Britain under the Green Party: Zero growth, no army, and everyone either high or hungry

Efficiency shouldn't be the overriding consideration for any society. Otherwise we're back at hyper-capitalism, aren't we? Having some luxuries or enjoying things that may not be super 'efficient' should not be seen so terribly either. It's quite natural and human. As always, moderation is obviously key.

Right but meat production isn't just a little inefficient, it's a major contributor to climate change and the destruction of our environment.

Eating less meat essential to curb climate change, says report

The global livestock industry produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all cars, planes, trains and ships combined

Two recent peer-reviewed studies calculated that, without severe cuts in this trend, agricultural emissions will take up the entire world’s carbon budget by 2050, with livestock a major contributor. This would mean every other sector, including energy, industry and transport, would have to be zero carbon, which is described as “impossible”

Our diet is unsustainable, and it's shocking the main parties don't talk about this more, of course suggesting people should eat less meat is incredibly unpopular so it's left to the Greens who are labeled "loony" for having some policies that mildly promote vegetarianism.

There is also an argument we have a moral duty to be more efficient with food production, as while we enjoy the luxury of a meat heavy diet, millions of people are starving. It takes 8kg of grain feed to produce each kilo of beef, that could be used for human consumption, so it's an order of magnitude less efficient way of getting food.

Re defence. Sometimes a good defence is a good offence, though this doesn't necessarily have to entail an interventionist stance. You have to at least try and consider that there are other people who are not as warm-hearted. An armed force that's just good enough for defence might not be enough to fight an advancing one built for offence. With something horrible like war, the reality is that you need to have some soldiers left at the end, otherwise you've probably lost.

The Green party argument has always been we should have an military prepared for the threats we face now, not one that's ready to invade any other country at the drop of a hat. It's hard to imagine a situation were the only option for us to defend ourselves was to involve ourselves in a major conflict by launching a pre-emptive strike, perhaps you could give an example of what sort of situation you are imagining?

/r/ukpolitics Thread Link - telegraph.co.uk