It’s The Animals, Stupid
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The other day I read an article on change.org about “paper or plastic?” in which the author noted a comment by somebody else that whether you use paper or plastic or cloth is less important than what you put into the bag. The comment led to many comments by vegans and vegetarians (including me) and the usual comments by omnis, including:
“I’m allergic to legumes.”
“If meat comes from sustainable farms it doesn’t make a difference”.
“Soy production is responsible for a great deal of the destruction of the planet”.
Naturally, we vegs responded to these comments, explaining that you don’t have to eat legumes to be vegetarian, it doesn’t matter if the meat comes from happy farms or factory farms – both are destructive to the environment, and most soy products are not eaten by humans, nor is soy necessary for a veg diet. And so on.
When I was explaining, perhaps not as patiently as I’d like, that you really don’t need to eat legumes to be a healthy vegetarian, it occurred to me that if this person were truly interested in going veg she would already know this. Obviously she has not given it much thought or done much research at all.
At a veg meetup a few days ago, we discussed how we each went veg and how long we have been veg. One person was going veg for the second or third time, having fallen off a couple of times. I mentioned that I have observed that those who go veg for health reasons are more likely to fall off, go omni again, than those who go for animal reasons. (There is an exception: people who have experienced or seen others experience serious medical problems, and seen those issues go away with a veg diet, tend to stay on the path.)
One of the meetup members responded, nodding her head, “The animals are the closer”. She’s right. Although we often make an effort to downplay the animal part of our conversion (I guess we don’t want to be identified with hippies or seem too compassionate? or unrealistic?), it is our compassion for other animals that makes eating meat simply unthinkable. It’s no challenge. There is no temptation.
It’s really the commitment to animals that means we find the answers on our own. I doubt that I or any of the other vegs on change.org made any kind of dent in the thinking of the omnis who came up with the ridiculous reasons they aren’t veg and don’t need to be. And yet I feel we did the right thing by speaking up. We found each other, for example. We showed there is a force in the climate change movement that is vegetarian.
And, of course, you never know. Somebody might be reading the post and all the comments and get to thinking. Those thoughts might lead to that person moving toward a vegan diet. One of the comments from an omnivore was that readers should watch out; the vegans are just out there trying to convert people. Well, yeah…I shoulda said…and your point is?
I agree 100%. Great post!
I agree as well. I don’t know why, but I am still surprised when people “accuse” me of trying to “convert” them to being vegan. This is usually after a discussion on factory farming or, my favorite, how disgusting my food is. Every organization out there promotes themselves. Vegans are no different in that regard. Plus we are talking about a matter of life and death. It is an important issue and one that needs talked about. In fact, over and over again!
“we did the right thing by speaking up.”
Absolutely! Speaking up is virtually always the right thing to do.
I don’t care how you speak up, what you say, or anything else, just speak up.
You’re right: the animals are the most important factor. This was also the case for me. Since I was a kid I had a real connection with animals and I always cared about them. But if that is missing, there is almost no chance of ‘converting’ them. I do know one vegetarian that does it purely for the environment and doesn’t care about the animals. But that is just an exception.
Sure, most of those discussions are pointless. But yes it is still the right thing to speak up. Not to convince them, but to show everyone else who is listening/reading what kind of nonsense the opposition spouts out. that can be very important. Even if you don’t convince anyone, it is very important to combat misconceptions, pre conceived notions and typical biggotry towards vegetarians (face it, some people act like biggots to us :p).
What scares me is how many people are out there that just don’t care. There is nothing you can say that helps, they don’t care. It comes down to that: do they care on some emotional level. There is a clear rational case to be made for animal rights, but the response we get is often something along the line of: strawman, insult, twist truth and shady logic and naturalism fallacies… Its depressing! I never hide the fact that I am compassionate. I’m proud of it. We all should be. I think that compassion helps you grow as a person, and that is only a positive thing.
~ Recent blog post: Belgian city goes meatless for one day! ~
Great post. I’m in complete agreement that those who go vegan for animal reasons are much more likely to stick with it. When one is motivated by compassion and the principle of nonviolence, there is not a meat or dairy product on earth that will tempt a fall “off the wagon”. In my eyes, those things are permanently branded with cruelty. That will never change.
Thanks for the discussion and for speaking up!
~ Recent blog post: Mr. Happy – The Love of Marc Chagall ~
What a nice bunch of responses!
About being compassionate: when I was a child I believed what the adults were telling me about other animals, and as I grew the so-called “science” of animal behavior taught me that animals act on instinct and if they appear to be displaying emotions it’s just their yearning to reproduce….yeah.
It isn’t too surprising to me, then, that so many people have a limited understanding of animals. This lack of connection makes it easier to distance themselves from them.
Which brings me back to a source of hope: Animal Planet. I don’t love everything on there but I think a child who watches it is going to have a much broader and more compassionate view of animals as an adult. I also think the humane education programs available to many schools can have amazing effects over time.
YES. It is all about the animals. I think every child should at an appropriate age be shown the realities of the meat production. Children are desensitized from an early age on not to think about where their meal comes from and are taught that a pet dog has somehow more value than a pig. We see pictures of cows grazing and think that all out meat comes from these “happy” animals.
I think if people were shown the realities of meat production there would be more vegans. At least those who have a heart would change their minds.
When I was confronted with the reality of meat and dairy I could no longer eat any of it and I don’t know how anyone can. Watching Earthlings should be a required course in any high school.