It's not so simple -- meat eating vs vegetarianism, grazing land vs cropland. There are some places where land would not be arable, but serves as good grazing land. Deforestation also occurs in order to grow monocultures of crops like soybeans -- an important protein source in many vegetarian diets. Industrial agriculture is a problem in many places, but even those practices have benefitted some populations. Thoughtful choices about food ARE essential. But a one-size-fits-all model does not work for all people in diverse areas around the globe.
Published by Anne Harvey, Environmental Scientist at Philadelphia Water Department
It's not so simple -- meat eating vs vegetarianism, grazing land vs cropland. There are some places where land would not be arable, but serves as good grazing land. Deforestation also occurs in order to grow monocultures of crops like soybeans -- an important protein source in many vegetarian diets. Industrial agriculture is a problem in many places, but even those practices have benefitted some populations. Thoughtful choices about food ARE essential. But a one-size-fits-all model does not work for all people in diverse areas around the globe.