Thanks for a comprehensive analysis. Other than uncertainty around the numbers of mice killed on wheatfields during plagues (I have read that estimates can run to many thousands per hectare, and if we are considering a typical hectare over the course of a whole year during a plague season, could it be even more?), I think this shows Archer's claims to be on shakey ground.
That said, is there an easier way to evaluate the proposition? I'd say this.
Estimates for cropland footprint for a typical vegan diet seem to fall around 0.15-0.18 hectares. For a typical non-vegan diet, it seems to be somewhere around 0.30 hectares. See for example Peters et al 2016.
That suggests that whatever average rate of animal deaths are per hectare, the vegan diet causes fewer. Add to whatever toll we can derive from that, the number of animals killed for food (and indirect associated deaths such as seafood bycatch), plus the animals killed by farmers on the 0.74 hectares of grazing land used for the typical diet, and the vegan diet does seem to come out notably ahead.
If you think anything doesn't have feelings then I think you don't have feelings. We have a dconmon ancestor with anything that can be eaten, and many things that can't too. Everything that is alive has a common ancestor with us. Plants just a little further than humans but like us they breathe oxygen after being cut off their umbilical cord vine
I'd be keen to know what % of arable land is used to grow feed crops in Australia. I saw your article showing that Australian livestock eat twice as much grain as the Australian people. Looks like we'll need to keep debunking Archer for years to come.
Oh and the SBS article is stating that George Monbiot recanted on veganism for environmental reasons (which he did, in 2010), but conveniently omits to say that he subsequently recanted again in 2013 when he realised he'd been totally misled by pro animal-ag propaganda.
Veganism is like flat earth. Only udiots belief it's real. Plants breathe oxygen in and carbon dioxide outljke we do after being cut from our umbilical cord vine.
Thanks for a comprehensive analysis. Other than uncertainty around the numbers of mice killed on wheatfields during plagues (I have read that estimates can run to many thousands per hectare, and if we are considering a typical hectare over the course of a whole year during a plague season, could it be even more?), I think this shows Archer's claims to be on shakey ground.
That said, is there an easier way to evaluate the proposition? I'd say this.
Estimates for cropland footprint for a typical vegan diet seem to fall around 0.15-0.18 hectares. For a typical non-vegan diet, it seems to be somewhere around 0.30 hectares. See for example Peters et al 2016.
That suggests that whatever average rate of animal deaths are per hectare, the vegan diet causes fewer. Add to whatever toll we can derive from that, the number of animals killed for food (and indirect associated deaths such as seafood bycatch), plus the animals killed by farmers on the 0.74 hectares of grazing land used for the typical diet, and the vegan diet does seem to come out notably ahead.
Not always, I guess. But well enough on average.
If you think anything doesn't have feelings then I think you don't have feelings. We have a dconmon ancestor with anything that can be eaten, and many things that can't too. Everything that is alive has a common ancestor with us. Plants just a little further than humans but like us they breathe oxygen after being cut off their umbilical cord vine
Archer's piece is now being recycled by SBS. Ugh. Cache here: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oE4tATaLePMJ:https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-there-s-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands+&cd=16&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au.
I'd be keen to know what % of arable land is used to grow feed crops in Australia. I saw your article showing that Australian livestock eat twice as much grain as the Australian people. Looks like we'll need to keep debunking Archer for years to come.
Oh and the SBS article is stating that George Monbiot recanted on veganism for environmental reasons (which he did, in 2010), but conveniently omits to say that he subsequently recanted again in 2013 when he realised he'd been totally misled by pro animal-ag propaganda.
Veganism is like flat earth. Only udiots belief it's real. Plants breathe oxygen in and carbon dioxide outljke we do after being cut from our umbilical cord vine.