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Re:U.S. wants the EU to accept chemical-washed chicken as pa... by jfengel on Tuesday January 28, 2020 @12:51PM (#22171922)
I think they're saying that poor people shouldn't be coerced by a subsidy system to eat food that has to be chemically treated to remove pathogens, and which causes animal suffering which most people would reject if it weren't kept hidden.

There are plenty of ways for poor people to eat healthy diets without harming animals. It's a perverse incentive of the system that grows vast quantities of poor-quality corn and soybeans, cycles them through animals (wasting 90% of the calories in the process), and then feeds people the animals. A system that focused more on feeding people grains and pulses would produce more food for less money.

The US in particular is wedded to the notion that meat is essential and primary food, and it set up its entire agriculture industry to making that cheap. It does so at a cost of hidden subsidies, poor-quality and disease-ridden meat, and a lot of animal suffering. You don't have to be a PETA nutjob to object to factory farming.

A fairer and less abusive system would, indeed, mean that higher-quality meat is available primarily to rich people. But it's a strawman to say that it means that poor people shouldn't eat. They can eat very well as vegetarians, vegans, or even just people who eat meat occasionally rather than three times a day, every single day.

Re:U.S. wants the EU to accept chemical-washed chicken as pa... by Will_Parker on Tuesday January 28, 2020 @01:04PM (#22172140)
> The US in particular is wedded to the notion that meat is essential and primary food, and it set up its entire agriculture industry to making that cheap

Nothing is particular about the US here, humans are omnivores whose optimal diet for health contains both meat and plants.

Re:U.S. wants the EU to accept chemical-washed chicken as pa... by axlee on Tuesday January 28, 2020 @01:24PM (#22172421)
> Nothing is particular about the US here, humans are omnivores whose optimal diet for health contains both meat and plants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_meat_cons...

In 2017(latest data I could find), the US was topping the world's charts on meat consumption per capita.

There is something at least noteworthy about that. The average american eats 40% more meat than the average EU citizen.

Not everything can be so easily brushed away under the guise of human nature.

Re:U.S. wants the EU to accept chemical-washed chicken as pa... by Will_Parker on Tuesday January 28, 2020 @05:37PM (#22174872)
Fair enough, but nothing about eating 50kg of meat per person per year suggests not treating it as primary or essential.
Re:U.S. wants the EU to accept chemical-washed chicken as pa... by triceratops on Tuesday January 28, 2020 @05:27PM (#22174790)
> omnivores whose optimal diet for health contains both meat and plants.

Vegetarians can be, and usually are, just as healthy as meat eaters. And no optimal diet contains meat in the quantity Americans eat on average. Japan has barely 1/3rd the per-capita meat consumption with better life expectancy and health.