Should Al Gore tell the American people that they need to be vegans?

A morning talk show, I think on Fox News, had a report on the debate about Burger King's ad campaign pitting the Whopper against the Big Mac with people who have never eaten a hamburger. The anti-Burger King spokesperson argued that Whoppers were the "Hummer" of the food industry.

In reality her argument was not against Burger King's ad campaign but in favour of veganism. Her real attack was against anyone who eats meat and dairy products. She correctly pointed out the extreme inefficiency of producing animal protein as opposed to plant protein. By using resources for raising cattle, pigs and chickens for their meat, farmers generate far more greenhouse gas, not to mention gas from the animals themselves, than would be necessary to generate an equivalent amount of plant protein.

However, Burger King did not create the market for animal protein; it merely provides a product that meets the demand for meat. Instead, the woman should attack Al Gore for not having the intellectual honesty to tell the American people that they need to give up meat as well as their SUVs. Undoubtedly, if he did so, Al would still eat steak as well as drive SUVs even as he lectures the American people to do otherwise.