Breakthrough Dialogues

In theory, vegetarianism for climate mitigation is really quite simple. Just don’t choose the ham sandwich; have the hummus instead. It seems like a much simpler switch than building electric planes – and equally, perhaps even more so, as impactful – but a mass move toward vegetarianism just isn’t happening. In this episode, Alex asks Marta Zaraska why, despite an ever-increasing abundance of vegan celebrities, memes, restaurants, and meat substitutes, we just can’t stop eating meat. As the author of Meathooked: The History and Science of Our 2.5-Million-Year Obsession with Meat and a Polish-raised, kielbasa-loving eater herself, Marta is a sympathetic voice of reason. Rather than creating black-and-white categories of ethical eating, she advocates for “a strong reducetarian identity” that celebrates incremental progress. Tune in for Marta’s thoughts on why meat-eating is different for us than it was for our ancestors, how meat is linked to power and masculinity, and what created the cultural tension between