I don't really have much respect for the NY Daily News. But this is a sentiment that I share.
www.nydailynews.com
News AOC should go vegan
- Thread starter Lou
- Start date
OP
OP
I was skeptical of the author's motivations so I looked him up...Macken Murphy is apparently vegan himself. He also writes for Medium and has several good articles on veganism there.
Of course I agree AOC should go vegan. I'm sure her political opponents would love to have her getting attacked from the left as a hypocrite but it would bolster her credibility.
Of course I agree AOC should go vegan. I'm sure her political opponents would love to have her getting attacked from the left as a hypocrite but it would bolster her credibility.
OP
OP
Just in case you can't read it, I posted it here.
______________________________________________
Why AOC should go vegan: It would be a simple and powerful way to advance her climate goals
By MACKEN MURPHY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
FEB 23, 2020 | 5:00 AM
Something for AOC to chew on. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines recently for noting how “impossible” it is to find a good bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich in Washington. Given her political commitments, it’s strange that she would search for such a meal. Animal products such as meat, eggs and dairy are environmentally devastating, and a driving force of exploitation and oppression worldwide. The continued existence of animal agriculture directly conflicts with AOC’s fundamental missions as a politician.
Yet she continues to directly support the industry via her food choices. AOC has repeatedly spoken out against animal agriculture. Now, it’s time for her to put her food where her mouth is.
The congresswoman is familiar with the impacts of animal agriculture, and has been for years. Her original Green New Deal FAQ blamed “farting cows” for obstructing the legislation’s goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions.
She was mocked for this line, but it’s essentially correct: By conservative estimates, animal agriculture annually accounts for 14.5% of global emissions. According to experts, going vegan isone of the best ways individuals can reduce their impacts on the planet.
Going vegan is more effective than buying a Prius, upgrading to LED light bulbs, washing clothes with cold water, or taking shorter showers.
[More Opinion] A legal landmark for graffiti art »
AOC knows this. She says that while she has no plans to “force everybody to go vegan,” she believes that “we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” She has even told students that they should “skip meat/dairy for a meal” if they want to fight climate change.
Though the congresswoman deserves praise for her criticisms of animal agriculture, such criticisms would carry far more weight if she modified her own food choices accordingly. AOC should take a page out of vegan climate activist Greta Thunberg’s book and lead by example.
Climate change is the most obvious reason that AOC should go vegan, but it’s not the only one. The animal agriculture industry stands in opposition to her on many of her key issues.
[More Opinion] Losing the war against anti-Semitism: State and local leaders need a far smarter response than doubling down on policing »
Ocasio-Cortez champions the rights of indigenous people, yet their homes are burning down in the Amazon for pastureland and animal feed crops. AOC is famous for standing up for working people, yet slaughterhouse workers are viciously exploited — these laborers commonly experiencePTSD from the horrific violence of the work, and are typically compensated with poverty-level wages.
AOC has spoken out about the water crisis in Flint. However, pig farms — of the sort likely to produce the first ingredient in her bacon-egg-and-cheese — are creating comparable ecologicaland health crises throughout the country. Her buying a bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich is akin toBeto O’Rourke purchasing an AR-15.
Ocasio-Cortez is an animal lover — but if she treated her new dog the same way that she pays others to treat farmed animals, then she would be in jail.
[More Opinion] What Mike Bloomberg will never understand »
Bacon comes from pigs that are castrated, mutilated, confined and slaughtered in gas chambers. Eggs come from farms where all the male chicks are killed on their first day of life, ground up alive in massive steel blenders. Cheese comes from cows that are branded, dehorned, forcibly impregnated and separated from their babies.
AOC is right: It is “impossible” to find a good bacon-egg-and-cheese, as all these sandwiches are the products of torture and misery.
Before I’m accused of doing the equivalent of mocking Al Gore because he flies on carbon-spewing jets, we should understand the difference between manageable and unmanageable sacrifices.
[More Opinion] Public financing needs a downpayment now: Gov. Cuomo needs to prepare New York for a new era of fairer democracy »
AOC could easily go vegan tomorrow. She makes enough money and has tons of plant-based options near her work and home.
The Daily News Flash Newsletter
Weekdays
Catch up on the day’s top five stories every weekday afternoon.
Given her influence, going vegan would be immensely impactful. She already makes the news for merely wanting a sandwich; a transition to veganism would generate tremendous media coverage. The credibility of AOC’s goal to change our country for the better is, unfortunately, hamstrung by her failure to change her diet.
Washington may lack bodegas, but the vegan options are “good” — excellent — in both taste and values.
Murphy is a writer, activist and the host of Species podcast.
______________________________________________
Why AOC should go vegan: It would be a simple and powerful way to advance her climate goals
By MACKEN MURPHY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
FEB 23, 2020 | 5:00 AM
Something for AOC to chew on. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made headlines recently for noting how “impossible” it is to find a good bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich in Washington. Given her political commitments, it’s strange that she would search for such a meal. Animal products such as meat, eggs and dairy are environmentally devastating, and a driving force of exploitation and oppression worldwide. The continued existence of animal agriculture directly conflicts with AOC’s fundamental missions as a politician.
Yet she continues to directly support the industry via her food choices. AOC has repeatedly spoken out against animal agriculture. Now, it’s time for her to put her food where her mouth is.
The congresswoman is familiar with the impacts of animal agriculture, and has been for years. Her original Green New Deal FAQ blamed “farting cows” for obstructing the legislation’s goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions.
She was mocked for this line, but it’s essentially correct: By conservative estimates, animal agriculture annually accounts for 14.5% of global emissions. According to experts, going vegan isone of the best ways individuals can reduce their impacts on the planet.
Going vegan is more effective than buying a Prius, upgrading to LED light bulbs, washing clothes with cold water, or taking shorter showers.
[More Opinion] A legal landmark for graffiti art »
AOC knows this. She says that while she has no plans to “force everybody to go vegan,” she believes that “we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” She has even told students that they should “skip meat/dairy for a meal” if they want to fight climate change.
Though the congresswoman deserves praise for her criticisms of animal agriculture, such criticisms would carry far more weight if she modified her own food choices accordingly. AOC should take a page out of vegan climate activist Greta Thunberg’s book and lead by example.
Climate change is the most obvious reason that AOC should go vegan, but it’s not the only one. The animal agriculture industry stands in opposition to her on many of her key issues.
[More Opinion] Losing the war against anti-Semitism: State and local leaders need a far smarter response than doubling down on policing »
Ocasio-Cortez champions the rights of indigenous people, yet their homes are burning down in the Amazon for pastureland and animal feed crops. AOC is famous for standing up for working people, yet slaughterhouse workers are viciously exploited — these laborers commonly experiencePTSD from the horrific violence of the work, and are typically compensated with poverty-level wages.
AOC has spoken out about the water crisis in Flint. However, pig farms — of the sort likely to produce the first ingredient in her bacon-egg-and-cheese — are creating comparable ecologicaland health crises throughout the country. Her buying a bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich is akin toBeto O’Rourke purchasing an AR-15.
Ocasio-Cortez is an animal lover — but if she treated her new dog the same way that she pays others to treat farmed animals, then she would be in jail.
[More Opinion] What Mike Bloomberg will never understand »
Bacon comes from pigs that are castrated, mutilated, confined and slaughtered in gas chambers. Eggs come from farms where all the male chicks are killed on their first day of life, ground up alive in massive steel blenders. Cheese comes from cows that are branded, dehorned, forcibly impregnated and separated from their babies.
AOC is right: It is “impossible” to find a good bacon-egg-and-cheese, as all these sandwiches are the products of torture and misery.
Before I’m accused of doing the equivalent of mocking Al Gore because he flies on carbon-spewing jets, we should understand the difference between manageable and unmanageable sacrifices.
[More Opinion] Public financing needs a downpayment now: Gov. Cuomo needs to prepare New York for a new era of fairer democracy »
AOC could easily go vegan tomorrow. She makes enough money and has tons of plant-based options near her work and home.
The Daily News Flash Newsletter
Weekdays
Catch up on the day’s top five stories every weekday afternoon.
Given her influence, going vegan would be immensely impactful. She already makes the news for merely wanting a sandwich; a transition to veganism would generate tremendous media coverage. The credibility of AOC’s goal to change our country for the better is, unfortunately, hamstrung by her failure to change her diet.
Washington may lack bodegas, but the vegan options are “good” — excellent — in both taste and values.
Murphy is a writer, activist and the host of Species podcast.
OP
OP
