Vegan Forum

Ok, so we all know that becoming vegan is one of the biggest impacts we can have on the environment, regarding everything from transportation to waste to balances in nature (and on and on and on).

Here's the thing...population growth keeps moving up at a rapid pace. While we may not be economists or have all the data, how do you feel regarding the attempts to "go green" and the growth of population? Do you think that the experts who suggest it may not be too late and that we can reverse the problems that are causing climate change are correct?

I'd like to see more numbers on the impact of veganism on the environment. I want to know how many people it would take to be vegan before we start seeing an impact in a measurable sense (not to downplay one person's impact, which is still huge, if not only for the environment, for the individual animals as well).

Anyway, just throwing some thoughts out there...wanted to see what people had to say!

Actually, my friends and I have been talking about exactly the same thing. In the 80s we were being told in school that Europe might have to adopt a 'one child per family' policy like China before long. Instead, the governmnet encourages people to have many children because they want a high population to support the glut of people who are now retiring Then we have a viscious circle where we need more people working to support the health and education systems, and all the stay-at-home-Mums claiming welfare

Going vegan will help climate change, but the figures will depend on just how fast the population grows and how much energy they consume. For example, building affordable family housing in cities instead of in suburbs and villages will slash carbon emissions from cars. Initiatives to give all children computers, for example, will increase carbon emissions. The issues are very complex.

I would certainly like to see families be encouraged towards responsible family planning, and a little more support and respect for people who remain childless. Even if everybody becomes vegan, population will still eventually become an issue again.

Read "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. Great book about overpopulation and the natural order of things.

Ishmael sounds interesting from a philosophical point of view. I read the summary from the wiki page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_(novel).

I emailed with a professor at Columbia University who told me about research done at Cornell where the students concluded that if everyone worldwide were to go vegan, that it would support approximately 800 million new people through 2040. However, estimates of population growth worldwide suggest there will be approximately 3 billion new people by 2040.

So even being vegan wouldn't address the concerns fully! But it sure would save a lot of animals and help the environment a ton!

So that means that as more and more people are converted to veganism, there are born babies that will grow as meat eaters?