I think we all agree about the average American diet being too meat-centric — but I think what I’m trying to get at more is that these things really do depend on different locations and individual practices. It’d be really ridiculous, for ex, to exhort a non-cow-centric diet to the Maasai — or to urge Kim in Alaska to go on a vegan diet.

And to go along with what MsMeryMac’s saying about supporting local restaurants / local economy having benefits beyond what’s easily measurable — the same sort of benefits hold true of supporting local farms — including the ones that incorporate livestock — vs. synthetic Taiwanese “food” imports.

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So yeah, I can’t say definitively that vegan is better all the time. But then, I can’t say definitively that local is better all the time, either.

But this post’s talking more about vegans who insist a vegan diet in itself is always greener than an omnivore’s diet — even when the omnivorian diet’s extremely eco friendly and the vegan diet may not be. As you point out, people are complicated — and thus we can’t make sweeping statements like vegan = most eco-friendly diet. Perhaps that’s a point we can agree on –

There’s no doubt that not eating animal products reduces your carbon foot print:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/business/worldbusiness/06iht-greencol07.4.6029437.html

and: http://www.ecostreet.com/blog/sustainable-lifestyle/2007/09/11/7-big-ways-to-reduce-your-carbon-footprint/

Those numbers come from the United Nations. Honestly, it doesn’t REALLY matter where those animal products come from. They still use feed that has to be grown and arable land. But do the types of vegan diets you can consume vary greatly (just like omnivorous diets)? Yeah, of course. Now, whether or not a local omnivorous diet is better than a vegan diet that incorporates imported and pre-packaged items, that would take a lot more research and calculation I am not equipped to do. I mean, do I enjoy a banana or a tofurkey dog at times? Yeah. (Tofurkey is made in the US, though packaged and trucked around, of course.) Do I buy MOST of my product at the Farmer’s Market? Yeah. But do I think I’m greener than people who buy all their food at WalMart? Yeah, obviously. If I felt there was no difference I wouldn’t spend the money. It probably depends a lot on how much of your diet is made up of take-out meals from Vegan Thai restaurants. (Although that does support local business – not an environmental issue, but an ethical one, to be sure.)

In conclusion, people are complicated. Personally, I consider a lot of issues relating to my community and planet when choosing my diet, transportation, housing, etc. I think most people are similar.

I think I may not have made myself understood well enough. I am not disagreeing with you at all. I guess the point I’m trying to make is at least it’s a start for some people. I mean, I have to admit myself…although I “cared” about the environment…I never really cared until I went vegan.

I live in a concrete wasteland apartment in San Fernando Valley. :( No gardens for me. It is very sad. I keep trying to beg my friends to let me garden at their house.

The WSJ ran an article about a year ago (wish I could find it) stating that 10% of China’s food is grown on soil contaminated with lead and other heavy metals that get into the food. Apparently it’s common for people to set up small farms on the empty land next to lead smelting plants and the like. Scary.

I think we all agree that we’d all be better off if people ate less CAFO meat, but I disagree with your notion that the sort of veganism you’re espousing here’s necessarily the greenest thing people can do. Basically, you’re saying going vegan’s a great green move for people without “the time or the means” — yet this is the exact kind of veganism that’d lead to wearing cheap pleather and eating fake imported meat. Sure, people without “the time and the means,” as you put it, could fill up on Taiwanese “meat” and Hershey’s chocolate syrup — but those dietary changes aren’t exactly better for the planet.

Eating green does require actually taking the time and the means — but not THAT much more time and means. If environmentalism’s what you care about, making a conscious effort to eat in an environmentally friendly manner will be a better use of your time than reading the huge ingredient lists of “convenience” foods to avoid animal products.

Very relatedly: Check out The Onion’s sendup of greenwashed fast food. Taco Bell comes up with an all unnatural menu that takes no resources from nature. That means it’s all vegan — Yay! :P