The Claim
“Vegans kill more animals because harvesting crops kills field animals”
Crop deaths and field animals
Quick Answer
This argument actually supports veganism: animal agriculture requires MORE crops (for feed), causing MORE field deaths, PLUS the intentional deaths of livestock. The math does not favor meat.
Evidence Summary
The claim: "More animals die from crop harvesting than from eating meat, so veganism causes more harm." Why this argument fails: 1. Animal agriculture requires MORE crops: - Livestock consume far more plants than the meat they produce - Globally, producing 1 kg of beef requires approximately 8 kg of feed on average (Poore & Nemecek, 2018), though this varies by system from ~6 kg in intensive feedlots to ~20+ kg when accounting for full lifecycle including pasture - Growing feed crops