What would it take for the entire global population (nearly 6.8 billion) to adopt a completely vegan diet?

Even if you believe that it would never happen or never want it to happen, would would be required?What would it take for the entire global population (nearly 6.8 billion) to adopt a completely vegan diet?
I'm a bit of a novelist and although i cant agree with this idea I would imagine it something like this.

First there would have to be a slow ban on meat products. This would have to happen gradually because a instant change would shock the economy. But if the government lowered the number of meat producers through ceilings and restrictions then made a complete ban it might work. After the ban took place you would more than likely have protests and possibly civil war over the government's ban on meat. Assuming the government won this battle the people would eventually stop fighting it so much. At this point you would have a meat free society. The issue however would exist that even with harsh penalties a meat black market would soon come into existence. Eventually creating mobs and gangs of people who are responsible for maintaining this market.



A good real life example would be America's attempts at prohibition. Which resulted in many mobsters including the notorious Al Capone. Not realistic but a cool story idea.What would it take for the entire global population (nearly 6.8 billion) to adopt a completely vegan diet?
Everyone on earth would have to truly face all the facts and research veganism with an open mind - the health and environmental aspects alone are astonishing. They'd have to be able to accept that they can change and that its not hte end of the world. They'd also all have to care more about the planet and others pain than their routine.



This is unlikely to happen since human beings are pretty lazy and selfish. We usually only do something if its more trouble not to do it than to do it. (Vegans just couldn't handle or let themselves ignore the suffering they'd be contributing to. So it was easier to change.)



On top of this, the entire world of peoplewould each have to make enough money to be able to choose what they eat (in third world countries you eat whatever you can) or the ones with extra would support the others. (Note the paragraph above)
First off the countries that have a lot of arable land would have to completely support some pretty large parts of the world with food aid and vitamins. There are a lot of places where people can't really grow plant foods and they eat mainly meat/dairy. Also we'd have to partially supplement another large section of the globe. And what would we do with the animals that are currently destined for slaughter/dairy farms? Feeding them would be difficult when we had to feed the rest of the world too.



And how exactly do vegans get B12- my understanding its either yeast of some kind (would that be allowed?) or synthetic vitamins. So the vitamin companies would have to increase production by a huge amount. But that synthetic requires cobalt, which is only really mined in Zambia and DRC (formerly Zaire). Those countries would be just totally f***ed cause everyone would want control of their cobalt mines IMO and we'd take them over. Colonialism vegan-style! sounds great:[



Seriously though how many groups in the world are traditionally/culturally vegan? I actually can't think of ANY which makes me think it would just be incredibly difficult even for a few countries to become entirely vegan. In the US it would be possible, but most of the world just doesn't have the resources/climate to grow nutritious food year round.



I could keep coming up with little random ideas about it, this is a very good question even though I'm not vegan or pro-vegan at all really.

But I don't think this could work in reality- a huge number of people would starve to death. Plus those poor cobalt mining countries really would get screwed, seriously.What would it take for the entire global population (nearly 6.8 billion) to adopt a completely vegan diet?
To the person who said there would be a lot of animal overpopulation and diseases... that is definitely untrue. We breed animals to eat them. Very few animals would overrun us because they are not being eaten. Besides, no one ruled out the option of killing but not eating animals. Whatever you think about a vegan lifestyle, you have to realize that.



I also disagree that "a huge number of people would starve to death." In most impoverished countries, meat is often a rarity or luxury. No one is going to starve with rice, bread, etc. Maybe get less protein, sure, but not be much worse off from the lack of food. People are more adaptable than you think.



Brett's answer is insightful.
nearly 6.8 billion ( - ) minus ME, my friends and my family !!!



You will not take my beef, chicken, fish, pork away!!!



Never ever!



This post reminds me of what the Muslims post in the Ramadan section of Y!A stating that Jesus will return and break all of the crosses, terminate Christianity, kill all of the the pigs, and make every single person on planet earth a Muslim and submit to Islam.



Never ever will I submit to vegetarianism and never ever will I submit to Islam



I love my veggies, I love my fruit and I love my beef, fish, poultry and pork.!!!!!What would it take for the entire global population (nearly 6.8 billion) to adopt a completely vegan diet?
If all the edible animals of the world contracted a virus which causes anyone who consumes their flesh to turn into a zombie or other horrible creature most people who eat meat would probably stop... either that or they would just adapt to life as a zombie, protest for equal rights, complain that enough zombies aren't being represented in fashion, politics and television.
even with all of the laws in the world humans would still consume flesh. :\ They would just do it in hiding. I would prefer for all factory farms to be banned.
It would require that the whole animal population be wiped out.

Or, that mankind is wiped out.
A pandemic virus that wipes out the livers ability to produce the enzymes needed to digest animal products.
Everybody becomes majorly retarded
Most of the herbivores would have to die, thereby killing the predators from them losing their food supply; crops like alfalfa and timothy would no longer be planted, so we'd have to produce artificial nitrogen for the rest of the plants to grow, thousands or millions would die due to lack of amino acids to aid digestion and growth and protein and enzyme and vitamin production, so we'd exterminate about 2/3 of the animals now living and be responsible for their extinction, we'd exterminate several species of plants, but who'd care since it's theorized we might have to take up cannibalism, so we could eat any who objected. Sounds too extreme to me.
So what would earth or the world do with all the animals ususally consumed? Imagine the diseases,overpopulation,etc.(animals)

It will not happen with me,that is for certain!
The world's carrot producers would have to increase their production 600% to balance supply and demand.
For starters you would have to shoot me and the vast majority of my relatives.