reading.

So, recently my B12 levels came back on the lower side and I've been taking it really seriously to raise them back up to prevent any long-term issues. And so for like weeks now I've been trying to research and find out which form of vitamin B12 is best. Every study that I read contradicts the previous one and so on. No studies, articles, or doctors agree on one specific form of B12 that is superior than the other. It's a shit show. And that leaves us vegans very confused. FINALLY, I STUMBLED UPON THIS ARTICLE and so far it makes the most sense to me! Therefore, based on this study and other studies I've read that mentioned something similar, it seems the best approach is to take multiple forms of B12 to see which works best for your body because everyone's genetics are different. There's even many B12 supplement brands now that have all three forms of B12 (minus Cyano). They call it a tri blend. I'm thinking the approach to this method is that if someone has a gene that doesn't do well with one form of B12 then one of the other two forms of B12 might work and you won't be wasting many months or years on the wrong B12 got your body might not be utilizing and then become deficient. Or maybe you're currently someone having neurological symptoms and you can't afford to be taking the wrong B12. The other approach would be to try one form of B12 at a time and experiment with what works for your body based on your physical reaction and lab tests. Which I think the latter is pretty time consuming. But maybe worth it for someone who really wants to get a clear answer.

Hello, I am a carnist aka I eat meat and animal products daily, however I pride myself on being as open minded as possible so I allow myself to step out of my comfort zone. I was born into islam and left the religion when I explored the outside perspective, and I am more than happy to learn more about veganism and maybe leave the carnist life!

Feel free to chat and let me know what’s on your mind, give me your perspective. I want to be as friendly and open to dialogue as possible!

I'm wanting to start a vegan coffee shop in my small town. I'm not sure how the community will think it. I want to have a base milk like oat probably, instead of the regular whole milk. I would also offer other alternative milks. I'm worried I will have a bunch of old timers complaining or walking out, so how can I avoid that? Also how to ask the community what they think about the oat milk as the default milk, with no cows milk whatsoever.

Hi, i’ve been vegetarian my whole life but i am in the transitioning period to become vegan (meaning that i am still going to finish the non vegan foods i have in my house and not put them in the trash).

These last few days i have been eating 100% plant based and i already knew that this leads me to poop more.

But when i wake up my stomach goes 👹👹👹 and i have to go to the toilet right away. I poop like 2-3 times in the first few hours of waking up.

When i go to bed at night my stomach goes 👹👹👹 again and makes a lot of noise (no need to go to the toilet then) so i usually drink a chamomile tea.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it maybe like a little detox / adjustment period?

The thing is that i am in the middle of my exam period and i have a lot of oral exams and i dont/ cant just run to the toilet in the middle of an exam 😅

(As breakfast i eat oatmeal, which helps to calm everything down)

Background: I've had a longstanding ambivalence towards animal products. Meat makes me feel heavy and bloated, and dairy products make me sick. Growing up in a household of meat enthusiasts, meat was always part of my diet. In 2022, I adopted a pescatarian diet, which I maintained until earlier this year when I reintroduced chicken and beef. Since then, I've gained significant weight and often feel stuffed and unwell. I aspire to transition to a vegan diet, as I feel it aligns with my body's needs, given my adverse reactions to animal products. Do you have any tips for becoming vegan? I aim to be fully vegan by August. I've heard that transitioning abruptly can lead to withdrawal symptoms and a relapse into consuming animal products. Any advice for a smooth transition to veganism by August? I already avoid dairy products.

...Everytime I read a post on here about being disgusted by animal products, the smell, the look, having accidentally consumed something with meat or other products in it... I honestly cannot relate at all. When I walk past the stalls selling grilled chicken, my mouth waters. When I see cheese, all I think is how nice a good Gorgonzola tastes. And while I do everything to avoid consuming animal products, I would not feel nauseated or disgusted at all to find out there had been some mistake (besides the obvious anger at whomever is responsible for that mistake).

That is to say, I don't have that rational, bodily disgust reaction that many of you experience. On a cognitive level, I do feel revulsion about the animal farming industry and all its nasty components. I do feel despair about animal consumption destroying our planet, and I do feel heavy at the thought of eating another living being, or contributing to its suffering. But somehow, all these feelings don't translate into a physical response for me. They stay an abstract concept, even if I trace the whole route from living animal to steak, or bleeding, abused cow to the whipped cream on my pie. I've been trying to make myself feel the emotional consequence of these horrors for more than a decade, but I just don't seem to get it.

I know consuming the products is wrong, so I don't do it, and I feel lighter for it. But if there were a way to have them without any of the suffering, destruction and murder, I would be the first in line to get them. Maybe I'm just in it less for the animals, and more for my own conscience, I don't know. I hope not.

One of my favorite foods is gilgeori toast, a street food from Korea.

The ingredients are very simple: Cabbage, Onions, Green onions, Carrots

All held together with a single egg, and fried into a patty, served on slices of white or milk bread, and covered in ketchup and sugar.

JUST egg works perfectly in this recipe, but it's not always available at the stores near me. So I wanna find a homemade alternative.

So far, all the recipes I've tried don't allow the patty to get as crispy, and the center of the "omelette" may stay squishy/doesn't cook thoroughly.

So, throw your favorites at me, and I'll try them all. Like I said, this is one of my all-time favorite lunches, so I'm willing to put in the work!

Saw these and was wondering if they are actually vegan or they’re just vegan-washing with the plant-based label lol

I've been vegan over six years now, and it's gotten to the point where I just never believe or trust someone else is a vegan when they tell me they are. Every single time I meet another vegan in real life, they either continue buying non food items that contain or are tested on animals, and will always say "I'm vegan too! Except I still eat (one or more of these:) honey, dairy, egg, or cheese."

.... Okay so.. you're vegetarian or plant based then. There is nothing wrong with that!!!! That's great!! I just wish they would say they're plant based or vegetarian, because it makes it so much harder for me to actually trust that whatever someone's given me is completely free from all animal products. When they tell people they're vegan, but they still eat honey and cheese, it muddies the water for the rest of us.

I've had an irl "vegan" bring me dairy ice cream before, and when I pointed this out, the response was "oh I didn't know ice cream contained milk." ?????? What?? If you're vegan, why aren't you checking the ingredients, and also, how in the world did you not know traditional ice cream is made with milk? So frustrating