Why do people still eat beef when we know it's terrible for Earth?

Why do people eat food they know isn't good for their health? Why do people continue to buy products from companies that have proven to only sell bad products or engage in scumbag practices?

They all have the same answer.

Is it capitalism?
- Do you think people in non-capitalist societies only eat the healthiest of foods?
Why do people drive when they know it's bad for the planet
- Because I live in America and there's pretty much no public transportation.
  Trust me, if I had a train, I'd fucking use that sucker. Travel into town for my weekly errands AND I don't have to deal with people not using cruise control on a highway? SIGN ME THE FUCK. UP.
- Why do people buy from Amazon/Walmart when they know it's making their country poorer?
- Some of us work multiple part time jobs to barely make it.
  I'd probably stay in the basement if I didn't need to pay my landed lord their monthly tribute.

Same reason we use electricity despite not being 100% green energy and thus being even worse for the earth?

If you actually wanna guilt this question then the fuck are you doing using your coal and gas powered electricity to do it?

There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, because the capitalists have seen to it that you will never be permitted to make an ethical choice that would dare compete with what they expect you to choose.

Being a moralizing prick doesn't send any message, what gets people to change is making that change easy, that's why instead of being terminally online fuckwads, british vegangelists spread the good news by hosting free kitchens, volunteering to take people grocery shopping on their own pound, teaching vegan cooking classes, and all other sorts of actually addressing literally any of the actual concerns people have about going vegan instead of being a condescending snob about it.

So honestly, in your opinion, one of the only ways a vegan can change people's minds is to take them shopping and PAY for their food for them. Amazing, this is a new level of shitty push the blame away behaviour. Pathetic.
- You’re saying that trying to motivate people positively to move on from meat is “push the blame away” behavior. But I think tut-tutting individuals who eat meat is pushing the blame away.
  While there are some people who believe that eating meat is an absolute moral wrong no matter where or when it takes place in human history, a lot of people who feel eating meat is immoral feel this way because of what the meat industry does, both to the animals and to the planet. Five thousand years ago, people weren’t supporting the meat industry and all its wrongs by eating meat.
  So considering it to be pathetic to try to effect real reduction in people’s meat consumption because the methods shift blame away from the individual meat eater seems really ironic to me, as well as completely counterproductive, if your goal is less meat consumption in the world.
If you actually wanna guilt this
Being a moralizing prick
All OP did was stating a simple fact. If you feel the need to outrage over science, then the problem is certainly not OP.

The real question is, why should we try to not eat beef for the environment, when corporations make 90% of all pollution in the world.

Maybe focus on the 90% of the problem and not the individual people who but meat?

No corporation pollutes except to produce goods or services for human consumption, or for other businesses that provide goods or services for human consumption.
Every gallon of gas burned is to power a vehicle to move you, or the goods you purchase.
Every natural gas line leads to a house, of a business that sells things to houses.
Theres no such thing as a corporation without consumers, we are where the buck is created, and where the buck stops.
- Ah, yes, the ol' victim blame schtick. GTFO with that juvenile shit. This isn't some timeless chicken/egg quandary, son.
- There is no ethical consumption in capitalism.
- Theres no such thing as a corporation without consumers, we are where the buck is created, and where the buck stops.
  Absolutely correct, glad to have read your comment. People need to start realizing they play a role in what's to come. It's a terrible mentality to think we don't all have our effect on the future.
the beef industry wouldnt be razing down the amazon forest if no one was buying and eating it, would they?
I think your argument works if someone is stealing the beef.
If they are buying it then that is directly funding that "90%".
The thing about individual action is that if it works, it all adds up. But if people all blame the corporations, individual action makes no dent in the over 50% of emissions that individuals help make; a self-fulfilling prophecy. And yes, over 50%. Politifact goes into detail about how most emission indeed comes from consumption instead of corporate production.
- Your own source disputes what you say.
  The original study did not include emissions from land use, land use change or forestry, or from sources such as landfills, agriculture and farming. It also did not include data on indirect emissions, which come from purchased energy such as heating and electricity, citing concerns about double-counting emissions attributable to corporations.
  The study relied on data collected by the Carbon Majors Database, which focuses on greenhouse gas emissions data from the largest company-related sources. In other words, The data derives from records of carbon dioxide and methane emissions relating to fossil fuel (oil, gas and coal) and cement producers dating back to 1854. ... t’s difficult to discern how much total global emissions can be attributed to the top 100 polluting corporations, but there are ways to get a ballpark idea.
  If you use the total global emissions calculated by the Climate Analysis Indicators Tool, an average of around 60% of global emissions can be traced back to those 100 companies from 1990 to 2015.
Because corporations make things based on the demand of those individual people. They don't exist in a vacuum. And they're not going to change because someone on the internet rants about them. Their only incentive is profit
- It's a bit of both. We started out just liking beef, for all the reasons above - easy to grow, good bioavailability, tasty, etc. From there, we built our society up, became capitalists, and started really honing in on efficiency, because more efficiency is more money. Now cows are everywhere and beef is cheap.
  Right now beef is pretty much the cheapest protein option readily available, and that I actually know how to prepare. Both of those come from the supply being huge, our culture being built around meat eating, it just kinda being the way we are.
  This isn't an individual problem to solve. No amount of vegans voting with their wallet is going to redirect the monumental ship that is our culture. We need subsidization on non-meat options, more ubiquitous supply, and more practice with the style of cuisine if we ever hope to make changes that stick.
Corporation polluter the planet, therefore we should be allowed to torture animals. You got it boy

Not everyone has the time and resources to commit to every 'good' fight under the sun especially when the systemic problems are as deeply rooted in our society as they are.

Which device did you post from? Did you vet it wasn't made with slave labor? You might need to go recycle all your devices and unfortunately that will cut you off from getting your message out to the world.

Your post does more harm to your cause than good because it just makes everyone angry at you.

Stop eating meat, it's easy, you change your diet and are healthier.
Honestly stop saying "Your post does more harm to your cause than good because it just makes everyone angry at you"
It's a tired and worn out excuse to avoid saying "I'm lazy and selfish"
- Can you provide some product comparisons that include cost and nutritional value? Take into account dietary restrictions as well. Not for me personally but for anyone in general.
- It's easy when you only need to care about your own needs. Try saying that with a family and kids...based on your comment I suspect you can't.
Potatoes, pasta, bread, legumes, nut butters, vegetables, fruits, jelly, jam; all things that many people already eat with some regularity.
Time and resources are hardly an excuse, you don't have to spend two hours a night preparing some 5 Michelin star meal with the most organic, non-GMO, [insert buzzword] ingredients in order to make better dietary choices, at least not in the first world where we have ample options... Shit, even just reducing your meat intake by 10% is a net harm reduction that adds up.
The slave labor thing is valid to an extent, but not entirely analogous. For better or for worse, modern society is increasingly dependent on technology; folks rely on it, in some form, to find/perform work, pay the bills, stay in contact with friends and family, survive the climate they live in, travel, etc... This isn't typically the case with meat, it's often just carnal desire which results in the death of something to the tune of ~80 billion (with a "B") animals every year that didn't really need to be slaughtered.
People absolutely should be upset about the conditions of workers being exploited anywhere in the world and advocate on their behalf where possible, but our position shouldn't be: "Oh, some bad shit happened over here, so I guess it's fine to allow this bad shit over here to proliferate as well"... just sayin'.
- I's often just carnal desire which results in the death of something to the tune of ~80 billion (with a "B") animals every year that didn't really need to be slaughtered.
  I'm genuinely curious: what's the vegans' answer to the question of "what happens to the cattle and other livestock if everyone on the planet turned vegan tomorrow?". It's not like they can just be let loose...
  Realistically the amount of livestock is not sustainable and they'd need to be culled in gargantuan numbers so that they don't go from a "managed" ecological disaster to an "out of control" ecological disaster. And then you get the slaughter without the benefit of feeding billions of hungry people.
Eating beef is expensive, though. I agree with the rest.

This rage bait question could be reworded as...

Why do people consume

when we know it's bad for the earth.

I think it's valid that he chose the #1 food source problem to talk about first. Once we fix that, let's discuss #2.

How about we shift to talking about portion control and be less all or nothing?

How about we don't engage in reasonable, healthy discussion and instead throw shit?

Because it’s a damn good source of creatine and protein. And it tastes good.

In other words, humans are assholes
- Yeah but so are preachy vegetablists
  Each to their own and all that
- Yup. Each one of us, for some reason or another. Welcome to the club, asshole ❤️
OK, but why not eat less beef and more chicken and herring?

Where I live the beef is local and cheap. I'm not able to obtain enough protein without meat, as confirmed by a doctor and a nutritionist when I tried to go vegetarian. With food costs so high it's cheaper to buy cow than anything else, but when I have the money I opt for fish or turkey. I looked into hunting but it's prohibitively expensive for me with permits, tags, guns, licenses, days off and transportation. I tried fishing for myself as well, but whenever I get time to do it, there are warnings about eating fish in the area. When there aren't I never catch anything big enough to legally be allowed to keep. I'd like to get chickens if/when local government ever lifts the bylaws preventing it.

I'm not able to obtain enough protein without meat
How does that work? Isn't egg white pure protein? Surely eating a pile of boiled eggs would give you the same amount of protein as a steak, not counting stuff like cheese and legumes.
- Oh gee I didn't try eggs or dairy in the months I felt like shit after going veggie, and neither the doctor nor nutritionist suggested that either. You solved all my dietary needs and I can give up meat now after years of trying to figure out the most sustainable diet I can manage.
- I and others are over here with soy, egg and gluten allergies that restrict pretty heavily what I can eat. But go off since you have it all figured out, king.
- Egg and dairy allergies are among the most common food allergies, so I'd guess that something like that might be the issue?

The average human has much more of a negative effect on the environment than a cow. So, shouldn’t the question be why we tolerate so many people?

Don't ya just love when scumbags try to make ecofascism woke?
Go back to being a terrible dad Ra'as AlGhoul.
- You’re really sensitive, huh?
How would not tolerating look like? Let's start with you as an example, maybe your loved ones too. And maybe look at the horrors of a one child policy in China before we start following that idea again.
- Maybe start with people like you who take things on the Internet too seriously

Because it tastes great and it's today, and not tomorrow.

It tastes good and I’m a carnivore.

omnivore, but i agree

Because not everyone agrees that it's terrible for Earth. And even some of those that do may not consider it so terrible for Earth that it's not worth the tastiness.

You're wasting electricity running a computer right now, when we know that electricity generation is terrible for Earth. Why are you doing that?

Why is killing people wrong, but ok in war? Why do we still kill animals even though we know it's wrong? Why is killing wrong in the first place? I bet you can't find a single rational reason. That is because ethics isn't based on reason, but instead on emotion. Given that, I don't find it very surprising that it's often very hypocritical.

Ethics may not be fully objective, but claiming that they're fully based on emotion is a ridiculous thing to say. You can make ethical arguments based in reason. Pointing to the war and saying "see, ethics aren't real" is an incredibly naïve conclusion to draw.
- You can make ethical arguments based in reason.
  Come on, I'd love to hear some, also the stakes are still up if you can give me a rational argument why killing is wrong.

It’s ingrained into our capitalistic culture. Fast food ads every 20 minutes on tv. Grilling on weekends. Tailgating. A WackDonald’s on every corner. Not to mention big Dairy.

Because most of the people eat the same kind of food their parents have been eating.

This might not be a "stupid" question, but it sure is a loaded and leading one that for sure isn't in good faith. Welcome to my block list, enjoy your stay.

Because people are selfish, stuck in their ways, and speciesist. Some are also ignorant

I did try to reduce the impact of what I eat, but I haven't found a replacement for using chicken with a slow cooker. Beef also tastes good, especially when I eat at a restaurant.

I have stopped making hamburgers on my own (and replaced them with fish or soup), but I haven't put more effort into reducing my impact recently.

? I think you can safely get rid of a slow cooker as there is no need for this when you cool with veggies...
- Then I can't eat all the wide variety of delicious meals that are only possible with a slow cooker.

Along with the other answers:

Because cooked cowflesh smells delicious, and there are companies out there that are willing to capitalize on that.

The bigger question is: why do people still drink cows milk? And the answer to that one is all about politics and power.

Honestly, I like the taste of cow's milk. I drink it because I enjoy it. I'm also a sucker for chocolate and milk.
- Same, I just like how it tastes. I'd rather not eat any meat than not drink milk. I do know that both are bad for the environment and for the cows but quitting is not easy

because not every country produce beef like you westerner. and not everyone eat beef everyday.

go make your government ban beef like you ban palm oil if you really care about earth.

go make your government ban beef
I would get them to end all subsidies for the beef industry if I could. Unfortunately I'm not in control of that, all I can do is bring up discussion, and I got you to comment, so I succeeded.
- So you did nothing that won't get lost in the maelstrom of the internet...congrats.

You really triggered some folks 🤣

Good, discussion has gotten stale as fuck on the internet. I don't want to see Lemmy become some censored smooth brained shit pool like Reddit.

1 the amount of beef I eat is not a major contributer to the problem. No matter how hard I try. The actual major contributors what to distract people by telling them that they can make the difference. They can't. 2 I don't like plants... 3 the way the grow plants for food is also terrible for earth

The major contributors only sell what people buy. They won't stop so long as there's money to be made. And most plants grown for food go to feed animals.
You don't like plants because you're a big baby.
So yeah, your arguments suck.
- Lol

Tastes gud

I have a eating disorder so most vegetables make me retch, so I kind of don't have a choice.

Also companies do way more emissions than I ever will, yet I'm asked to stop.

I have food sensitivities which make it so that I can't eat most leafy greens, most legumes, mushrooms, large amounts of carbs....
I'd be on the toilet 24 hours a day if I went vegan.

Beef is one of the least-woke proteins. /s

What if rolling coal were a sandwich?
We only eat the fascist cows. And the homophobic chickens at Chick-fil-A.

Begging the question

In my country at least beef consumption peaked around 2012 (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/24/uk-meat-consumption-lowest-level-since-record-began-data-reveal)

I think post WW2 there was a drive towards the idea that we'd never need to go without. This combined with lifestyle changes (more people working longer hours) gave birth to the rise of fast convince foods and the mass growth of places like McDonalds and Burger King.

Why don't people just stop? Ideas within society have a lot of momentum, they take a lot of energy to get started and a lot to turn or stop again.

It's almost like being extremely antagonistic and smug doesn't convince people of your arguments and just puts them off...
- It also doesn't work if you're not "antagonistic and smug". People don't like to change, so they aren't going to change their eating habits.
  It has nothing to do with how people talk to you and everything to do with you just liking meat.

Because they're lazy and comfortable and stupid and they don't give a shit about anything.

You haven't made vegan food free yet. Make vegan food free, and people will naturally eat more of it. Plus you solve hunger at the same time.

You do care about reducing beef consumption right? Well start here. Stop spinning your wheels elsewhere

Because:

Ruminants like cows repair our depleating topsoil via regenerative farming (our current approach of using petroleum-based fertilisers is not sustainable)
A single cow's life can feed a human for 1 to 2 years, compared to the many incidentally killed animals (insects, rodents, frogs, birds, etc.) during the growing and harvesting of crops, plus the destruction of entire ecosystems to create the mono-crop farms in the first place
Humans need to eat lots of fat to be physically and mentally healthy, and beef provides lots of fat (the low-fat high-carbohydrate diets recommended by various agencies — starting with the US's department of agriculture in the late '70s via the food pyramid — are making us sick, with once-rare diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and dementia now commonplace)

This is ignoring the fact that raising a cow for consumption requires ~10 times the amount of crops per calorie compared to just eating the crops directly. Also, I don't think I've heard a single health expert recommend eating more beef - the universal understanding is that red meat consumption is generally a net negative in terms of overall health.
- requires ~10 times the amount of crops per calorie compared to just eating the crops directly
  Kind of, kind of not. If fed corn, yes. If pasture raised, no. Humans can't eat grass. Cows convert grass into food.

Beef makes money. Just like cars, oil makes money.

I eat beef (occasionally) due to its excellent flavor, versatility in cuisine, and high complex protein density.

I appreciate your question, but I think "we know" is problematic:

who is "we"?
how do we "know"?
can some people know one thing while others know the opposite?

I'm not trolling, either, just asking questions from a philosophical point of view. I've changed my mind about several things I took very seriously and thought I was 100% right about. Could others be dealing with similar changing-mind-through-time processes? Could you?

"We" are informed individuals who care about proven scientific facts.
"Know" is the fact that methane is a strong greenhouse gas.
No, when it comes to something factually proven time and time again. Anyone can "know" anything but that doesn't mean they're correct.
I've gone through many mind changing events in my life time, so has everyone else.
- "We know better than you" has never been an effective way to change other peoples' minds, in my experience.

Cost. I mainly eat rice. But I'll take meat when I can get it. Chicken, beef, mongolian wookie meat. Doesn't matter. Humans are omnivorous. We require protein to function.

I have made a pottage of carrots, potatoes, onions, and sweet potatoes today. It's all about cost for me.

Big money involved

Because we are carnivores and that's how nature works?

The word you're looking for is omnivores
- Alrighty!
I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch but even I know there's nothing natural about how the bio industry works.

The same reason they still have children.

Its a cultural thing for my wife and her family. Pretty much every meal she learned to cook when she was a beef meal.

Because my partners are picky eaters and I literally cannot get them to even try vegetarian meals. If it doesn't have beef, pork, or chicken then they won't touch it. >_<

Dumb fucks who fall for propaganda on every platform.

Cigarette smokers must really baffle you too

No, they don't. I used to smoke, nicotine is a fucking bitch of a drug, somehow I managed to quit using vaping and nicotine gum over 2 years. Beef is not an addictive chemical. You must never have experienced nicotine drug, what a naive ass comment to make.
- I smoked for 7 years
  Get over yourself lmfao
  edit: P.s. food is absolutely addictive, btw

Tasty

It's very, very simple. It's cuz shit's tasty AF and most people care more about themselves and their tastebuds than climate.

Cause beef is good Cows taste good

Why aren't you living out in the woods eating nuts and berries? Whatever device you're using to post this, it's terrible for Earth!

Because it tastes good and because people are so far removed from where their food comes from. Why eat vegetables that use illegal immigrants as workers and are treated harshly?

It's nutritious. Instead of carefully observing some diet you can eat some beef and buckwheat or cabbage or beans, and you're good.

That said, I eat meat so rarely that my relatives worry, mainly because it takes some time to cook if you boil it, and I'm lazy and unorganized, and frying it has the potential of, eh, leaving the kitchen for 5 minutes which turn out to be half an hour and returning for the smell.

Other than that people can't care about every problem at once.