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Amazon Forests are Burning, and Vegan Propaganda Is Having a Field Day


SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2019: Good evening from Seattle, folks! I thought I should at least start a new weekly post before hopping on a couple of planes (sorry!) to Nashville, TN, on my way to spend my birthday at my Mom's place, like I did last year.


There is scarcely a person on Earth who has not heard about the uncontrolled rainforest-burning that's been going on since the nefarious Jair Bolsonaro took office as President of Brazil earlier this year. It is said that he has long favored agribusiness and so-called "economic development" for Brazil over environmental protection and land reserved for indigenous tribal groups, despite being well aware of the global interests in preserving the massive rainforest region around the Amazon river across the country. Now, however, even the current Brazilian government is stepping up and sending in military aircraft with firefighting equipment in attempts to bring the rainforest wildfires under control--both because of international pressure, and because Brazil's major cities and towns are choking under massive clouds of wildfire smoke. Bolsonaro may be a far-right mini-Trump, but he's not stupid.


There are, however, two forces that appear almost to approve of the burning situation in the Amazon: the Trump Administration, which loves the idea of opening up our own public lands, including National Parks and wildlife refuges, to commercial development; and the Vegan PR machine, which is making hay of the Amazon crisis. For the latter, it's perfect propaganda fodder for shaming and converting the Heathen Omnivores. And it's a disgracefully low bar, even for them. But what the hell--why should they feel bad, if burning rainforests can be exploited to get more Americans and Europeans to go full-on plant-based?


When even mainstream news sources like CNN are getting in on the meat-shaming act, you know that the new Vegan Religion is reaching the mainstream, with PETA as its (so far) unofficial church. Of course, independent progressive media is even more vehement in telling us Depraved Omnivorous Heathens™, "This is YOUR fault! The earth's lungs are burning to the ground, just so YOU can eat French Dips!" This, in spite of the fact that more than 80 percent of beef consumed in the United States is raised and shipped within the U.S. itself; Brazilian beef is exported primarily to Asian markets, so land-grabbing Brazilian ranchers aren't going to be much fazed by whether or not Americans continue to eat cheeseburgers. What will faze them, however, is such measures as the growing movement to boycott Brazilian goods, especially food items; and the worldwide condemnation of Bolsonaro's government by the international community and corporate sector alike. O Presidente's popularity at home isn't exactly sky-high either, anymore, since he fired his own government science head for publicizing this year's increase in deforestation and fires set on cleared rainforest land which began burning out of control, and choking urban areas in wildfire smoke.


Anyway, does all this mean that we Depraved Omnivorous Heathens™ are personally to blame for the current crisis in the Amazon rainforest, as well as other instances of widespread deforestation? There's no denying that raising cattle has contributed to a large amount of deforestation in many parts of the world; but is deforestation really necessary for the building and operation of cattle ranches? I should fully disclose that I eat way less red meat nowadays than I did growing up, mostly for economic reasons (as well as the fact that I lack the proper equipment to roast or grill beef; and I'm not that much into cooking anyway); but I still enjoy the stuff when I can get it. At any rate, there are certainly better options for raising beef cattle; my aunt spent 30-odd years raising Black Angus in eastern Washington; and she didn't require anything more elaborate than 25-30 acres of already-cleared, flat terrain, and a water source for land irrigation. Family-based and cooperative farming operations can make a modest parcel of land go a long way; the notion that raising beef cattle absolutely requires massive local deforestation can be rebutted in any number of creative land-use solutions. Just don't waste your breath explaining this to radical vegan activists who go nuts if you use expressions like "kill two birds with one stone" in their presence. They love using crises like out-of-control wildfires as triumphalist propaganda fodder, and won't be satisfied by arguments that cattle and forest lands can co-exist just fine.


So, my Omnivorous Heathen brothers and sisters, feel free to boycott Brazilian food items, and eat less red meat if you wish; but don't bow to pressure to eat nothing but plants if that doesn't appeal to you. And please do not allow others to guilt-trip you over the Amazon fires; simply point out that it's really tacky to use this devastating situation as fodder for propaganda and food-shaming (radical vegans really don't want the forest fires controlled anytime soon, trust me); plus the fact that, more than likely, the cheesesteak sub you're eating came from right here in the U.S. of A, not from Brazil. So there.




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