Fake Meat is Worse for the Environment than Real Meat

Logan Hailey
8 min readApr 12, 2021

I used to be a vegan.

Like, a hardcore one. I had “vegan” tattooed on my arm (now covered up) and followed a strictly “plant based” diet for over 6 years. It was my entire identity.

I thought it was logical that veggie burgers and meat-less meatballs were a million times better for animals and the environment.

Of course meat is horrible for the planet. I mean, factory farms are basically the devil incarnated, right?

But then I got into agriculture.

Suddenly, some complicated realities shattered my black-and-white thinking…

Image courtesy of Steve Hunter

Not all meat is raised in factory farms

Meat (especially “red meat”) has been villainized in our culture long before the vegan-craze.

There’s lots of other types of meat worth mentioning, but here we’ll focus on beef since most of the fake meat subs are beef substitutes.

Beef has been under attack for decades for contributing to climate change, water pollution, and a myriad of health issues.

Given the predominant paradigm of animal agriculture in America (industrial-scale confined feedlot operations), the meat-hating masses have some good points up their sleeves.

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Logan Hailey

Vivacious nomad writer with a wild spark. Helping you optimize your wellness + mindset for the most joyful, natural, and healthy life possible.