In lieu of an essay written by me this week, I'm actually going to be sharing an essay written by my buddy Max.
If you missed last week's essay, you'll have to read it first to understand what Max is referring to. So without further adieu, a special installment of From Max's Desk:
Sometimes I wonder, how will I be perceived or judged by future generations? I think about statues taken down and the extent to which historical figures have been "canceled."
I think about canceling Abraham Lincoln, like the San Francisco school district has been considering. The rationale was that during his term there was a robbery and genocide of indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, those terrible actions were inevitable no matter who happened to be president at the time.
I'm thinking about that as a parallel to environmentalism; I see environmentalism now as what Civil Rights was in the '60s. I have a sneaking suspicion that by eating as much meat as I do, my hypothetical "statue" will be torn down.
Like, is it possible that flying in an airplane might be grounds to be “canceled” in the future? Flying in airplanes contributes to greenhouse gas emissions more than anything; if you fly more than once a year, you're already contributing more than the "average" person around the world (many of whom can't afford to fly).
Driving a non-electric car, and eating unnatural amounts of meat also qualify you for being above average by this rubric. The point is that these activities are normal now, but may be judged quite negatively in 100 years.
Your point about it not being an all-or-nothing situation is really important. If people make small, incremental changes, that will help a lot (e.g. Meatless Mondays)
I watched the documentary "Seaspiracy," which is pretty bad journalism, but it was effective in making me seriously reduce my consumption of sea life.
I haven't seen Cowspiracy yet and maybe giving that a watch will similarly provide a new perspective on my consumption of cows. (On a related note, have you seen the sign in The Local Butcher Shop? And yes, of course, it's in Berkeley.)
Anyway, thanks for keeping the pressure on me. I'm grateful to have thorns in my side like you. Now that I've been on blast publicly, it has yes indeed already reduced my consumption of beef. Good job.
Love,
Max