Animal-Sourced Foods and Livestock

The consumption of animal-sourced foods goes back to humankind's earliest beginnings and has been a vital part of its evolutionary diets. Ancestral consumption levels were high in most cases, even if this must have been a function of the ecological context. After consumption dropped dramatically during the agricultural transition to cereal staples, a renewed access to foods from animal origin became possible over time, especially during the era of industrialization. In the post-industrial, urbanized West, a new trend is emerging. Once universally prized, meat, dairy, poultry, eggs, fish, and seafood are now shunned by a small yet increasing number of people as unethical or harmful for health or the planet. While some concerns hold merit and warrant attention, the recent hyping of vegan diets can only be fully understood when taking a closer look at the underlying societal dynamics.