herbivorial whines

I’ve been a vegetarian for 14 years (not a vegan, although I think I’ll gravitate to that point eventually), and I have dealings with an animal protection organization that is a level-headed group working to bring about lasting change through legislation and awareness. I emphase level-headed because being on the fringe scares people away, and makes the fringe-dweller less likely to be taken seriously on Capitol Hill. And I truly believe that at the end of the day, the most efficient, lasting way to protect animals is through legislation and education. How many animals can you truly protect if everyone is writing you off as an irrational, dangerous nutcase? Besides, this group is not trying to militantly convert anybody to a life of vegetarianism or veganism. It’s just trying to protect as many animals as it can, minimize and eradicate their suffering whenever possible, and raise awareness of animal issues, so that people can make informed choices.

I’d love to see more people become vegetarians, or to reduce their meat intake, and I always encourage people to eat as humanely as possible (cage-free eggs, non-factory farmed meat/dairy, etc), but when all is said and done, I think that food choices are an intensely personal matter, and I am not about to lecture people about why they should give up meat. After all, I don’t want people lecturing me about why I should eat meat.

Although everyone is ultimately free to eat what they want to eat, I can’t stand when meat consumers vocally try to minimize the inherent cruelty of the factory farming and foie gras industries and the suffering of those animals. Don’t try to argue that those force-fed ducks, those clubbed seals, those intensively confined farm animals, those farmed fish, and those skinned animals didn’t suffer. They have nervous systems, and they’re not brain-dead, so yes, they suffer. They have the same capacity to feel terror and pain as dogs, cats, and other pets. Don’t try to minimize their suffering in a bid to rationalize that big-ass steak you’re about to eat. Eat it if you want, but don’t try to argue that the cow who supplied that steak was incapable of feeling pain and fear. Or, at the very least, don’t do it in front of me.

There is such a dichotomy among many carnivores who eat cows, pigs, chickens, and fish but flinch when they hear about foreigners eating dogs, cats, and horses. How is it any different? Meat is meat. Acknowledge that. Just because chickens don’t curl up on the end of your bed each night doesn’t meant that they’re not capable of being as smart and loving as your pet dog. Again, eat those chickens if you want, but don’t flinch in exaggerated horror when you hear about someone else eating a dog. The same goes for fur. If you’re going to wear a fur coat made out of, say, leopard, don’t cringe when you hear about coats being made out of household cats in Asia.

At a minimum, acknowledge the dichotomy. Many people are paradoxical to one degree or another, and that’s okay—it’s what helps to make the world a flavorful place. I myself have lots of paradoxes flitting around my head. But I hate when people refuse to acknowledge their paradoxes and instead try to deny their existence or rationalize them away. For instance, instead of saying, “I know it’s strange for me to love hunting and eating meat while at the same time thinking of my pets as being like my children,” a person might say, “Well, it’s two completely different things. The animals being hunted and eaten don’t feel pain/don’t know what’s going on/have no sentient consciousness.”

The other day I watched a special on taboo foods on the National Geographic Channel. They covered the consumption of animal fetuses among a narrow population of folks in India. The narrator of the special asked why it isn’t okay among most folks to eat animal fetuses, but it is okay to eat baby animals (lamb and veal), adult animals, and animal organs. That’s what I’d like to know! How is eating a lamb fetus more inhumane than eating a lamb?

One thing that bugs me is how some people paint all animal protectionists with the same brush, writing all of us off as lunatics, misanthropes, and terrorists. The animal welfare workers who I know are very cool, intelligent, thoughtful, committed, compassionate, open-minded people. They are scientists, doctors, lawyers, parents. They’re not a bunch of ignorant, people-hating zealots.

But sure, I have my misanthropic moments. Absolutely. And I’m sure many of fellow animal welfare volunteers have their fair share of misanthropic moments, too, because of all the horror stories we hear at work. When you’re always hearing about animal cruelty cases—cats being burned alive and whatnot—it does tend to make you spit in anger at mankind. Really, though, my misanthropic moments have nothing to do with the fact that I love animals. It is possible to love animals without hating people, just like it’s possible to love people without hating animals. When I feel flares of misanthropy, it’s because of what people do—not because of the fact that I love animals. Turn on the news on any given day and you will be bombarded with instances of questionable human behavior. Genocide. Kidnappings. Murders. The mess in Iraq. Terrorism. Drunk drivers. Rape. Child abuse. Pedophiles. That’s why I have my misanthropic moments—because Nietszche wasn’t kidding when he said that man is the cruelest animal. (Side note: there are a lot of wonderful, positive people out there, too, and they are what keep me from being 100% misanthropic.)

Regarding the questionable misanthropy of animal protectionists, I will add something that is integral to the mindset of many of them; namely, that what’s best for animal health is often best for human health. The stress of prolonged confinement compromises the immune systems of factory farmed animals, making them more susceptible to pathogens that can be transferred to consumers. Because of their crappy living conditions, these animals are routinely fed antibiotics, which helps to create antibiotic resistance among human germs. That’s one of the reasons why an effective bird flu vaccine hasn’t been developed yet—because factory farmed chickens keep getting pumped full of different antibiotics, and the flu is mutating to keep one step ahead of those antibiotics. Not to mention factory farms’ environmental impact. You don’t have to be an environmentalist to be dismayed at the pollution stemming from factory farms.

Also, I want to know why so many people sneer, roll their eyes at, and ridicule animal protectionists and our desire to improve animal welfare. Why is it so awful to feel compassion for animals? Why is that such a terrible trait to have? When did kindness become a dirty word? Would the world really be a better place if nobody gave a shit about animals? Would that truly make things better for us humans?



song heard most recently before posting: Exhausted—Joseph Arthur