Does eating meat butcher your values?
Aaron Kreider
Think. Question. Resist.
George Bush Sr. and I used to have one thing in common: I hated broccoli! All of my childhood, my parents made me eat broccoli, onions, tomatoes, cauliflower and other icky vegetables. I always had to "try a little bit." But it never worked.
By contrast, I loved hamburgers. I would often fry the family bacon for breakfast. I generally disliked all the meals my mom would prepare without meat. When I started college, I ate even more meat as I took advantage of the buffet to fill my plate to overflowing. In theory, I always felt that vegetarians were "right," but that in practice I would never give up meat.
My fall semester of my senior year in college, on a whim, I drove from Indiana to Pennsylvania to attend an environmental conference. They had the best food I've ever eaten at a student conference — and it was all vegan.
That same semester, I was in a peace group that "lived simply" for a month. For my month I hand-washed my clothes, cut my own hair, bought very little, stopped eating chocolate, ate 80 percent less sugar and 90 percent less meat. Naturally, as soon as the month ended, I reversed course and totally indulged (especially in chocolate).
That spring semester, I started reading Francis Moore Lappé's "Diet for a Small Planet." While reading the book, I felt it would be inconsistent to also be eating meat, so I stopped. This time when I finished the book, I didn't turn back to my meat-eating ways. Since then, I've black-slid a couple of times, but not much.
I do not eat meat for several reasons. First, meat necessitates intense industrial agriculture which is mining our soil and intoxicating it with pesticides. Most animals are fed grain. However, this leads to a huge loss in productivity as it takes at least 10 pounds of grain to produce one pound of flesh. As many countries' economies develop, their meat consumption expands more quickly than their population. This planet may be able to sustainably feed 10 or 11 billion vegetarians, but not that many meat-eaters. The Union of Concerned Scientists has found that the meat industry is the second largest source of pollution in America afterautomobiles.
You might know that veal comes from calves that are deprived of iron (causing them to be anemic) so that their flesh will be a certain color. But did you know that chickens have most of their beak removed so that, when crammed into wire cages with barely enough room to turn around, they will not peck to death their fellow prisoners? Did you know that half of the chickens (the males) bred to lay eggs are killed? Should U.S. cows be given bovine growth hormone (BGH) to produce more milk, despite the increased disease it causes in cows and possible danger to consumers? Why did Europe and Canada ban BGH? Most Americans can eat meat only because they've never seen a factory farm or slaughterhouse. Billions of animals should not be forced to lead lives of pain.
Vegetarianism is healthy, veganism more so. It is a great way to avoid heart disease. Also, the only way to avoid consuming above the EPA recommended limit of dioxins is by being vegan. Dioxins accumulate in animal fat and milk and cause cancer and birth disorders. Most Americans consume 20 times more than the EPA limit. Vegetarians and vegans live longer.
After being vegetarian for over a year, I read John Robbins "Diet for a New America." I stopped eating eggs, cheese and milk and joined an estimated 500,000 to 2 million vegan Americans, who do not eat animals or animal products.
Over the past couple years, a number of people have unjustly attacked vegetarianism in The Observer. However, I changed what I eat to fit with what I believe. I oppose racism, sexism, heterosexism, poverty, environmental destruction, the death penalty and war. I am working to end the causes of abortion and do not eat animals or animal products. I think my views and diet all fit. I believe in justice and life.
I still love meat. It smells good. But I love this planet, its people and its animals more. So when I get up, I put soymilk on my cereal or make oatmeal. For other meals, I'll eat tortillas, spaghetti, a rice dish, chocolate chip cookies, pizza without cheese or make a stir-fry. I'll even enjoy adding some broccoli to it!
Over Christmas break, I learned that a completely apolitical high school friend read a pamphlet and within a month switched from eating meat to being completely vegan. He showed his will power. It was one of the best Christmas presents I'd ever gotten.
I'm urging you to withhold judgement for just enough time to read a pamphlet and then ask yourself whether eating meat conflicts with your values.
Aaron Kreider is a second year grad student in sociology from Vancouver, Canada. He will eat food containing eggs, cheese or milk if it is found in a dumpster and can be reached at aaron.kreider.1@nd.edu. His column appears every other Monday.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, February 14, 2000
