GermanyandAustria,wherevirtuallyeverymaincoursewas
basedonmeatoreggs,veganfoodsareappearingonmenus
and in supermarkets.
IntheUnitedStates,somethingremarkablehappenedin2008.
For the whole of the twentieth century, the US had the
reputationofbeing“anationofmeateaters.”Consumptionof
meatkeptgoingupandup,withjustoneortwosmallblips
for events like the Great Depression of the 1930s. Beef
consumptionpeakedinthemid-1970s,butasharpincreasein
chickenconsumptionmorethanmadeupforthatdrop.Then
in 2008,total meatconsumption, includingthat ofpoultry,
fell,and ithasfallen againeveryyearsince.Noone quite
knows why,but probablymorepeoplehaving atleastone
meat-freedayaweekhasmadeabiggerdifferencethanthe
increasing number of vegetarians and vegans.
Greaterawarenessofthehugecontributionthatthelivestock
industrymakestogreenhouse-gasemissions—morethanthat
oftheentiretransportsector—hasledmanyenvironmentalists
to become vegetarian,vegan, or “flexitarian” (eating meat
only on special occasions). The demand for plant-based
productsthatimitatemeat—orthat,inthecaseofattemptsto
cultivatebovinecellsinvitro,reallyaremeat,althoughthey
have never been part of a living, sentient being—is
increasing.Whateverthereason,itisahopefulsignthatwe
arenot inevitablyheading fora futurein which moreand
moreanimalssuffer,moreandmoregrainandsoybeansare
wasted,andmoreandmoregreenhousegasesfromlivestock
production accelerate the rate at which our planet is warming.
Despiteallthis,itisprobablystilltruethattherearemore
animals suffering at the hands of humans now than ever