Vegetable Talks (The Ethics Issue)
There are many reasons people become vegetarians; to become healthier through the extra consumption of fruits and vegetables, to lower their cholesterol through the avoidance of red meat, to avoid adverse reactions they may have to meat, to encourage animal rights, or to help save the environment. You may have noticed that I have left a very prominent reason reason out: not killing animals.
The vegetarians who cite this as their reason for me, unless they have thoughts on the side of being for animal rights, are automatically put in the category of "kinda-weird-sorta-hypocritical- non researched-quick to pass judgment" type (and yes I realize that this entry, and the fact that I catalog people in that way puts me into my own box).
I have two main problems with the "non killing" vegetarians:
1) They are quick to point out that humans are not superior to animals, but then automatically assume animals are superior to plants and bacteria.
2) The not killing thing? It's not possible in this world, not even avoiding the killing of animals, let alone plants and bacteria.
1. You can't have it both way people: you can't have animals and humans on the same level while throwing everything else under the bus. Just because a piece of lettuce doesn't have a mouth to scream while it's being tore out of the ground doesn't mean it isn't dying. It's not just a coincidence of the English language that plants grow, live, thrive, and die, just as humans or animals. For me, either you've got to accept that humans are the highest point of the food chain, or believe that everything that grows, moves, wiggles, or reproduces is on an equal playing level, and say a little prayer for the one-celled organisms your body kills to protect itself everyday.
2. You are still killing animals, no matter what you do. You may have avoided that hamburger at supper, but did you eat with the lights on? Did you use the restroom after your meal? If so, you killed an animal. Even if you are a vegan, and eat nothing that could have even possibly came from an animal, did you sleep under a feather quilt? Did you put on chap stick today? Did you check the label on your hand lotion, your body wash? And I better not have caught you using a film camera! See? It's ridiculous to think that in today's world, or any time in history one could survive by using nothing from an animal. The earth itself does not have enough resources to support everything on it's planet; the planet thrives because things eat other things.
While I have been a little harsh on the vegetarians because of the animals thing, I do believe that being a vegetarian as an activist for animal rights is a good thing. It is true that there are thousands of dollars spent on the waste and production of animals raised for consumption. It is true that most animals today are kept in unworthy housing situations and are killed in inhumane ways. This is why I believe the protests should be changed from "Stop the Killing" to "Stop the Abuse" which are two totally different things. So you see, the question is not, what should we kill and what should we save, but rather, how can we make better for the animals we need for human survival.
*steps off of soap-box*
Comments
I think you raise a very interesting point, and one (lucky you) that I agree with. Vegetables die when we pick them, many of the conveniences of modern life are connected to the efficient exploitation of animals, and were we to replace the animals we use with science things would get worse. I agree with you that there is a major difference between killing and abuse. My father is a hunter and I grew up eating venison that he had shot (and, occasionally, road kill) and there certainly is a difference between how those deer went and how factory farmed cows go. If only hunters, enviromentalists, and animal rights activists could just realize they all want the same thing. 5/5
Posted by: r. | April 12, 2009 2:17 PM