this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2026
201 points (99.0% liked)
Microblog Memes
11169 readers
2383 users here now
A place to share screenshots of Microblog posts, whether from Mastodon, tumblr, ~~Twitter~~ X, KBin, Threads or elsewhere.
Created as an evolution of White People Twitter and other tweet-capture subreddits.
RULES:
- Your post must be a screen capture of a microblog-type post that includes the UI of the site it came from, preferably also including the avatar and username of the original poster. Including relevant comments made to the original post is encouraged.
- Your post, included comments, or your title/comment should include some kind of commentary or remark on the subject of the screen capture. Your title must include at least one word relevant to your post.
- You are encouraged to provide a link back to the source of your screen capture in the body of your post.
- Current politics and news are allowed, but discouraged. There MUST be some kind of human commentary/reaction included (either by the original poster or you). Just news articles or headlines will be deleted.
- Doctored posts/images and AI are allowed, but discouraged. You MUST indicate this in your post (even if you didn't originally know). If an image is found to be fabricated or edited in any way and it is not properly labeled, it will be deleted.
- Absolutely no NSFL content.
- Be nice. Don't take anything personally. Take political debates to the appropriate communities. Take personal disagreements & arguments to private messages.
- No advertising, brand promotion, or guerrilla marketing.
RELATED COMMUNITIES:
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The government, at least the American government, is actually urging people to eat more meat. For example, in Texas, if you own land, you can get a tax break if you make it for ag use. And the easiest way to get that subsidy is to have a certain number of cows on the land.
If the government wasn't interfering in the free market, beef would be sold at its natural, more expensive price. People would not be able to afford to eat as much meat, and they'd eat a healthier diet with more plants.
So my point is that the conspiracy theorist is correct about the government interfering with people's diets, but it's in the opposite way than they think. They have it exactly backwards.
True of more than just the US, but for some number on the US:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/02/usda-livestock-subsidies-near-50-billion-ewg-analysis-finds
For some global figures
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/14/global-farm-subsidies-damage-people-planet-un-climate-crisis-nature-inequality
It is worth also mentioning that despite these heavy subsidy differences, whole-food plant-based diets still end up generally being cheaper overall in most developed countries, unlike what you might think
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-11-11-sustainable-eating-cheaper-and-healthier-oxford-study
https://agrifoodecon.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40100-022-00224-9
i'm suspicious of your last three claims. the first and third one uncritically cite poore-nemecek 2018, which indicates they either don't understand the issues with that methodology, or they don't care (since it makes their "research" sound more impactful). the oxford study i have read in full, and it only addresses retail costs of food, making no mention of people who receive subsidized food, free food from poverty programs, or people who raise their own food, or hunt or trap or fish for it. basically, it excludes anyone who is actually poor.
Great research. Great links. On top of what you said, eating veg has so many advantages. I don't know why people can't see its inherent virtues. It's cheaper. It's healthier. You typically get that fiber you need. You typically get more food for fewer calories if you're wanting to lose weight. It's better for the environment.
It doesn't have to be complicated to taste great. You can just cook up some asparagus spears on the stove top with some salt and oil, and most people will be happy, at least for that sort of meal once in a while. And almost anybody can cook that. Or who doesn't like a baked sweet potato or some nice boiled corn? All simple shit.
And you don't have to become a vegan to make a difference in your own life. Just starting by replacing one meat meal a week with a healthy vegetarian option is a big step in the right direction.
There's even some communities on here with some good recipes and such too
!veganhomecooks@lemmy.world
!veganrecipes@sh.itjust.works
Fascinating
Once you understand capitalism and the profit incentive and the concept of surplus value, it all makes sense.
I'm talking about taking money from average tax payers and redistributing it to land-owning ranchers, though. That doesn't sound too much like capitalism.
But what do I know? Apparently, I don't understand the basic ideas of capitalism that I learned in my first economics class in high school, so I truly do need somebody to condescendingly explain it all to me. It's a good thing you showed up just in time.
Oh I was just adding onto what you were saying re: conspiracy theories vs actual economic incentive. I agree with all you said in your comment
You see, there is an incentive to farm meat because it creates more profit, and profit is god in this economic system, to put it simply.