As they say, science fiction doesn’t predict the future, it just communicates what present people think about the future.
The “future generations will look back at us in horror” and “we’re on the Right Side of history” are both nonsensical positions that have zero historical basis and function more as a religious eschatology than as a serious scientific prediction.
I must be misunderstanding you, because your claim sounds absurd to me.
You seem to be claiming that making a prediction about the future is inappropriate. I don't understand what "zero historical basis" even means.
A prediction is just that -- a claim of what the person uttering it expects will happen in the future. The prediction is falsifiable (could turn out to be false). So what's the problem with making a claim about how you think the future will be?
No, I am claiming that the narrative of ever-marching progress (of which vegetarianism is a often participant) is just a narrative and not a serious prediction based on analysis and data.
You can see a similar thing with religion. The progress narrative says we will outgrow these supposedly outdated myths, while the actual data indicates that religion is growing, largely due to birth rates.
You are claiming that people who make predictions of this sort are not making a "serious" prediction. And I am claiming that you don't get to say that.
You may dismiss their predictions; you may feel they are worthless to listen to; you might have an explanation for why we shouldn't take such predictions seriously. I can agree with all that. But none of this makes my claim any less of a prediction.
My claim is that in the future people will have a certain point of view. That is what a prediction is.
I am confident you know that predictions can be false, and calling something a prediction doesn't mean "it will come true" or "it is more likely to come true than not".
I'm just puzzled about your use of the word "prediction" -- perhaps we mean different things.
The “future generations will look back at us in horror” and “we’re on the Right Side of history” are both nonsensical positions that have zero historical basis and function more as a religious eschatology than as a serious scientific prediction.