Flexitarianism: A More Moral Dietary Option

TLDR: In this article, the authors describe the human, ecological and animal welfare concerns caused by excessive meat production and consumption, including climate change, water depletion and degradation, land misappropriation, rainforest destruction, biodiversity and rapid species loss and the significant threats and challenges presented to human health and wellbeing.

Abstract: It is morally impossible to justify the power wielded by the livestock industry. This paper describes the human, ecological and animal welfare concerns caused by excessive meat production and consumption, including climate change, water depletion and degradation, land misappropriation and degradation, rainforest destruction, biodiversity and rapid species loss and the significant threats and challenges presented to human health and wellbeing. It offers flexitarianism (flexible or part-time vegetarianism) as a personal opportunity and moral responsibility to combat the destructive duplicity of the global livestock megamachine. Through personal nutritional paradigm shifts and the resulting food choices, individuals can reclaim the possibility of a more sustainable world and global society.