Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake"

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:42:01 GMT

pelle@veganism.social — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:42:01 GMT

@jonny but a real death burger is so much worse than a fake.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:45:27 GMT

helianthropy@tech.lgbt — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:45:27 GMT

@roadskater @BoysenberryCider @jonny And that’d be because the animals got there first. j/k

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:09:16 GMT

cultdev@mastodon.social — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:09:16 GMT

@jonny that is, as of sometime in the last 20 years, absolutely by far the best line of reasoning to put forth to get the average person to stop eating meat. i may start using it

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:06:32 GMT

cultdev@mastodon.social — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 09:06:32 GMT

@r343l @jonny after the past decade, i am no longer convinced of its glory

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:56:32 GMT

zapperdj@mastodon.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:56:32 GMT

@jonny back when I was young, in my country, there was a widespread idea that McDonalds an Burguer King hamburguers were secretly made with rat meat

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:22:57 GMT

allancavanagh@mastodon.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:22:57 GMT

@jonny if it’s fake then every burger eater is already a vegetarian.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:51:23 GMT

linza@kamu.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:51:23 GMT

@jonny @nazokiyoubinbou yeah but you gotta be even more on top of hygiene because you can't run it through UV-C on the way out, it's got particulates.

Solar Foods is doing some cool shit. https://solarfoods.com/

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:48:22 GMT

jonny@neuromatch.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:48:22 GMT

@Linza
@nazokiyoubinbou
There is some incredible broth potential in bioengineered scobylike organoids designed exclusively to be broth tissue

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:43:13 GMT

jonny@neuromatch.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:43:13 GMT

@gcvsa
There are so many goddamn cows

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:38:18 GMT

gcvsa@mstdn.plus — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:38:18 GMT

@jonny As of 2026-01-01, the USDA reported 86.2 million head of cattle in the US, of which 27.6 million were beef cattle, specifically.

This is a historically low number.

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/29/nx-s1-5719511/beef-cattle-herd-food-prices

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/2026/01-30-2026.php

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:23:09 GMT

jago@mementomori.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:23:09 GMT

@gbargoud @gcvsa @jonny I've always (half) joked burger patties are made from whatever they can scoop up off the factory floor after all the good meat is butchered, mixed with flour and ground construction debris.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:16:59 GMT

linza@kamu.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:16:59 GMT

@nazokiyoubinbou @jonny mmmm microbe soup

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:15:08 GMT

nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:15:08 GMT

@jonny @Linza Seriously, all the times I've heard of e. coli outbreaks and etc because of the fertilizer used... Yep. "Safer" and "100% safe" are definitely not the same thing here.

Also, wasn't there some big outbreak of "mad cow disease" a good while back?

So yeah, all I claim here is that vat-grown meats are safer because at least they are mostly going to be given plain nutrients and not, you know, that stuff.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:12:00 GMT

jonny@neuromatch.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:12:00 GMT

@nazokiyoubinbou
@Linza
Yeah I could see horrible things going wrong in a meat vat facility, but I just assume the default mode of agriculture is "unsafe except for strict enforcement of regulations" since it is sort of the main thing that caused there to be industrial regulations in this country at least

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:10:19 GMT

nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:10:19 GMT

@Linza @jonny All I said was "100,000x safer." The times I used the term "100%" were about other things.

That wasn't meant to be literal either.

You have to admit it's still safe*er*.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:08:50 GMT

linza@kamu.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:08:50 GMT

@nazokiyoubinbou @jonny Bless y'all for thinking controlled environment agriculture is 100% safe but it ain't unless everyone follows the regulations and the regulations are strict af. See also: diarrhea lettuce.

Source: did my thesis on vertical farming in the near-Arctic

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:13:01 GMT

jonny@neuromatch.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:13:01 GMT

@WhiteCatTamer
His description of his diet was that he buys fruits and vegetables directly from farmers, and with that kind of intentionality i am not going to try and fact check him lol

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:12:09 GMT

jonny@neuromatch.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:12:09 GMT

@wtfwtf_ok
As far as I know nobody is on making sure both sides of these counts even out except him

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:12:06 GMT

nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:12:06 GMT

@jonny Agreed 100%. And yes, if it's not exponentially more efficient than raising animals both in cost and actual resource usage (if applied at scale of course!) I will eat my shoes.

And yes, I am 100% certain that it will never ever be allowed here. Not because there is anything at all wrong with it but because it would disrupt profitable industries.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:11:39 GMT

jonny@neuromatch.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:11:39 GMT

@r343l
Yes definitely my takeaway too. Always love chatting up the cab drivers when I take them

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:10:49 GMT

jonny@neuromatch.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:10:49 GMT

@nazokiyoubinbou
I have been waiting for and am a proponent of vat meat, surely it must be more efficient than raising a whole animal, and it resolves all the ethical concerns I have with meat (while raising a few more smaller in magnitude concerns), but I believe the meat lobby is too powerful for it to get beyond prototypes - I think it is proactively illegal in TX before it even exists as a commercial reality

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:39:42 GMT

crazyeddie@mastodon.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:39:42 GMT

@mathew @chris_e_simpson @jonny A cow is just processed vegetables.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:35:04 GMT

crazyeddie@mastodon.social — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:35:04 GMT

@nazokiyoubinbou @jonny MAGA was freaking the fuck out about it a couple years ago and they like made it illegal in Florida and shit. Near about the time of the great gas stove panic.

Reply to Uber driver had a reason for being vegetarian I hadn't heard before: "if you add up all the hamburgers people eat, there aren't enough cows for that, so meat must be fake" on Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:16:38 GMT

gbargoud@masto.nyc — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 04:16:38 GMT

@gcvsa @jonny

Alternatively for #1: he greatly underestimates how many burgers you can make from a single cow