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The Instigator
Theomega
Pro (for)
Winning
30 Points
The Contender
candice
Con (against)
Losing
21 Points

You can't be a meat eating environmentalist.

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Started: 3/21/2008 Category: Society
Updated: 8 months ago Status: Voting Period
Viewed: 375 times Debate No: 3334
Debate Rounds (3)
Comments (36)
Votes (17)

 

Theomega

Pro

If one believes that they are an environmentalist, then you really cant eat meat. According to the U.N., the livestock sector causes more pollution than the entire transportation sector and all other industrial sources combined.

Animals raised for food, produce 5 times more excrement than the entire human population, 86,000 pounds per second. Their excrement produce sixty five percent of world wide nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide is about 300 times more potent as a global warming gas than carbon monoxide. Methane is also released from the excrement, and it is 20 times more potent than carbon monoxide.

The run-off from factory farms also pollutes our fresh water resources more than all other industrial sources combined. The E.P.A reports that these large amounts of excrement are pushed into rivers and lakes and have contaminated 35,000 miles of rivers and contaminated ground water sources in seventeen states.
candice

Con

The exact definition of environmentalist is:
1. an expert on environmental problems.
2. any person who advocates or works to protect the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.

So, basically you can be an environmentalist and not even recycle because being an envirnmentalist is a profession, not only a state of mind. I've never heard of a stipulation that you cannot get a college degree, and get a job as an envirnomentalist because you eat meat. That is because it does not exist. One can also be an "environmentalist" because they recycle, and recognize global warming and man's hand in it. Just because they don't practice they're earth conscious lives as you do, doesn't mean that they don't think about they're effect on the world.

So, the topic of this debate which is: You cant' be a meat eating environmentalist, is utterly false. Many PAID, and PROFESSIONAL environmentalist are in fact, not vegetarians.
Debate Round No. 1
Theomega

Pro

Sorry, let me specify. Taken from dictionary.com under noun for the word environmentalist,
"someone who works to protect the environment from destruction or pollution".

Under this description it is impossible to eat meat, without regulation, and still be trying to protect the environment from destruction.

The practice of factory farming, in many cases, can be more damaging than any other industry.

Also, I thank you for arguing the semantics of the word, "environmentalist", when I feel it was quite obvious what I meant.

If you can debate the fact that eating meat regularly is not bad for the environment and that one who eats meat regularly can still, with logic, be against the destruction of nature, please do so. (Also I don't mean as a paid position, I mean philosphically and morally.)

For any doubters: http://www.livestocklongshadow.com...
http://www.nrdc.org...
http://www.fao.org...
candice

Con

Or, you could recognize that one can be environmentaly conscious without being a vegetarian.

Which is better: Someone not eating meat, and being environmentaly friendly, OR, someone deciding they DO indeed like meet, so they don't make an effort in the least to help the environment because you say that they're cause is meaningless. Personaly, I would like every person to be environmentaly sound.

So, I'm sorry that you didn't specify in the topic of this debate EXACTLY what you recently found you meant, after I totally called you out on the weakness of your argument.
Debate Round No. 2
Theomega

Pro

First off, all definitions came from dictionary.com

The definition of environmentalist is:
1. an expert on environmental problems.
2. any person who advocates or works to protect the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.

First off,
advocates-One that argues for a cause; a supporter or defender.

your other argument is one that works and has the title of "environmentalist"

lets look at these definitions

Hypocrite-a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. A PERSON WHOSE ACTIONS BELILE THEIR OWN STATED BELEIFS.

So, one who argues that they are, as you stated "environmentally conscious" and argues to protect the environment, is a hypocrite if they eat meat because it is horrible on the environment, something you neglected to even debate.

Now. on to the job. lets look at these definitions,

poseur-a person who habitually pretends to be something he is not

fraud-a person who makes deceitful pretenses; sham; poseur.

If one goes to college and gets a degree to become an environmentalist, as the previos definition stated,, they are being a hypocrite, a poseur, and a fraud. so they are not actually environmentalists. Also, if your an expert on environmental problems, you know the harmful affects of meat, and if you eat meat, then your a hypocrite and a poseur.

"Or, you could recognize that one can be environmentally conscious without being a vegetarian"

This is not true because that is not what an environmentalist is, YOUR DEFINITION sated they are a supporter or one that argues for their cause. i have clearly disproved this, they are a poseur and a hypocrite.

"Which is better: Someone not eating meat, and being environmentally friendly, OR, someone deciding they DO indeed like meet, so they don't make an effort in the least to help the environment because you say that they're cause is meaningless. Personaly, I would like every person to be environmentally sound."

From your definition, these are not environmentalists so it is irrelevant.

"Many PAID, and PROFESSIONAL environmentalist are in fact, not vegetarians."

Just to restate, these people are frauds, hypocrites and poseurs, totally disproving your attempt to try to win this debate.

for the voters, Candice did not argue any of my main points and turned this into a semantics debate, and because of this she should not win, even if you do agree with her.
candice

Con

Clearly, pro has blinder's on. I would much rather have everyone recycle, regardless of they're choice to eat meat. So now that I have efficiently proven that you don't HAVE to be a vegetarian to help the environment, I'll tackle your theory or eating animals hurting our world.

If you want to be 100% environmentally friendly you can eat meat. Going to farms that give they're animals special attention, open pastures to graze in, and no chemicals is the key. These animals live healthy lives, and animals fecal mater can be gathered, and used as natural fertilizer for vegetarian's vegetables. Also, think of ALL the land that would be monopolized if every single person in the world went vegetarian. Not to mention the equipment used to harvest, process, and deliver the veggies. To live a totally comfortable life, no body is going to be perfect, environmentally. Our job should be to do everything possible to make sure we're thinking about our impact, and take steps to make our world cleaner.

Beef is the animal that releases the most carbon into the atmosphere. Human's release more. What about the carbon chickens, or chicken eggs release? The chicken close to none, and the egg absolutely none. Should we all stop eating poultry and fish because beef releases carbon? Carbon is a natural gas, and in moderation is normal. Man made production of carbon is what we need to watch out for and moderate. Would vegetarian's want to kill all of these carbon releasing animals for the ozone? I don't think so. If human's weren't polluting, then we wouldn't have to think about the carbon released from animals.

This, to me is a step off the path of making our world environmentally friendly. Thinking this way is a big deterrent for meat eating people to want to be involved in doing they're part of keeping the world clean. Don't mark meat eating people as hater's of the world. Why don't we all work together and think of feasible ways to help. Having everyone stop eating meat is impossible, and naive. Recycling meat eater's aren't "posers"... they're regular people that recycle. No one can be perfect, I'm sure that you have driven in a car... so that makes you slightly a hypocrite. What's important is that EVERYONE does something they feel helps the environment.

So, in my saying that no one environmentally perfect, living a normal life in America. We ALL should be environmentalist, and notice things around us and take steps to better our world. We're never going to be envirnomentaly perfect. What our job is, is to make sure we do what we can to be healthy, and keep the world clean. So, my opponents thoery of not being a envirnomentalist and eating meat has been proven 100% false.
Debate Round No. 3
36 comments have been posted on this debate. Showing 21 through 30 records.
Posted by Solarman1969 8 months ago
Solarman1969
I completely agree with pro

and if you eat meat you pollute your OWN environment as well - that is the karma

John Robbins book -diet for a new america- is a great book on the subject
Posted by candice 8 months ago
candice
I won this debate without even having to discuss the con's idea's about animals polluting our world because the topic was easily EASILY beatable. Although, in the end he brought to my attention (after I prooved environmentalists could, and DO eat meat) I didn't talk about his theory. So I addressed it... in the rules of debate I had allready won anyway. PLUS, I have every right to retort on his ideas, because it wasn't a new topic... it was allready introduced by my opponent. :)Thanks for reading this debate...
Posted by sadolite 8 months ago
sadolite
No I didn't read the debate just the title. I am guilty of biased voting on this one. Environmentalists are such depressing people, I always vote against them.
Posted by sadolite 8 months ago
sadolite
Human beings are parasites just like any other form of parasite. We are here to live off of our host, the earth. We as humans have every right to eat meat or anything else that the planet offers in the way of food. Pollution is our waste. Every form of life pollutes its environment to its own detriment as it's population grows. It is called nature. Humans cant destroy the earth, the earth will destroy us first. As much as environmentalists would like to think that the human race is so powerful that it can destroy its own little universe that it lives in by living day to day as we now is to me completely absurd. No mater what we do to pollute the earth it will recover in a very short time. I will make one exception though to this, "nuclear waste" But you can move away from that and it is not at all likely that we as people could contaminate every square mile of the earth with nuclear waste. Look at the oil spills that have occurred and covered beaches with oil. Go back to those places in a year or two and you cant even tell it ever happened. Environmentalists are programed to always predict doom, You will never get an honest scientific assessment of anything with regard to the environment from an environmentalists. They believe, in my opinion that the human race does not have a right to exist. Environmentalists in my opinion are self loathing people and want to make everyone else suffer because they hate themselves for existing and what better way to do that than use the environment as an excuse to lower your standard of living so they can make you suffer along with them.

Chocolate, eggs, asparagus and beer are my secrete to producing such potent farts.
Posted by Theomega 8 months ago
Theomega
Sweatycrease, nothing in the debate was brought up about hunting or wild animal overpopulation. your opinion on the subject does not make it true or not. the person who made better points should get the vote. Did you even read the debate?
Posted by sweatycreases2 8 months ago
sweatycreases2
CON WINS EASILLY. EATING WILD MEAT SUCH AS DEER MEAT WHERE DEER POPULATIONS ARE TOO HIGH IS VERY BENEFICIAL TO THE ENVIRONMENT.

SADOLITE IF THE METHANE LEVELS IN YOUR FARTS ARE OFFSETTING YOUR RECYCLING YOUVE GOT SOME SERIOUS GAS! YOU COULD POWER A WHOLE CAR BY YOURSELF! THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD STUDY YOU. YOU MAY BE THE KEY TO SOLVING THE ENERGY CRISIS. WHATS YOUR SECRET...WHITE CASTLES AND PBR?
Posted by Theomega 8 months ago
Theomega
People, factory farms force animals to procreate, not to live freely,but to be eaten. everything about eating animals to stop thier pollution is illogical because that creates the demand to eat it, thus causing more pollution. there wouldnt be so many animals if there was not this demand.

To Sadolite, did you even read the debate or just the title?
Posted by sadolite 8 months ago
sadolite
I eat meat and take my used oil to a recycling station and I also recycle all my news papers, cans and bottles. But I fart sometimes and release methane gas into the atmosphere so I guess that cancels it all out.
Posted by NomadWolf 8 months ago
NomadWolf
I seriously ponder if con read any of pro's arguements or supporting articles. Con brought many of her own emotions into what is supposed to be a emotionless debate. One, she wasn't supposed to bring up new arguements in her last round, two she failed to properly argue pro's points. She has no links or supporting evidence, for all I know con is a complete liar basing her arguements on random fictional information.

And to boot she insulted pro several times, and for that I say your an idiot.
Posted by Samacado 8 months ago
Samacado
Intersesting point. If livestock poroduces so much pollution there is only one way to stop that, and that is by consuming the cooked flesh of all of these animals. Yummy. So really by being a... carnivore? or omnivore I am helping fight against global warming.

Also thank you Omega, I have learnt something today, nirtous oxide is a green house gas. But it makes me so happy, that lovley laughing gas. Could enough of a build up of N20 cause brain damage to those who breath the contaminated air? I'm going to have to look into that. And mabey look into getting some trintium while i'm at it.
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