I feel like technically no because you could argue computing has a bit of a carbon footprint. Would love to see what others think…and are any software engineers here vegan?
Vegan does not mean annulling your carbon footprint tho, which is practically impossible living in the current civilization, it’s about reducing as much as possible. Even a software engineer can make these choices, there are hostings that seem to try to do more to reduce their carbon footprint. Choosing refurbished hardware when possible. And many more I guess.
I was vegan for a while, some health issues caused me to reconsider my eating habits, and am now trying again to see how much legumes/tempeh/tofu I can replace meat with without being unwell, it needs to be slow tho…
I’m vegetarian, so I was wondering if I was doing something wrong by choosing this path. I became vegetarian because I love animals and sea creatures. Crabs and Octopus in particular are very majestic to me. I don’t want to do something that hurts others!
I mean veganism is all about doing something that would be right for living things and computing raises emissions? I did more research just now and there is “green coding” or “vegan coding” which looks very nice to me. I was thinking of rethinking all of this. So yeah seems there IS “vegan coding” which includes some of the things you have mentioned.
You can do it slow! It’s the thought that counts. Veganism is not some purity contest like many make it out to be. Especially since you have had trouble because of health problems you would still be considered kind by most normal vegans for even trying.
I have always seen veganism as trying to make the best choice you can whenever you have a choice to make, I need to buy rice, which of these is the one that was cultivated nearest, and maybe is not in plastic? I need a new shampoo, which of the ones I can buy is the one that has the least impact/was not animal tested?
Software engineering has its own set of choices.
Greenpeace Aotearoa uses solar energy to power its computers. I’m sure other organisations and businesses in remote areas use solar / renewable resources to power their equipment.
Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia, and Democratic Republic of the Congo get almost 100% of their electricity from renewable sources.
Most other countries generate renewable / clean energy in double digit percentages.
So many software engineers could be vegan coders without even realising it.
TBh I think it would be funny if I could troll a supposed vegan and say they’re not actually vegan but it does seem like there are many vegan coders without realizing it! Exciting!