CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Ecosocialism That Doesn’t Address Animal Agriculture Isn’t Serious

Pigs in a confined feeding factory in the Midwest. Photo: EPA.

I was disappointed to learn the Building for Power campaign, put forward by the Green New Deal Campaign Commission of the Democratic Socialists of America, doesn’t seem to address the enormous environmental damage caused by animal agriculture. Building for Power focuses on four areas: energy, transit, housing, and public spaces. Unfortunately, our food system is a massive contributor to climate change, and it’s hard to take seriously an ecosocialism which doesn’t recognize this and plan accordingly.

I should begin by acknowledging the reasons why I suspect greenhouse-gas emissions associated with animal agriculture aren’t addressed by Building for Power. The first is any critical discussion of meat and other animal products is sure to spark a right-wing backlash. The second is that suggestions for addressing environmental harms caused by animal agriculture are often individualistic in nature. Of course, just because a discussion represents a political third rail doesn’t make it any less necessary, and potential solutions needn’t be so focused on consumer choices, oblivious to the economic forces which help shape them.

“Conservative estimates by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization say animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions globally (the industry has lobbied to reduce that estimate further, and were successful recently to now say about 12 percent),” Will Potter writes in his excellent 2025 book, Little Red Barns. “Some estimates put animal........

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