But think of how many people need to change before your not buying meat actually has an effect
But there’s every chance that I’m the tipping point between one more order of meat from the supplier, and two. That I’m the drop in the bucket that saves a cow’s life. And as for fuel, well I’m definitely having an effect on the environment, because I’m avoiding the use of moles upon moles of carbon atoms. It’s not big, but it’s there. We need big, but we also need there. It ALL matters.
And besides, I’m not just a consequentialist. I’m a virtue ethicist too. I can honestly say that I’m not part of the problem, and that feels good. That’s more worth it to me than delighting in eating the flesh of slaves. And knowing that other people are part of the problem and they think eating slaves can be justfied by some excuse, well that’s disgusting and I don’t like those people. It’s morally bankrupt. I do not like slavers.
If every article and every study that came out telling individuals how to change their lives and sacrifice in order to save the environment were, instead, about how 100 companies are responsible for 70% of emissions, how they had internal studies a hundred years ago about how their product was altering the environment, about how they’ve escaped change via lobbying and misinformation, the pressure wouldn’t be spread out—this conversation wouldn’t be happening
That’s what the conversation has BEEN for the last 5-10 years. The 00s and early 10s, you’re right, it was all on the big companies and they used propaganda to delay us looking at them. But today, everyone knows the government and the corporations are to blame, and does it change their votes? Not really. We are already having the conversation about big business and it’s not working. And even if it did work, we don’t have the same luxuries we had in the 00s. In the 00s, climate change could have been solved by big companies taking responsibility. That’s not true anymore. In the 20s, it takes EVERYONE working to save the world. And since I’m part of everyone, I’m gonna work.
But there’s every chance that I’m the tipping point between one more order of meat from the supplier, and two. That I’m the drop in the bucket that saves a cow’s life. And as for fuel, well I’m definitely having an effect on the environment, because I’m avoiding the use of moles upon moles of carbon atoms. It’s not big, but it’s there. We need big, but we also need there. It ALL matters.
And besides, I’m not just a consequentialist. I’m a virtue ethicist too. I can honestly say that I’m not part of the problem, and that feels good. That’s more worth it to me than delighting in eating the flesh of slaves. And knowing that other people are part of the problem and they think eating slaves can be justfied by some excuse, well that’s disgusting and I don’t like those people. It’s morally bankrupt. I do not like slavers.
That’s what the conversation has BEEN for the last 5-10 years. The 00s and early 10s, you’re right, it was all on the big companies and they used propaganda to delay us looking at them. But today, everyone knows the government and the corporations are to blame, and does it change their votes? Not really. We are already having the conversation about big business and it’s not working. And even if it did work, we don’t have the same luxuries we had in the 00s. In the 00s, climate change could have been solved by big companies taking responsibility. That’s not true anymore. In the 20s, it takes EVERYONE working to save the world. And since I’m part of everyone, I’m gonna work.