What about the farmers' jobs?

“If everyone went vegan, millions of farmers would lose their jobs. What are they supposed to do, just starve?”

I don’t think me going vegan on my own would put anyone out of work.

Let’s check whether me, or anyone else, going vegan would actually decimate farmers’ livelihoods.

It’s a mad (vegan) world

Okay, but what if everyone did it? Realistically, I don’t think everyone is going vegan overnight. If more people did shift, it would probably happen gradually, right?

Jobs and industries come and go all the time. Y’all remember VHS players (yes, I’m that old)? We didn’t keep buying them forever to support the industry. We adapted and moved on.

Same with things older than me, like typewriters and fax machines. What about the coal miners, the lamplighters, the switchboard operators? Industries change, and people find new ways to work.

And farmers don’t have to stop farming. Projects like Transfarmation help animal farmers switch to growing crops instead.

Won’t somebody please think of the…

When people say “think of the farmers”, they’re usually picturing a farmer in their overalls and straw hat. Hold up. Most of our meat comes from large-scale industrial farms. Is anybody thinking about the people working in slaughterhouses?

It turns out their jobs are rough! A study of slaughterhouse workers found much higher rates of serious psychological distress than the general population (although the study notes that causality is difficult to establish). If we’re worried about workers’ wellbeing, moving away from those jobs is a good thing.

Reap what you sow

Should I keep funding something I think is wrong just because people are employed doing it? Especially when there are better alternatives for everyone involved?

Looks like my money’s going on plants after all. People have to adapt to changing industries all the time. I mean, AI is about to take my job. Why do you think I’m trying to be an influencer (follow me plz!)?