The Absolute Worst of Cognitive Dissonance
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- Опубліковано 29 жов 2020
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-------------------------VIDEO NOTES-------------------------
Cognitive Dissonance is the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioural decisions and attitude change. There is one particular area in which this is especially present, and in which it constitutes the norm, rather than the exception.
-------------------------------LINKS--------------------------------
'Why It's Time To Go Vegan': • Why It's Time To Go Ve...
'A Meat Eater's Case For Veganism': • A Meat Eater's Case Fo...
[1] 7 billion male chicks killed each year: www.sciencedirect.com/science...
[2] British male chicks ‘humanely gassed’: www.independent.co.uk/life-st...
[3] Treatment of UK dairy cows: • This is the truth abou...
[4] Most pigs slaughtered in UK killed by gas chamber (page 6): assets.publishing.service.gov...
[5] Around six million calves killed per year in the EU for veal: www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/...
[6] Animal slaughter counter: thevegancalculator.com/animal...
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The video hasn't even been out long enough to watch a quarter of, and yet the dislike ratio is higher than usual. These people think they're sceptics.
You're the first person to make me consider going vegan (having been veggie for some time). Serious question - can you recommend a good vegan cheese? This isn't meant to be frivolous.
@@samuelyates9165 Sceptic is the UK spelling (I don't know why his account name uses the US version)
@@samuelyates9165 It's spelled sceptic everywhere else in the world. Idk why his name is Skeptic tho.
@@punypixel2795 I'm wondering the same thing. Cheese, along with eggs, are the two things I'm struggling to replace. Most milk products are easy to replace with oat or almond, and with meat there's plenty of alternatives. But I don't know what to replace cheese and eggs with.
@@punypixel2795 I'm wondering the same thing. Cheese, along with eggs, are the two things I'm struggling to replace. Most milk products are easy to replace with oat or almond, and with meat there's plenty of alternatives. But I don't know what to replace cheese and eggs with.
“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
What truth cause I didn't see any
So true
The truth will set you free is a quote from the Bible, mate...
@@kylesmit2690 "Didn't see any truths"
Comments on a video that lists actual facts.
200 IQ right there.
@@alekz112
Well, obviously, the objective phenomena he describes is accurate, but the whole moral framework throughout the video is sanctimonious rubbish.
The most annoying thing about vegans is that they’re right.
Its just a different right than mine.
@@daviddeida Sure, if you don't share some basic feeling of empathy; that would be....psychopathic
@@Wayfaringwolf nice appeal to empathy right there...
@@moritz3168 Cheers ;)
@@Wayfaringwolf if morality is based on empathy, is immorality excused by not having empathy? Thats the logical conclusion of a moral system based on empathy.
"If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat"
-a person made out of meat
best comment ive read in a while ahah
Cannibals are true Christians
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" - George Orwell
nah, it's just a case of "this animal is my pet, this animal is my food". There is no need to overcomplicate it. It is simply down to the individual whether they are okay with eating some animals.
@@davidweng7321yes, we could see them as pets or part of our local nature etc. I suppose it's a bit of a humanization process - they're closer to us, we have a feel for their behaviour, feelings, they have an impact on some people like someone close to us might have; almost like they're a bit closer to our species.
@@davidweng7321Yes but why is it that you are okay with it? Cognitive Dissonance. He’s not arguing in this video that people are not okay with eating animals, he’s arguing that when people are okay with eating animals it is because are using cognitive dissonance as a tool to avoid the bad feelings that would come from facing up to their ethical principles.
@@davidweng7321 exactly "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"
FUCK YES I FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE IN THE COMMENTS WHO SAID THIS
Me:
*starts the video*
*sees the dislike ratio*
Ahh, guess we're talking about veganism today
It's actually doing fine dude.
I mean the dislike ratio is fine but it isnt as it should be for a video made by such an honest, rational person. But since he often covers deeply emotional topics like religion or veganism he sadly often gets hate by irrational people with emotional problems. Wanne see the dislike ratio whenever hes discussing islam/christianity?
It's not bad at all lol
The dislike ratio is clearly several times higher than the norm on this channel. Look at some of Alex's recent videos that don't involve any mention of veganism, the average like/dislike ratio there is not the same.
The same thing happens with Sam Harris's channel when he speaks about Trump.
This started out as a little bit uncomfortable for me as a meat eater, so I continued watching, because my opinion should always be challenged. Thank you for challenging the norm and making me think twice about my position!
this is awesome. 🙂👍 cognitive dissonance is normal and not fun to feel, so its great that you're willing to let it make you uncomfortable.
So what's for dinner!?
Yeah same...
Same. I'm not going to pretend I'm about to shift diets just like that, but this will be weighing on my mind for a while...
@@WolforNuva totally understand that! I first thought about this from a graphic flyer I was given at a music festival. I was shocked and it hit me hard. and then.....I ate meat after the festival and forgot about it. Cognitive Dissonance......I remembered it though some time after and went on from there. took me a long time but....I have been vegan for close to 6 years. 🙂
Mate. You called me out. Time to go have a good hard think.
Usually I just watch the channel for the the religion debates and avoid the veganism stuff but I've got to say that this video has hit me pretty hard. Those chicks going through the grinder and the pigs being gassed are images that are going to make it difficult to get to sleep tonight. Time to start making some changes. me thinks.
You have empathy. That’s great
There's far far worse imagery out of every day slaighterhouses. If the few pigs have traumatised you imagine that x10 or 20 with their eyes basically vitrolised from CO2 gas.
Bolt gun slaughter also often doesn't work so cows are brutally injured, hung upside down and then their head is being cut off while they're still moaning.
Now Imagine that 100billion times because that's how many land animals are being killed for animal products every year. 1-3 trillion fish are being killed for consumption every year. The equivalent of the entire human species in animals is being killed every two weeks and if you consume animal products you're directly involved in this atrocity.
If you even have an ounce of empathy for animals it's the most horrific process emaginable.
The footage doesn't even do it justice, the sheer industrial scale of the grinding is obscene, I have seen timelapse footage of vast production lines of this, great conveyor belts that just keep going...
Every egg you see is equivalent to a ground up chick, since the gender split is 50/50ish...
And I'm not even vegan. So yeah, time for some changes for me too.
I think that you'll find a hen lays more than one egg in her lifetime, so it's not true that for every egg you ready there is one chick ground. Would be true in case of buying a whole chicken carcass, tho.
You will not do anything to help those chicks or those pigs. The industry will go on. Cognitive dissonance.
im so sorry for making fun of veganism. i literally have no excuses anymore.
It's okay. Now time to change
I'm sure a good number of vegans have made fun of veganism at some point before going vegan, so you're not alone. Good on you for seeing reason.
Same. I used to call myself a "carnivore" because of how much meat I ate, now, I'm a vegetarian working towards veganism. All thanks to this video. One of the best things about people is that (when they decide to) they can change.
I don't forgive you.
Thank you men, respect.
6:00 "One death is a tragedy, 1 million deaths is a statistic"
Alex, I mean this, you've convinced me to go vegan. I'm 17, living with my parents who brush off the possibility of giving up meat by saying "life's too short", but very soon I'll be responsible for all my own meals. And when that happens I will never eat an animal product again thanks to you!
Life’s too short for many things, leading an ethical life consistent with your beliefs is not one of them. Thank you for your courage and thoughtfulness
The ironic thing is, one's life may be shortER by eating animal products, since there's such a clear connection between consumption of meat and many critical health issues... AND there's such a clear correlation between longevity and little to no meat consumption. So yeah, life is short, but I don't want to make it even shorter by being a meat eater! :P
Good for you man! :)
Same with me, I'm 17 living with my parents. I too will stop eating animals and animal products when I'm on my own. My parents never even think of what animals go through from what I've seen.
"Life's too short"
Maybe for the meat eaters it is😅
you and earthling ed are the most well-spoken advocates for veganism i’ve seen. i really appreciate you two for making my view of humanity a little more positive. it’s a scary world we’re living in.
I am one of those people who, from a purely logical perspective, had justified meat-eating from a human-centered utilitarian framework. This video has made me realize that, while a moral system can be internally consistent, it could also be cruel and insensitive to other's pain. This video has shifted my perspective on this issue.
Considering the massive environmental damage, the fact that Vegans have better health outcomes and BMI levels I don't see how there is a utilitarian argument for humans.
Plus why wouldn't we include different animals to us in the utilitarian framework? What characteristic does a pig lack, but us humans have, that justifies rights for humans, but not for pigs?
@@jhunt5578 "I don't see how there is a utilitarian argument for humans". Because it's tasty. Plus vegans having better health could be because they care more about their health in general, you need control groups to test that, not just a correlation.
"What characteristic does a pig lack?" Being human. Also be careful with that argument because it's completely useless against a lot of people who believe humans are God's chosen species
@@jhunt5578 the way to justify it: Vegan diets are harder to get right. They may be healthier, but they are more difficult to get right, especially in countries where food variety is scarce.
And the difference between a man and a pig? Simple. A pig's survival is naturally less important than a human's. When i say naturally i mean the protective instinct in most people isn't as strong.
There are good reasons to eat meat practically as a product, and they're all in situations that morals have to be thrown out for survival. Do those arguments hold up in the 'first-world'?
Not really
@@bentaylor809 I didn't realize it was easy to get your hands on grains, beans and starchy vegetables. They are the cheapest foods, available to the poorest people in the poorest countries and are incredibly nutritious. So explain to me why it's difficult for a person in the first world to buy cheap food? Especially in the internet age
@@theveganwujeeta I said nothing about the first world not being able to. To have a Vegan diet to the extent that there are no issues and you get everything you need is incredibly difficult today because of lack of knowledge. Easy fix I am aware. But in poorer countries without money to access food and curtain nutrients from other parts of the world can be challenging. My point was not trying to defend my carnivorous habits, but rather to demonstrate that claiming it is a pure absolute is absurd
"If god didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat."
Hooooo boy, do I have bad news for that guy about what human babies are made out of.
This begs the question, is cannibalism immoral? Are survivors in tight situations who are forced to resort to the worst considered "evil" simply because they wanted to survive? Kinda effed up, but it's a good question.
Personally, I think an outside perspective can't really judge the situation because they weren't subject to the same conditions.
@@gabebolden9394 My initial inclination is to say it depends on the specific context. Did the person whose meat they're eating die naturally, or were they killed for the benefit of the rest of the group? Did they offer themselves willingly? There are some circumstances where I would say cannibalism isn't necessarily immoral and should be viewed more as a tragic necessity.
@@gabebolden9394 The question about whether cannibalism is moral is really simple, if you understand what morality really is.
Morality is simply the META strategy of organizing entities (humans) under a specific rulebook.
In the modern world, cannibalism is immoral, due to the damage of social cohesion it might bring, where as in a society where food may be scarce, it will be very moral to eat other humans, as having to maintain the mentality that you are possibly on the menu would be greatly outweigted by the utility that it brings you.
It may even be that eating people involuntarily would be moral too, depending on the specifics. It's all a matter of weighting things against eachother.
@@gabebolden9394 I'm personally trying to write a novel in where a race of dragonborn sustain off of mostly cannibalism and basic crops
Is cannabilism moral under extreme and certain situations? Most definitely. Just listen to this story and you will completely see that yes, it can be. ua-cam.com/video/syJyPq7lRGc/v-deo.html
90 seconds: 174,869 chickens, 4,150 pigs, 9 donkeys, 14 horses, 2,772,879 wild fish
Probably 30 million shrimp (mostly wild, but many famred) too. What a world.
This video changed my life. Watching it started a chain reaction in my life that eventually led to me being coming vegan. I've been a vegan for almost a month now. Thank you, Alex.
Still vegan?
@@bdnnijs192 yes :)
@@BriannadaSilva Responded yay!
@@BriannadaSilvadont miss cheese?
@@Lmao-ke9lq No because I don't like cheese lol
I felt intellectually attacked as a meat eater in the best way. Honestly you confronting me the day way I would confront the fundamentalist religious people made me reflect on the moral implications of meat more seriously
The video was beautifully spoken and I would not disagree with anything, but I don’t think he mentioned that the reason people (meat eaters) see farmed animals as different to, say, swans, dogs or whales is because farm animals are bred for humans to eat, in the belief that humans require meat and/ or dairy in a balanced diet. They would need to be persuaded that a vegan diet will provide all the necessary nutrients, or just try it and see what happens.
@@Lola-Yo Gold shaw farms, he only eats meat raised on his own farm because he knows the care that went into raising the animals and how they were processed. He actually rarely eats meat.
Honestly I couldn't go vegan, I enjoy eating meat and I believe it's the only natural way to get a full diet with all the necessary nutrients. I'm also underweight and going vegan would seriously harm my health. Kudos to those who can, as of now the most I can do is only get locally sourced produce from the small farms in my area.
@@apolloandwarrior_3229 Do your research on nutrients then because your ''belief'' is killing innocent animals.
Go check challenge22, you can have a mentor helping you for free if you're lazy or something.
@@apolloandwarrior_3229 Totally lazy and ignorant take. If you gave any moral consideration to the suffering of animals you would do the 10 minutes of research it would take to realize being vegan is easy, cheap, and nutritional superior to carnism.
@@Turgid_Spleenis Totally lazy reading, I said that vegans are great for having self contol and being healthy. I can't go vegan because it would seriously harm my health. I have nothing against vegans, I just like the taste of meat I try to only buy from locally sourced produce where I know animals are humanely killed.
Farming and slaughter needs a lot more regulation to ensure animals are treated with respect before becoming a meal, the living conditions are abysmal but people should still have access to meat and animal products. There are some terrible farmers who treat their livestock horribly and cramp them like sardines.
To all the vegans I've laughed at, I give you my sincerest apologies. It's hard to be as empathetic as you dudes and I commend what you do now more than ever. Alex, thanks for sharing this.
Go vegan then, bud.
Quit the lip service bud actions speak louder than words
Ofcourse to continue to respectfuly talk to our fellow human beings. But I don't agree on people forcing everyone to go vegan. Cause it is clear that our bodies are made to be omniborous, so it's not good to force everyone to eat in a certain way when we are made to eat a very diverse diet, not just plants, animals or whatever. What ever we can eat, and we make very nice food using our creative minds. I don't see eating animals as a moral thing, this is how creatures of this world function.
@@YwY-ct5yq Yes our bodies can digest both dead bodies and plants. We have to make a chouce. It is a fact that we can be healthy without killing animals in this day and age. This makes killing animals unnecessary. Why kill when you don't have to? You're appealing to nature. That's a fallacy... Just cos something is natural doesn't make it moral. If you are to be consistent, do you think we have the moral right yo kill any animal on this planet for food?
@@YwY-ct5yq we are not obligate omnivores. Meaning it is not absolutely required for us to eat plants and animals. We can survive on plants. Actually, we thrive on plants.
What a great video, thanks for taking the time and energy to make it. I think this could be really powerful if someone watches it all the way through.
I used to make fun of vegans. After watching some of your videos I ended up turning into one myself. It just shows that I - and a lot of other people - are not very wise. How the turn tables.
My ex: "bullfighting is so horribly immoral, it should be banned"
Also my ex: "rodeos are so fun! Me and my family love going to them"
??
That's a bruh moment right there
Well, rodeos don't KILL them, right?
@@chrissonofpear1384 only exploit them for purpose of fun
@@justanotherutuber3 With something as lousy as that explanation it could easily apply to your dog or cat...
@@lorenzamccoy7512 If you're not aware of their inhumane practices (I used to not be aware of them either), I'd look it up. Dogs and cats are usually treated humanely; they're cared for and not hurt. If instead, you found joy in abusing your dog for fun, then yes, that would be immoral.
yeh i have got to admit, i probably need to give this vegan thing some more thought...
Just don't throw your skepticism away like Alex has.
@@Elrog3 What does that mean?
@@Elrog3 excuse me what?
@@AmPPuZ I'm still waiting for a justification from first principles on why sentience matters. No vegan has ever given one.
@@Elrog3 Ok... I mean Alex gives arguments from consistency for veganism, not first principles. Idk where you're from, but I'm near certain there exist animals which, if someone were eating them in front of you, would disgust you. Thus you ought be disgusted by the eating of all animals for the same reasons. Being rational is being consistency. I mean if you find empathy and an abhorrence to cruelty to be "throwing away your skepticism" then I find your value as a "skeptic" to be worth nothing.
I completely agree with you.
I remember being a little girl growing up in Portugal and witnessing a bullfight for the first time on TV. It was horrifying for me to witness a bull being tortured like that, and I started crying, wanting to stop what I was witnessing. People watching told me that was Portuguese culture and my answer to them was: F the culture and its traditions if it hurts and tortures others sentient beings. I’m ashamed to be born in a country that allows animals to be tortured in the name of tradition, culture, and entertainment and call this art!
Bullfighting always bothered me so much too. My friend and her sister went to Spain and echoed a similar story to yours, where they both were just sobbing. I love culture and travel, but sorry, that’s the type of thing where I draw the line.
Thank you SO MUCH for making unapologetic videos such as this! I think this is one of the most important topics of our time and you are doing so much good with your platform by speaking out the way you are!
I went from eating a cheeseburger while watching this video to vegan within 14:51 seconds. I had no idea how bad it was for those animals , I always knew I was eating animals ofc but never gave it a second thought to what I was actually doing. I’m really grateful for this video , thanks Alex
I'm glad you were open to the conversation. Congrats.
Bless you. And if you mess up, just keep trying. ❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️🌱❤️
Watch dominion next, he barely scratched the surface
Are you still vegan?
Congrats! I also went vegan in the middle of a UA-cam video. Hope it's going well for you.
Thank you. I wanted to leave as soon as I felt attacked, but then I remembered that the only way to change is to accept criticism. I consider myself a skeptic. I consider myself a deep thinker. Yet despite all of this, I never considered the blatant injustices I was overlooking and contributing to. I know it's not an easy shift, especially as someone who loves baking, but when I heard and really understood what you were saying, I cried. I came here thinking I'd watch you teach a hypocrite some skepticism. Turns out I was the hypocrite the whole time.
I'm a vegan baker. You don't have to give up baking because you're vegan. I've made vegan cakes, meringues, caramel, biscuits etc. It's easy when you know how 😁
*hugs* its hard at the start. Take the changes slowly and with compassion to yourself. Lifelong change is difficult but easier when you give yourself the time to make the changes. It took me a full year to transition but it was worth it to ensure i didnt fall off the bandwagon
I spoon of ground flaxseed (easy in coffee grinder) for one egg and also lots of lemon juice to create the necessary acidity ....when you get the recipes right its more delicious than eggs and milk and butter... coconut milk is great for baking and delicious frosting and vegan culture butter is fantastic! No loss in being vegan ..food just gets better!
@@zantecarroll4448 i agree though even though I havent perfected vegan baking myself when I eat from vegan bakeries or whatnot omg huge difference you can TASTE the egg and milk in traditional food and it really does ruin the experience
I read this comment section to see people questioning their beliefs, its really motivating. Thanks dude, you can do this :)
Holy shit this brought me to tears 😢😢 I'm rethinking my diet thank you for opening my eyes!
As a long time vegan this comment section makes me so hopeful for a future in which all beings are delivered from suffering
Suffering is a part of life. Everybody and everything will suffer.
Question, if you have an ant infestation, what are you going to do?
Preach 🙌
“You know what else kills cows? Killing cows”
* surprised Pikachu face *
@@itswrongtokillanimalsifyou2837 Speaking of Pikachu, is Pokemon a fictional animal cruelty? Can I be fictionally offended by it? :D
@@josephmanuel272 "Speaking of Pikachu, is Pokemon a fictional animal cruelty?"
Gee, I'm not familiar with the terms by which Pokemon are caged. Is it consensual, the caging and fighting?
@@itswrongtokillanimalsifyou2837 As far as I remember they were not caged. They were put in tiny balls.
@@josephmanuel272 Mmm, that's potentially even worse, but it could be that they have plenty of room inside those balls because of magic.
It might still be against their will, though. I'd still lean towards fictional cruelty in that case.
You make really compelling points I hadn't even considered before.. it was kind of just normal to me to have that mental separation between animals that I didn't worry about and the ones that I did. Huh.. I'm gonna have to mull that one over for a bit, thank you. It's refreshing to be presented with new ideas.
💙 If you need help finding out dietary information you can go to challenge22 which should be a go vegan for 22 days kinda thang 😊
he made an appeal to emotion using apples to oranges comparisons that don't generally cause cognitive dissonance... if you want to see actually compelling points about veganism I suggest some of his older videos about the topic.
@@timeshark8727 Most of the examples he used were very much contradictory, thus showing a level of cognitive dissonance. People being outraged at a calf who choked to death, for example, when suffocation is considered a humane way of slaughter in most countries. I haven't sorted my thoughts out on the matter, but at the very least I can say his methods weren't wholly flawed and his points weren't strictly emotional.
There's nothing wrong with having a separation between animals you care about and ones you don't. Its your own prerogative to decide on a case by case basis how you feel about something.
@@enbyrogue3740 It can't be cognitive dissonance unless they actively feel conflicted on the matter. If they don't think anything of it, its not cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance should be reserved to being diagnosed by a medical professional just like every other mental disorder, but instead its become a buzz word for bigots.
What a great video. I myself suffer from CD, being vegetarian but not vegan. This gave me a good kick on the backside to try harder and just do it. Thank you!
Plants are alive too, they also want to grow and reproduce, and not you to eat them. Hypocrisy much?
@@ezergilechimekazikura6855Plants don't have a brain or feelings though
@@ezergilechimekazikura6855haha plants don't 'want' shit
@@ezergilechimekazikura6855 i mean, plants don't want anything since they lack a braincortex or a nervous system to transmitt signals. They are literally not capable of feelings or experiencing anything at all
@@ezergilechimekazikura6855 Do plants experience stress or pain?
Omg. I think you just made me a vegan. I’m sorry I was so blind to this for 40 years, I really am.
Did you become vegan?
I’m already vegan but if I could go vegan again this would have made me do it
Meat eater here, I've been on the fence about meat since I watched a Vice video where they talk about eating dogs in China, and I couldn't even finish the video! Then I thought to myself "aren't pigs smarter than dogs?"
I'm feeling really conflicted right now, but kudos to Alex for not being a 'preachy vegan' at least from my perspective its all about logical reasoning for him, which is why I started watching him to begin with.
@@Jesse-um1pz personally I think the term “preachy vegan” was made up by meat eaters in order to silence vegans who speak out because they feel guilty about what they do to animals.
I’m not targeting you specifically obviously!! Just that’s how I see it used a lot, even if we’re saying exactly the same things as him and being factual.
What’s stopping you from making the switch? :)
@@Penguinstudios123 So I should start by clarifying that the Vice video didn't put me on the fence, it more so started to make me question the morality in eating some animals and not others more seriously.
I think that I don't feel like its preaching from Alex because it falls within the context of the content he makes. But it comes off as preachy when its unprovoked, like if missionaries wandered up to you and started to talk about Jesus, or Jehovah, or Mormonism. I do agree with you that it may be in part because they know its wrong, if the person has actually reasoned with the whole concept. Some people won't even consider it because they can't contemplate giving up meat due to ignorance, willful or not.
The main reason I haven't switched is I guess I'm not entirely convinced its immoral, as far as eating animals goes (I do believe that the factory farming is highly immoral). The main reason I would say right now is a reason for me to stop is the pollution and resource impact of consuming meat at the level modern society does. If the world could unanimously get together and put an end to mass farming/slaughter and the impact that ends up having on the climate, I would support that, and never eat meat again if I had to, but thats a hard sell to many.
I think that the best chance for me to quit eating meat (and many others) is having viable substitutes like Beyond Meat which is supposed to replace meat nutritionally and taste-wise.
@@Jesse-um1pz i know how you feel!!! ive been vegan for a few months now but for some reason i have a blind spot in my brain where i don't see much wrong with killing cows or chickens etc. i think it's because of YEARS of being told it's okay has conditioned me, and it's going to take some time to undo that conditioning. i suppose interacting with animals would help a lot too. if you feel this way, then thinking abt ecological destruction is a great way to get ur mind back on track. also, it's great to transition using meat substitutes! that's what i did in the beginning for cognitive reasons, but over time you start to eat more legumes and veggies, better for your health too. hope you make the change man!
@@PureeCharm See I get that, since I was a teen I always thought it would be nice to own a farm (for meat eating reasons) making sure that they had a nice life and weren't fed crap because unhealthy animals are unhealthy to eat right? But then I see these videos of people with pet cows, and pigs and I don't think I could bring myself to kill and eat an animal I raised up. Btw a lot of these people who have pet cows still eat beef, just not their pets, and that was the argument by people in China "these animals were raised to be food!"
Idk I guess my problem is the question "Is it immoral to eat meat?" Which I wouldn't say so; humans are evolved to be predators, our binocular vision is evidence of that. But I think the real question is "Should an animal suffer to sustain me?" Which I would say is only true if its necessary. 150 years ago even meat was pretty much required, and today in many parts of the world it still is. I think the progression of society will ultimately lead to a vegan society (theyve pretty much accomplished that in india, right?)
I've always been a fan of this channel, because Alex is a genuine guy. I'm a Muslim and not a vegan (yet) but I always enjoy watching Alex's videos regardless of what they're on because I know he's consistent and has no problem admitting he's wrong and changing his views afterwards. Keep up the good work Alex, I will always be supporting you.
For religious folks - plant based foods are ALL halal and kosher. :)
Vegan and muslim here, it's a lot easier than you'd think, and it feels good going to bed knowing that you tried your best not to hurt animals today.
Go vegan @Fahimus Alimus
Same i watch Alex cuz he's skeptic and very eloquent and polite..he really doesn't give a s&@^ what people think
Veganism is fighting for the rights of animals, and pro-life is fighting for the rights of unborn babies.
Alex you speak so eloquently its incredibly inspirational. You are a true legend.
It's truly astounding that such logically sound concepts can come out of someone who is too weak-minded to practice what they preach. Oh the irony of an active atheist who believes in "do as I say, not as I do."
I'm still going to save this video to share to further the movement, but I definitely expect I'll have to preface it with some tedious explanation starting along the lines of "yes, I know this person is no longer vegan, but..."
I'm vegetarian and have been slipping back recently, having meat maybe once a month, this has really put me back in my place and now I'm going vegan
Every time you think about eating or using animal products, think of the victims. There is a literal victim.
Great! I went vegan when I finally learned about the abject unwatchable evil that must be done to the innocent animals before they ended up on my plate, and once you truly GET IT, you can NEVER go back - eating ANY animal now is as abhorrent to me as eating dogs and cats!
thanks for the honesty. Bright future
@Ruben O.Your cognitive dissonance is baffling. I hope you understand the insanity of your actions one day, and that you become a decent human being. What you are doing is harmful to the environment, human life, and of course marine life. You show a complete disregard for ethics in every word you write.
@@NoisyPixels Where is his cognitive dissonance?
I stopped mocking vegans years ago, back when I figured what didn't affect me I didn't need an opinion on. That being said, veganism clearly SHOULD affect me, So much so, I'm going to try a vegan diet this month. Reckon it's got to be better than gassing animals to feed me, or grinding them up while still alive.... shudders.
Thank you! Highly suggest watching Cowspiracy, What The Health and Dominion. Also, Dr. Gregers Daily Dozen app is amazing! Another app, Chronometer, will show you how to hit all your vitamins, minerals, fats etc.
Check out 'challenge 22'. You get added to a facebook group where vegans help you through the process. Recommending food, recipes, where you can eat out etc. :)
@ElementalStar the advice about changing stuff out slowly is also helping me stay on course. I am veggie now and slowly trying to get vegan, but by switching stuff slowly it doesn't feel like I have crash landed.
Good luck! The first month(s) of veganism can be hard - I won't lie and say they're not, but that's just natural with any new diet/lifestyle. Two tips:
1. eat enough CALORIES and make sure you are getting the right amounts of all the other nutrients (eg. protein, iron...). simply removing meat from a burger (for example) doesn't make it good vegan meal. It is a steep learning curve, especially going straight to veganism from a carnivorous diet, so make sure you research it a bunch. You are essentially learning a new skill, so don't give up - if it isn't working, (and this may seem harsh, but) it won't be because of veganism, it'll be because you aren't eating correctly.
2. dealing with meat eaters mocking and questioning you... this is also a new experience and they will catch you out every now and again, but the facts ARE on your side, you just need to educate yourself. If it does come up in conversation, be respectful and be the one to ask them questions, letting them come across their contradictions.
If you have questions, I'd be happy to help
Now we just need to convert all the other millions of carnivorous wild beasts out there. Don't let your message stop with humans dear brother, they represent only a small percentage of responsibility for the many animals slaughtered every waking hour of every day. Go big with your vision. We need all animals to stop eating each other. They should be ashamed of themselves. Those barbarians don't even have the good manners to use a knife and fork and wait for their prey to be fully dead before eating, the savages that they are.
Watched this video in January right after I had eaten probably my third meat meal of the day. It came on my suggested feed because I had been watching some of Alex’s atheist content. I had always scoffed at veganism but I figured I’d open my ear to it one last time because Alex is someone I looked up to and considered very intelligent. Let’s just say after 14:51, I became vegan and never looked back. Thanks Alex!
Seriously. A video with blatant straw-men is what convinced you to make drastic life changing decisions?
@@bdnnijs192 Personally I thought his arguments were sound, but it’s a decision out of empathy as much as it is for logical reasons. Hypothetically, even if all his arguments were bad, I realized that I love animals and flinch at the thought of a single animal in pain. I simply did not want to contribute to that anymore.
As for the “life changing decision” part. It really isn’t so life changing. I didn’t stop eating food. I just eat a lot of more fruits and vegetables and sometimes vegan proteins. My body feels better and I feel a lot better in the gym.
@@yashdesh
Most of Alex' arguments are not sound if you don't assume anyone can and WILL (this is an important one) WILL be healthy on a vegan diet. Without this premise argument's aren't all that sound.
I can make similar arguments like Alex'.
1. "Stabbin' people is bad. Yet we as a society we richly reward Surgeon's for stabbin' people. Cognitive dissonance.
2. Locking people against their will is bad. Yet our criminal justice systems relies on locking people against their will. Cognitive dissonance.
Purely logically logically these are sound. The issue lies in the underylng premises.
"My body feels better and I feel a lot better in the gym."
Nutrition is a complex topic. If you don't properly educate yourself on the risks and draw-bakcks of veganism you'll set yourself up to damage your health months or possible years from now.
Remember you're only a few weeks into this experiment with a sample size of just one. I can recommend reading ex-vegan accounts. Learning from their mistakes (health issues) can help you adjust your diet accordingly and increase your chances of remaining vegan. (Just a sincere word of advice. If you want to be vegan, you do you, I'm just not interested risking my health for that experiment)
But kuddo's on eating more fruits and veggies. It's something I aspore to do for obvious reasons, only without entirely cutting out food-groups.
p.s. "a decision out of empathy as much as it is for logical reasons."
I find it interetsing you present logic and empathy as seperate entities. ;)
@@yashdesh
p.s. "I simply did not want to contribute to that anymore."
That's more or less impossible. Entropy is a law of the universe. Short of killing yourself causing some degree of harm to other beings is inevitable. Even plant-based food is not strictyly vegan. (animals get shot to protect crops, pesticides are used, animals end up ground up by machinerey)
Truth is, there isn't a lot of reliable data on how many animals suffer for plant-based foods. And vegans generallly aren't interested in finding out or comparing both sides. One grassfed cow might involve less suffering overall than same nutrients obtained via strictly plant-based methods.
Vegans try to circumvent this by pointing out vegans are 'not perfect'. According to vegan principles as I got understand them (from on the receiving end getting called an unethical monster) this is a euphemism for euphemism for: "Yes, I'm complicit in a moral attrocity BUT...".
For me personally such a concept of original sin is just very offputting.
@@yashdesh Have you ever used bug spray and/or infectacide? If so, I have some bad news for you....
Once you become vegan, you see cognitive dissonance everywhere.
I was on the fence about becoming vegan ( already vegetarian) but this just did it for me. Im done
Congratulations!
I was about to make the same comment. Worrying about appearing preachy, personal laziness and willingness to ignore my beliefs for convenience all held me back, but it has been put very clearly into perspective by this video. Thank you very much.
@Ruben O. Okay, I get thinking that humans have more moral worth. But do you really think the moral worth of a fish is worth less than the momentary enjoyment of a tuna sandwich (for example), which you'll end up forgetting in a day or two?
Like, there are some really really good recipes and foods that don't contain animal products. You said yourself that animals have moral worth, so wouldn't a meal you enjoy that isn't made of animals be more moral that a meal you enjoy which is made of animals?
How can you be "on the fence" about doing the right thing and helping animals?
Inform yourself, please, i think you have made an amazing choice and I ASSURE YOU it can be done properly and it will improve your health aswell as the welbeing of others. and the food can be totally amazing too.
Brilliant breakdown of the most obvious and most common example of cognitive dissonance Alex.
Gregg Branden Look it up
Thanks! #GoVegan
Thanks! #GoVegan
@@user-nb5sh4bl7h also, Gregg Braden (who I first thought you mentioned).
The most obvious? Pro-abortion activists who find puppies cute? Or are vegan due to reasons stated in this very video? Is abortion even vegan?
you're doing amazing stuff
I wonder how Cosmic Skeptic is dealing with his cognitive dissonance now that he has turned his back on veganism due to his mysterious health concerns he doesn’t want to talk about
Maybe his health isn't your concern?
We already know it's IBS and that he thinks he can't deal with it on a vegan diet. All the vegan youtubers having crohns or IBS disagreed with him though and were asking whether he contacted a nutritionist or the vegan doctor on his patreon, which he never responded to.
While I personally don't care more or less about Alex' health than anyone else's, it's kind of telling that he focused on the "bad vegans" and never responded to the valid criticism.
The same way we all deal with it.
When it comes to vegans we always attack their character and look for hypocrisies, but that doesn't affect their actual argument.
Veganism IS the morally correct stance on the issue. I say this as someone who eats eggs and dairy. Yes I am a hypocrite.
This is why we all get so angry at vegans, it spoils our self deception.
I'm dealing with my own hypocrisy of treating my pets like kings and eating meat. The problem is that humans need to evolve into vegetarians but I don't think we're there or headed there any time soon. I think ultimately some deaths are more painful than others and we need to work with that metric to reduce the suffering of livestock.
I was always considering going full vegan. You convinced me. Been a vegan for almost 2 months now and Im not planning on going back. Every time I crave something made from animals I just think about what they have to go through in order for me to enjoy it for 5 minutes. After that it takes about 2 seconds for it to turn into the most disgusting thing I can think about. Thank you for making these
MrBoston1630 It won’t take long for the craving to cease- I find the thought of putting dead flesh in my mouth utterly revolting .
Now we just need to convert all the other billions of carnivorous wild beasts out there. Don't let your message stop with humans dear brother, they represent only a small percentage of responsibility for the many animals slaughtered every waking hour of every day. Go big with your vision. We need all animals to stop eating each other. They should be ashamed of themselves. Those barbarians don't even have the good manners to use a knife and fork and wait for their prey to be fully dead before eating, the savages that they are.
@@wattlebough Stupid sarcasm mate. Those "other" animals don't have moral agency like humans do. Humans know right from wrong and it's how we live in a civilized society today. Lions eat their own cubs. Penguins rape each other. Us humans will certainly not do that. We know we shouldn't eat our babies. So stop basing your morality on other animals to justify your behavioral patterns to continue eating dead animal flesh.
@@anthonydinino2321 animals DO have a moral agency.. not the same one that we have. But something does define what they are doing as right and wrong. Lions usually protect their pride,but some leave the lioness to fend for herselfand the cubs. Why doesn't every lion do that.
Some cat fathers stay with the mother and help in the upbringing of kittens,others don't.
Some animals eat their children,others don't.
Whales for all their might donot harm humans,they are self aware of how heavy they are and become extremely gentle when dealing with a human,some have even saved humans.
They don't have a law,therefore the crimes,but they definitely have a moral agency.
Watch some animal documentaries and you might understand that they not just survive but live thier lives.
@@farha951 True you're right. Still doesn't justify the unnecessary slavery, torture, exploitation and slaughter of these innocent animals. At least wild animals can run away from predators and their death sentence isn't judged on the profits they their babies' milk is producing for the farmers. Absolutely insane.
I’m seriously considering going vegan because of your points, and because of the environmental impact of animal farming.
Try the Challenge22 when you are ready!
It’s a free 22 day mentorship program that has experts, nutritionists and dieticians that help you replace corpses, bird periods and cow titty milk with delicious and healthier plant based alternatives
Good luck! The first month(s) of veganism can be hard - I won't lie and say they're not, but that's just natural with any new diet/lifestyle. Two tips:
1. eat enough CALORIES and make sure you are getting the right amounts of all the other nutrients (eg. protein, iron...). simply removing meat from a burger (for example) doesn't make it good vegan meal. It is a steep learning curve, especially going straight to veganism from a carnivorous diet, so make sure you research it a bunch. You are essentially learning a new skill, so don't give up - if it isn't working, (and this may seem harsh, but) it won't be because of veganism, it'll be because you aren't eating correctly.
2. dealing with meat eaters mocking and questioning you... this is also a new experience and they will catch you out every now and again, but the facts ARE on your side, you just need to educate yourself. If it does come up in conversation, be respectful and be the one to ask them questions, letting them come across their contradictions.
If you have questions, I'd be happy to help
Do it! It is an amazing feeling :)
Now we just need to convert all the other millions of carnivorous wild beasts out there. Don't let your message stop with humans dear brother, they represent only a small percentage of responsibility for the many animals slaughtered every waking hour of every day. Go big with your vision. We need all animals to stop eating each other. They should be ashamed of themselves. Those barbarians don't even have the good manners to use a knife and fork and wait for their prey to be fully dead before eating, the savages that they are.
@@wattlebough oh you're a copy and paste spammer. How silly. You are just plain silly. But it takes all kinds and here you are 😉
CosmicSkeptic should do a response video to this now that he's quit veganism 👍
Yeah let’s hear what kind of mental gymnastics he will do to rationalize his idiotic about face on this topic. I’m sure he is dealing with a fair amount of cognitive dissonance lately but I guess it isn’t enough to counter wanting the approval of the Petersons.
He quit veganism? Could you elaborate or link something please?
Thank you for making me vegan after having eaten meat for 16 and a half years
Based
Veganism wrecked his health and he is no longer vegan. You should quit the cult before it destroys your health as well.
@@tinknal6449 Shut up and read the science. Note how Alex doesn't have a single source for his anecdotal health claims.
@@freshairkaboom8171 I read peer reviewed nutritional research on a near daily basis scooter. (And not just that which supports a particular bias) How about you, scooter?
@@tinknal6449 most vegans are much healthier than the average person
I clicked on this video cause i never had a good understanding of what CD was. I wasn't expecting to have my ignorance be exposed so harshly.
Alex, I had been considering ditching meat for the last year or so, but your videos gave me the final push to transition to a vegan diet. Currently changing my meal plan before my next grocery run. Thank you for making such clear, articulate points. 👍
That's fantastic, good for you. Don't forget B12 supplements!
Hell yeah love reading all these comments keep it up!
@@evaoleary8938 What else would I need to think about if I were to go vegan? No milk, eggs or meat seems like impossible to me. I don't eat a lot of meat but milk and eggs are needed for baking all kinds of stuff.
@@sarenareth689 There are so many vegan alternatives available these days, it's absolutely possible to enjoy a varied and satisfying diet without animal products! I'm a pretty picky eater but I've got a good set of staple meals I do enjoy that I can always fall back on when I don't feel like making an effort.
I totally understand that it can seem daunting when you've spent your whole life relying on animal products but I promise you you'll find alternatives you enjoy, it just may take some time experimenting. There are days when I just want to give in and eat the delicious meal the rest of my family is eating, but there are other days when I'm super satisfied by my vegan meals and my family is envious of me! The most important thing for me is that I ultimately feel most at peace with myself when I eat vegan, even when the going gets rough, knowing that I'm doing the right thing.
Vegan baking can actually be really fun to experiment with! There are thousands of vegan baking recipes on the Internet that you can try out, you'd be surprised how many ingredients have easy vegan substitutes.
One of the most important things when going vegan is making sure you get enough protein. This is what will keep you feeling satiated. Try to live by the simple rule of including at least one good protein source in every meal, whether that's tofu, meat substitutes, beans, nut butter, lentils, seitan, etc. Don't go having meals of just rice and vegetables or you'll be so hungry and find it way harder to resist animal products! You need to feel satisfied. Try out vegan sausages, vegan burgers, vegan mince, vegan yoghurt, soya milk, etc! So many options, some will be great and some will be gross lol
Sorry for the essay, but finally I just want to say that besides making the switch to vegan, the next most important thing is to make sure you can keep it up in long run. If you don't think you can go cold-turkey successfully, then start by replacing animal products that you don't rely on as much - maybe butter or honey or yoghurt, for example - and gradually build up to replacing the rest. Set targets for reducing your consumption of a certain product if that helps you stay on track. And if you end up being vegan except for let's say one animal product you just can't give up, that's still making a huge difference. Be kind to yourself but not complacent! Good luck❤
@@evaoleary8938 Okay that sounds much less dreary than I thought it would be. Nut butter, soya milk and vegan burgers sound like a good place to start. Thanks for taking the time to write an essay :3
Many cowards wouldn't have even guts to watch the full video before disliking.
Hey, @CoamicSkptic, that's a good video for you, maybe couldnchange your mind, that young man has some strong arguments
I'm glad to see there's even a cognitive dissonance meter right next to the like button!
I love that he hasn’t even lost subs over this. He’s gaining 1k every couple of days and it’s perfect.
Vegan btw
Good one!
So funny how people are fine listening to people criticise others belief until it puts into question their own, then the tolerence seems to come to an end.
Criticism that is valid is always welcome in my book. However, what is posted here is not valid and full of ad hominem. He doesn't even define what cognitive dissonance is correctly.
@@RB-qq4hx and you dont define what an ad hominem is correctly, now bug off.
@@RB-qq4hx From what I can tell you didn't even bother to register what half this video was saying. From what I know, he gave textbook examples of cognitive dissonance throughout the video.
@@jaidenthekid6051 He misrepresented it completely. People who avoid FEELING cognitive dissonance are the ones who are avoiding understanding the world is nuanced and complex. Being in a cult or a fascist belief system will do that, you will have a black/white ideology with no room for recognizing it is arbitrary or unproductive. His "examples" are a bunch of made up emotive arguments like a pro-lifer talking about the horrible "murder" of millions fetuses. His rhetoric is circular and using meta beliefs themselves as persuasive definiitions that are arbitrarily applied, subjective and yet absolutist.
Like a cult leader.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persuasive_definition
@@jaidenthekid6051 Note especially he used the dictionary (6th grade level, colloquial) definition which does not actually follow the academic use of the term. People who feel cognitive dissonance are not inherently wrong, they are only wrong if they don't resolve it to a more nuanced, rounded view of the world, or reject the rigid concept they had before. CULTS don't want you to do this though, so everything about their ideology is to shame, guilt, badger and brainwash people into avoiding a complex reality and thus run away from the threat of cognitive dissonance occurring and opening peoples minds.
This is no joke one of my favourite videos in UA-cam
I needed to hear this, thank you Alex
Came to learn about CD. Ended up being vegan.
Cheers ¡ :D
Hell yeah! :D
Same, dude
Don't worry the feeling will pass.
This video just completely changed my mind on veganism and legit opened my eyes to what mass-genocide we are committing without people (including me) even caring about it.. dayum
Use challenge 22 to help you with meal ideas and how to stay healthy on a vegan diet 💙
... I really hope you are kidding... this video was an appeal to emotion. It didn't have anything in it that should really cause people to change their minds about anything.
He has far better videos on the topic of veganism, frankly, this is probably his worst video on the subject.
@@timeshark8727 you think? It wasn't an appeal to emotions though. It was a breakdown of reactions to animal abuse, and to those who defend animals from such abuse.
It's a comparison piece which is opening the eyes of many to arguments that they hadn't recognised.
@@timeshark8727 This video was about cognitive dissonance. And in my opinion Alex did bring the point across on how hypocritical it is to on one hand, defend the rights of some animals and have such a strong emotional reactions to these individual cases but then not care at all about millions and billions of other innocent species being killed for food. I don't particularly care whether or not he appealed to emotion, i dont need a rationally layed out argumentation on why mass-genocide is bad.
@@timeshark8727 that the video is bad is just your biased opinion. as he is pointing out internal inconsistencys he is using logic not emotions. Just happens to be an emotional topic aswell but thats not his fault.
Incredibly though provoking video, thank you for putting this out there
Alex looks like he ripped a bong right before filming this but only put eye drops in his right eye.
I love how you’re unapologetically vegan af now. Keep up the great work.
Apparently unapologetic = ad hominem ranting and verbal abuse of non-vegans?
@@RB-qq4hx Ad hominem? In your dreams maybe?
How ironic to play the victim and talk about verbal abuse
@@RB-qq4hx No. I’m using its dictionary definition.
Where’s his ad hominem ranting and verbal abuse of carnists?
It's very cringey. I couldn't make it through 3 minutes.
@@MicahBuzanANIMATION Sounds like it struck a nerve.
I thought I was doing well by being vegetarian... Going vegan isn't going to be easy but I don't think I can drink milk or eat eggs or cheese without thinking about this anymore...
It's nor difficult. There are so many dairy free, vegan products. I still eat cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc but it's from coconut cream or cashew cream. I make my own cheeses too. It's actually fun! Ans for eggs there are several different options depeno on what you're cooking. Check out my playlist for food on my channel.
I would like to pass on some words of wisdom I heard. A vegan was told, "I've thought about becoming vegan, but I couldn't give up cheese." He responded by saying, "then go vegan, apart from cheese. Never let perfect get in the way of better."
Although you're still being a hypocrite by eating cheese, it reduces the amount of cruelty you're responsible. It's a move in the right direction and once you've started the move, you'll find momentum can keep you going and that perhaps you don't want that dairy after all.
@@davidbgreensmith that's good advice. Since this comment, I've reduced the amount of dairy I eat to the minimum amount that still give me the nutrients I need for my current diet (that means 1 medium bowl of yoghurt per day) while I figure out how to change my diet to get rid of that as well in a healthy and acceptable manner (I can't stand the taste of soy based dairy, otherwise I'd be set). Turns out, I didn't actually eat as many eggs as I thought so I could easily get rid of them. The only thing I'm not doing is checking every single package for ingredients but I think that the amount of animal products in there is fairly small since we mostly eat things made from fresh ingredients. My mom has a lot of allergies so she can't eat many processed foods which means we're used to making most things ourselves. That made it a lot easier to switch. I do still eat meat when my grandfather cooks for us but he refuses to cook vegetarian so the compromise is that he gives us half the portion of meat. It's kinda funny how meat is only really good when you've been eating it a lot for years. Since I went vegetarian I started finding the taste becoming kinda bad. When I think of how much I used to eat, it just makes me sick (and that's ignoring the animal cruelty aspect). This comment was longer than I intended... Anyway, have a nice day!
@@TaylorTheOtterI find it useful to view goals as something I achieve one step at a time. A small, maintainable change makes it easier. That's not saying it's easy. I a yoyo dieter and am in that part of the cycle where I've put on the weight by going back to bad habits like emotional eating. I tell myself the key is to get back on the horse and have another go.
I know what you, eat about meat. I went vegetarian several years ago. It was brought on by talking with an animal rights activist friend of mine and I just said to her "Karen (this was in pre "Karen" Karen days), I can't be part of this anymore." Strangely I didn't find it difficult to give up meat. I'd always been a squeamish carnivore. Anything with a bone in it, looked like and animal or a limb would give me the willies. I haven't missed it. I appreciate others who enjoy it might have more difficulty. I've found the idea of meat growing more repulsive with time. I can't tell if meat is off now because it all smells off to me. I think that the future is vegan, if only because modern industrial farming of animals is unsustainable.
make the change, try it, i pass trough the same thing years ago, you where doing well, and you can do better as you grow and learn. i have hope on you.
I was made painfully aware of my own cognitive dissonance when I realized that while the footage of the chicks, cows and pigs did tug on my heart strings, the short clip of the woman eating dog meat evoked immediate revulsion and an almost blinding amount of rage. Simply because I think of one animal as something we're supposed to love, and another as something we're supposed to eat.
Also sadly for ages I didn't realize pigs are more intelligent than dogs. In terms of self-awareness. e.g. a pig can recognize itself in a mirror eventually, most dogs can't. (A pig will try and wipe off it's own face when it sees a mark on it's face in the mirror) And also puzzle solving... finding something to get a reward. Yes dogs ARE better at understanding human commands, very loyal, and are more obedient so we also assume they are also more intelligent.
Pigs are not more intelligent then dogs my guy lol.@@gambit633
Go vegan! It's time... 😁🐷🐶 It's ok I promise it's not that bad. And you feel better living in integrity ❤
@@weaksohyeahI am now vegan during the week, but vegetarian for breakfast on the weekends. It's the best compromise I can manage right now.
I've been vegan for a year, I admit I am angry about animal suffering and I choose to internalize it until I can get a hold of my emotions or be able to clearly speak without getting too heated... I feel relief from my anger here through you beautifully channeling, (I'm still angry, I just don't know how to convey it, and seeing someone who can is the relief, I can use a lot from this video to help defend animals from being bred into existence) I can tell you've been unsettled by the horrible truth that is the meat industry, Thank you for making this video, and thank you for the possibility for 247,798 people to watch it, what you are doing and what you have done already is amazing.
Well, as much as I hate to admit it, you're absolutely right. I subscribed for the discussions on atheism and philosophy, so I never clicked on the videos discussing veganism, they didn't "interest" me. That's the excuse I used at least. I was on board for the discussion of morality, but as soon as the topic of meat eating comes up, I "lost interest".
Cognitive Dissonance.
You posted this trap, and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. You forced me to re-evaluate my reasoning, logic, and my morality through the lens of cognitive dissonance. I now see that I have been desperately trying to protect something that I knew was immoral. This is how I felt when I first realised my cognitive dissonance with religion, and how hard it was to get past that. I know that I need to look into this topic further, I know that I need to make changes, and I need to try to overcome this.
Thank You.
Beautifully said! I had the same experience 8 months ago.
Thank you.
I put off the idea because I had no idea what i would eat otherwise, it seemed so foreign and bizarre to me. When in fact every single piece of evidence of what we do to animals is bizarre when I thought about it. The reality is, it's really not as hard to transition into eating other stuff as I thought. Once you get used to it, it's almost the same as eating meat, except not as many people do it.
Imagine how many innocent mosquitos dies every day - why are you so concern about cows? cognitive dissonance!
@@martin6548 Do we intentionally breed mosquitoes so we can kill them?
You’re a legend Alex! As a long time vegan atheist, I appreciate that you changed your mind/behavior when presented with the argument for animal rights (unlike so many of the so called “champions of reason” lol)
Matt Dillahunty?
@@jiminnature3394 yes, it breaks my heart to look at matt and his minions
Hard same. I love to see someone live with logical consistency.
He ho im with yall 100% on factory farming.
Not on eating meat per se.
Im an organic farmer practiaing regenerative agriculture.
The vegan movement made a big impression on me. I dont eat pigs any more or buy meat anywhere, but i do have my own animals for eggs and milk and when its their time to go, its painless and i eat them. I would eat the horses cats and dogs too, but id get in trouble if i was caught. I got a lot of problems from composting a donkey a few years back.
@@GDKLockout I agree with your view wholeheartedly. But because I don’t know where to buy meat like that, veganism is the way to go for myself.
I'm not too thoughtful about where I get my food. I started out defensive, but you made some seriously refreshing points. Really made me think. The hypocrisy is absolutely astounding. I wish you'd make more videos on this topic.
Alex you have turned me into a 100% vegan mate !!!
There's also the fact that all this cognitive dissonance makes us complacent about the fact that meat industries around the world do immense ammounts of damage to the environment.
Thanks for speaking the truth. And for encouraging those of us who struggle with quitting animal food products entirely to take the next step and become vegan.
To quote another of Alex's videos - "People will stop using plastic straws to save the fish, but won't stop eating fish to save the fish".
(this might not be a direct quote it's been a little while since I watched the video, but something like that lol)
Industries in general incl fruit and veg production do damage, the meat industry isn't any different
@@action963 Obviously the meat industry is different because the scale of damage is much higher, due to the inefficiency of getting calories from meat instead of plants directly.
Nobody is going to do anything about the environment, its already passed the point of no return. Fasten your seat belt, you are in for the ride dawg.
@@Yoooo8462 the next time you eat an avocado 🥑 from Colombia, go ask yourself how that found its way to your mouth or asparagus flown in from peru....home grown meat has less carbon footprint than these..i can continue to point examples if you like.
This is one of the finest bits of reasoning that exists on this topic. I am (currently) NOT a vegan but... after watching this I am finding it hard to cling to my existing position.
Alex you have excelled yourself today. Well done young man.
Because you can't see it you think it doesn't matter. I eat meat. You'd be surprised to know that Alex has caused the death of as many living things as I have. Just because the vast majority of them can't be seen, or are just ignored as insignificant doesn't make it any better or worse. When you look at the whole picture being a vegan is just hypocritical as somebody who loves pets but eats meat. It's all because of perspective.
@Grant Pritchard, Veganuary is a great resource for people wanting to transition to the vegan lifestyle. You can do it
@@TIMMEH19991 thats some major mental gymnastics there mate. Surely killing as little as possible would be the better option wouldnt it? We still need to survive. Noone needs meat to achieve that
@@MrBoston1630 again, look at the bigger picture. I worked for many years on a dairy farm with 120ish cows. It wasn't remotely an intensive farm, the cattle lived pretty damn happy lives for cows. They lived outside every day, only kept in a barn at night in the winter for protection. They willingly came to the dairy all on their own for milking, nobody forced them, and when they had offspring, a day after they were separated, if they met their offspring again they wouldn't bother with them at all. They really do make quite dreadful parents! Now if we all decided to be vegans from now on, what would happen to that farm? I know the answer, the farm although being unsuitable for grain crops would grow root vegetables.... oh yeah the cows. 'Fraid they'd all get the chop, along with all the livestock on other farms too. where as now there are uncounted millions of cattle and other livestock, suddenly there wouldn't be any. All dead. Mass genocide. I'm not saying don't be a vegan, everybody should have the free choice to choose, but to make that choice you have to look at the biggest picture you can because sometimes you can unwillingly be hypocritical despite trying very hard not to be.
@@TIMMEH19991 the world isn't going vegan overnight. It's a gradual process. The less people buy animal parts and their secretions, the fewer will be bred into existence. Supply and demand.
I would like to add also that, as Stalin (in)famously said, “The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic.”
Sometimes it is easier to emphasise to a small death or abuse , especially if they're local.
Loved this video
9:52 "You know what else kills cows? Killing cows!" Wow, you really nailed it!
Points out the moral hypocrisy perfectly. Brilliant job.
@@davidevans3223 Nice random blog post.
Anyway, this is what the largest *scientific* body of nutrition on the planet has said about properly planned plant-based diets:
“It is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes. Plant-based diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal products because they use fewer natural resources and are associated with much less environmental damage. Vegetarians and vegans are at reduced risk of certain health conditions, including ischemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain types of cancer, and obesity. Low intake of saturated fat and high intakes of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nuts, and seeds (all rich in fiber and phytochemicals) are characteristics of vegetarian and vegan diets that produce lower total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and better serum glucose control. These factors contribute to reduction of chronic disease. Vegans need reliable sources of vitamin B-12, such as fortified foods or supplements.”
(B12 is made by bacteria in the soil and supplemented into meat and dairy products as well btw so you’re supplementing B12 directly/indirectly either way)
Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27886704/
@@davidevans3223 Vegan vitamin D3 tablet, problem solved. Welcome to veganism.
@@davidevans3223 There are lots of nutrients that we need that you don't get in abundance from animals too, B12 and vitamin D for example should still be supplemented in a large number of meat eaters. More importantly, just because you can't get it from your food (even though lots of vegan products are fortified just like non-vegan ones) isn't a valid excuse when you can easily take a pill to get what you need instead of slaughtering sentient beings...
@@davidevans3223 The article you linked literally says "The bottom line
Well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets are very healthy." Also you could take supplements for all of these things if you needed. And it's not like a non vegan diet doesn't have any health disadvanteges.
@@JacKAsterisK I don't agree with that lifes better with animals and I pay for them to have a live sure some one a day bit like miscarriage wasn't going to be anything to be in pain
Thank you for taking my blind folds off!
We treat plants in the same way depending on what they represent to us. People would be horrified to see an old oak tree vandalised or some little crocuses trampled but are ok with chopping down and grinding up acres of mutant, forcefed grass.
Plants are not sentient
I became a vegan starting August and you were part of the decision for me to do so, so thank you.
As a bonus point, three of my family members I live with are those type of a person you spoke of at the beginning of the video so big F there.
I knew this would be an uncomfortable video to watch but i watched anyway. I was a vegan and know i should be. I am guilty of cognitive dissonance and turning a blind eye because it's too much effort to be a vegan. That needs to change. I am ashamed. I will do better. Thank you Alex.
turn that shame into action. and keep loving yourself through it. ❤ you can do it!💪just see it as a journey and have fun with it. ive been Vegan for close to 6 years and I am also a trained Mentor for an Organization that helps people go Vegan. so feel free to let me know if you have any questions! you got this and im here for you. 💪🙌❤🌎🐾
@@mayganphynix8267 aww thank you so much, that's amazing to hear and i truly appreciate it. ❤️
@@Jbird54247 On the subject of veganism sometimes being hard - there is a great video by Veganism Unspun (now dead channel) on how we shouldn't pretend there aren't difficulties, but instead used the difficulties to motivate people. A big personal sacrifice can sometimes create a lot of happiness. It can feel more meaningful knowing you are actually making an effort and not just going along with whatever everyone else is doing.
Alex, this video is one of my favourite videos of yours. I love it. I come back to it from time to time. It is an important, relevant issue to raise. Even though I've already realised the things you've said before watching it for the first time, the arguments and thought were so nicely put, it is still something I like to rewatch.
This is fantastic. Thank you
You're an absolute savage Alex, we need to adopt exactly this kind of relentless direction that sends shockwaves throughout the world of ignorance.
Shockwaves through the world.... So glad this has 6 billion views, great comment made my day.
@@maccajft96ynwa97 FYI the GP is 7.8B.
@@alexanderedwards1269 FYI I was so much closer with no knowledge then.
@@lifeoftennis1285 did I doubt the videos success or the lack of accuracy in the comment. Wow. Thankyou again 1 comment 2 made days. And 2 likes from people that think your comment ripped into me somehow. How funny. And pretty sure the world of ignorance originally described ISN'T watching this video. Just saying.
@@maccajft96ynwa97 go and get your maccies and get back on FIFA soft lad.
My skeleton almost jumped out of my skin when I heard those pigs screaming.
😭
Did you know that in the movie The Exorcist they used slaughterhouse sounds of pigs being killed for the sounds of hell/demons?
If you eat meat, you pay for it to happen :(
@Jessie James You're just the kind of "bacon tho" person who Alex mentions in this video. A unintelligent low life moron who has no empathy for other suffering beings.
My god this video has too few views. This needs to be shared more, more people need to wake up to the problems so can everyone please share it
Unbelievably well made video. You’re so talented and important.
Ok..
Idk..
What do u say to someone who just convinced u that u have been profoundly wrong about something u took for granted for your whole life?!!
In a way,
The unimaginable pain and suffering of countless animals are partly my fault..
If one thing is clear to me now, its this,
Im never ever, ever again, eating anything that requires the suffering of animals..
Call me vegan, call me whatever u want, i will simply do my part, regardless of the overall outcome.
Thank you alex,
You have no idea appreciative i feel to u.
Amazing.
Wonderful. But may I gently remind you that it's not just a diet, it encompasses other actions as well. Things like, not wearing anything from animals, not buying products that aren't cruelty free and vegan, not going to zoos or rodeos, not using animal furniture, etc.
@@ASMRyouVEGANyet Thank you,
And yes im am learning.
Only yesterday i thought that merely doing something as innocent as eating a cake can contribute towards animal cruelty, as it contains eggs and milk.. Etc
So i am aware that i need to be more cautious about what to eat and wear and buy.
It is an eye opening experience to me and it is overwhelming.
Ever since i watched this video and im passionately researching and learning about veganism and what it stands for. And with a heavy heart too as i did indeed used to dismiss vegansm as a joke without knowing anything about it more than its just "people who don't like meat".
I just keep wondering how many more people are like me out there?
Who never had the chance to be made aware of veganism and what it stands for and why.
Publicity for veganism is no where near enough. At least this is how i feel from a personal experience.
@Donkerz i will, thank you
@@ASMRyouVEGANyet How do you feel about animals as pets? I don't see that in your list of things you shouldn't do, so I'm curious.
I was vegetarian for a while and suffered from immense CD eating dairy and egg products. I have finally stopped participating in the horrors of the dairy and egg industries and I regret not doing it sooner
Same here. I was vegetarian for nearly 10 years before going vegan.
I regularly eat meat and used to make fun of vegans when I was younger, but this video really is making me think about it
That's so great to hear. You are a very good person for being able to reflect like that. Don't stop thinking about it. Being vegan is punk!
This needs a part 2!
You are why I'm vegan now, have been since you first interviewed joey
❤️
Been vegan for 7 months due to this channel. Will be for the rest of my life. Thank you for that Alex.
Great video.
Great video!!!
Amazing video, thank you for elaborating the point so clearly. Being vegan is not extreme, it is the "least" we can do.
thats an upopular truth, yea
I enjoy the taste of meat but I what I enjoy even more is living in such a way as to align myself with what I know to be ethically right. Great videos. You've changed this mind.
@Donkerz Great to hear. Must feel very freeing. I'm feeling inspired!
reading your comment liberates more serotinin in me that any amount of drugs or videogames.
@@pepinillorick5741 that's awesome! but just so you know... i know a guy that sells some amazing MDMA.
@@pepinillorick5741 how do you know how drugs make you feel 🧐😳
Haven’t eaten store bought meat in over 5 years. I hunt all my meat and have my own chicken coop and an extremely large garden. So I’m good but thanks anyways.
Best way to do it. Respect
Thank you for making this.
You helped me to convert my vegetarianism to veganism and I'm now vegan for a month. Thank you!
Comments like these make me so happy! Thank you for no longer supporting animal exploitation
You made my day. I hope the world will be vegan sooner than later ...
@@BornVegan Thanks to you too! I can't believe I used to consume animal products just for taste pleasure all these time. I'm 16 now and I hope I'm not too late to convert.
@@Francisco-lf3zi Thank you! I hope the same but I can't even convince my family to convert :(
@@gowrinandana8999 I can 100% relate to that. Having been a vegan for four years now, I would recommend you to inform and educate yourself about veganism as much as you can. Research the main facts about the different forms of animal exploitation, like animal farming, fishing, pets, zoos. Also about the environmental benefits of a vegan lifestyle, and about the evidence that supports the nutritional adequacy of a plant based diet (www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002822309007007).
Patience, it can be difficult and sometimes very challenging to deal with prejudice and cognitive dissonance. In time you will manage this much better. Make new vegan friends, it can make a big difference and even a relief. Also, while being true to your principles, try to keep good relationships with your family and friends in spite of the differences. It has been useful to keep in mind that I was not a vegan for many years just like the rest of my family and most of my friends. I see the potential vegan in all of them. We can make a much bigger change if we are in touch with those that we want to influence. Take pride in being a vegan!
You are 16? Wow, people are becoming much more aware of the world at a young age these days... at your age I was neck deep in ignorance and social conditioning. Huge props to you!
You’re seriously making me reconsider my position on this
great to hear! before you move on or forget his message, make steps to end your usage of animal products. not for the new year, or next week, but now. you won't look back and you will be part of a better world without unnecessary suffering. good luck!
www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-nutrients-you-cant-get-from-plants#4.-Vitamin-D3-(Cholecalciferol)www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/neuroscience-in-everyday-life/201908/gut-bacteria-can-influence-your-mood-thoughts-and-brain?ampbrainworldmagazine.com/your-brain-on-a-diet/
@@davidevans3223 Do not use blogs and magazines as scientific sources please.
Here you have the Position paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics on the matter which is the biggest nutricional science authority in the world.
www.eatrightpro.org/-/media/eatrightpro-files/practice/position-and-practice-papers/position-papers/vegetarian-diet.pdf
"appropriately planned
vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide
health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are
appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy,
childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes"
Vitamin D3 is produced by your own body by taking sun for 15 minutes, really easy to get. Also, you forget in the modern world most foods are fortified. I live in South America and even here Soy Milk is fortified with vitamin D3.
Stop looking for excuses, start looking for solutions.
@@davidevans3223 This one is probably even more important
www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-supplements-for-vegans
@@shaolinshifu1 sure but of you don't believe it don't it's why all vegans go nuts you could check of you wanted but sure the cult of vegan denys evolution
Great video, really helpful.