Weird title for this community, I know. Maybe this isn’t the best place to ask, but it’s the one I thought of.
I try to be vegan, mainly for environmental reasons, but that’s not always possible due to several factors. Usually my priorities go Vegan -> Vegetarian -> Fish -> Chicken -> Pork > Beef
I tried to sort by least to most impact, as well as intelligence. But lately I’ve been wondering if fish does have a smaller impact than chicken and other meats or not, due to what overfishing is doing to oceans. Some times when there are no veggie options I will get like a tuna toast, or a grilled salmon, whatever. But is it actually better? Or show I go for chicken, if I must?
Anyway, wondering what people think.
Fishing is incredibly bad for the environment and is contributing to the destruction of vast swaths of marine ecosystems. I think the biggest impact you can have will come from addressing the factors you referred to that are sometimes keeping you from eating fully plant based and addressing them as best you can so that you aren’t put in that position.
So you would say that wild caight tuna and salmon have a larger impact than farmed chicken?
I don’t know that I have the ability to answer that question definitively. I’m not sure anyone does. What I do know is that they’re both far, far more impactful than just eating plants would be.
This question is kind of like asking “If I have to get shot, would it be better to get shot in the arm or the leg?” And the only answer I can really give is that it’s a better use of your time to figure out how to avoid getting shot at all, rather than trying to figure out which of two bad options is slightly less bad.
I’ve often wondered the same as OP. It’s a good question. I also wonder if tuna is a better option than salmon, or pondered farmed vs wild.