Society will never overcome this tragedy of the commons. Only a few will make personal sacrifice for the common good.
Only a market-driven solution will be viable. We need to find sustainable alternatives that are better than the foods they replace. Just like we need electric cars that are better than internal combustion engines.
>Only a few will make personal sacrifice for the common good.
Are you vegetarian? I chose to, only because I want mankind to live on this planet for a long time. That's not a sacrifice, that's a basic choice. I'm not sacrificing stuff when I chose to behave responsibly (e.g driving safely, not stealing my neighbors, paying taxes, etc). Do you think people only pay taxes because they fear the police? Or they don't kill each others only to avoid going to jail? Of course they are abuses on our systems (like any social situation), but if you think most people behave responsibly only to avoid a kind of punishment, then you have a very dark idea of society or you hang out with bad people (that can change).
Yeah, like the GP said.. only a few. And I think you have pretty rosy glasses if you think people pay taxes cause they care about their fellow human...
Try explaining this to BILLIONS of people across India and China who are now for the first time in their family's generations being able to afford and access a diversity of protein-based and vegetarian cuisine (available all the time, in and out of what they used to know as the season of availability).
The point is it will take a regulated solution or some sort of new product that creates a serious incentive to adjust mass behavior.
You are benevolent in these ways. Most people are not. If most people behaved the same way as you, tragedy of the commons and moral hazard would not be real things. But they are real things. A successful policy will take that into account, not just hope for everyone to be benevolent.
> We need to find sustainable alternatives that are better than the foods they replace. Just like we need electric cars that are better than internal combustion engines
That's already happening though. Meat eaters still don't seem to care. I'm a recent vegetarian and the food I eat now tastes better, is often more nutritious, and is easier to make.
The better alternatives are here. Oat milk! Wow! Have you tried it? I knocked vegan cheese forever because it sucked. But you know what? They are starting to make some that is better than some 'real' cheese. Indian food. Baked/BBQ tofu is amazing.
I've had veggie burgers in CA and WA that beat a 'regular' burger by a mile. Try Souley Vegan in Oakland for one. Wowza. Better than any meat burger I've ever had.
Not all vegetarian food is sustainable, I know. But it's better. I'm vegetarian for the taste more than anything really. It's not a sacrifice!
I think a lot meat eaters would be absolutely shocked at how delicious and healthy a lot of vegetarian food is now.
> Only a few will make personal sacrifice for the common good.
??? I didn't make a 'personal sacrifice' to become vegetarian. It's a literal animal sacrifice every meal the other way around! Vegetarian food isn't a sacrifice. What the world needs is to convert more to veggies is to squash the idea that becoming vegetarian means making a sacrifice.
I think this is a cynical attitude. Until 1990, the majority of people driving cars did not wear a seatbelt.
An even better analogy is tobacco use. In the 1950s and 1960s America, you'd hear the same kind of things about cigarettes as you do these days about meat-eating: it's red-blooded, it's manly, it's good for you! Meanwhile the incredibly high impact to health of people and populations was becoming more clear all the time, just like the consumption on meat.
Attitudes, beliefs, and stupid behaviors can and do change over time.
If everyone would just cut down on meat, even avoid it a few days of the week, it would make an enormous positive impact. Same goes for seafood.
From the perspective of someone who eats meat twice a week or so, it's absurd to hear people say they couldn't do it. Yeah, they could.
Of course, with governments subsidizing the hell out of the meat industry those $0.99 McDonalds specials will keep encouraging everyone to eat it 3x/day...
I agree with you completely. However, try telling people you're vegan/vegetarian anywhere outside of the major western cities and you'll understand what I'm talking about. The reactions from complete strangers will absolutely shock you.
You could also not waste too many kW of electricity, which are partly generated by carbon sources. E.g. you could stop using your laptop too frequently, less social media, e.g.
