WeWork Was Right To Go Vegetarian

Erin Biba’s argument contributes to the dangerous fantasy that we can halt anthropogenic climate change without a lifestyle change, that we can emerge from this existential crisis into a solar-powered consumerist utopia.

JEFF McMAHON: ‘Writing for NBC, the science journalist Erin Biba criticizes WeWork for taking its communal workplaces vegetarian, on the grounds that “it lets fossil fuel companies off the hook.” As if there’s only one hook. It’s a weird argument, that we can only do one thing to fight climate change. A false choice. It’s like saying we shouldn’t try to prevent heart disease because we’re trying to cure cancer. Of course, we can do both. Fight heart disease and cancer. Fight fossil fuels and animal agriculture.

Biba’s argument lets reality off the hook. It contributes to the dangerous fantasy that we can halt anthropogenic climate change without a lifestyle change, that we can emerge from this existential crisis into a solar-powered consumerist utopia where we can continue to treat the earth as both mother’s breast and open sewer, all its features and creatures mere objects for our increasingly voracious consumption…

Biba thinks we shouldn’t tackle animal agriculture because it only represents 15 to 18 percent of carbon emissions. The World Watch Institute audited that oft-repeated estimate a decade ago and found tons of omitted emissions, including under-counted methane, overlooked land use, and uncounted respiration from the 70 billion animals reared for slaughter each year. The institute reckons meat’s contribution is multiples higher’. SOURCE…

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