Good food, good meat, good God, let's eat

[vovat]

For today's pseudo-philosophical entry, I'm going to offer a few of my thoughts on diet, specifically in regards to eating meat. I'm sympathetic to a fair number of animal rights causes, but I've never had any real qualms with eating meat. Sometimes I wonder if I should, though. I can certainly say I have respect for people who can get by without eating meat, because it just seems like so much work to me. I like meat, but I don't LOVE meat like some people do. I believe I've said before that the things I'd miss most if I suddenly decided to switch over to a vegetarian diet are ham sandwiches and Chick-fil-A. Oh, and shrimp, although that's not exactly something I eat on a regular basis. I've never been all that uptight about my choice of diet. I get annoyed when people insist that they've fought their way to the top of the food chain. Yeah, what animals did you, personally, fight and eat? Or are you talking about fighting over the last box of frozen chicken nuggets at the grocery store? But then, I've also seen statements from vegetarians who claim, in so many words, that it's not natural for humans to eat meat. Of course it is! What do you think the hunter-gatherers were hunting for? Carrots? We have reached the point where people don't necessarily NEED to eat meat, but it's still a natural thing to do. I've heard things about how it's not a good idea for a kid to be a vegetarian, but I don't know enough about nutrition to judge whether or not that's true.

I could make the argument that animals eat other animals, so that trying to argue for vegetarianism on the basis of animal rights is a slippery slope toward accusing cats of murder when they kill mice. (Mind you, I've known people who objected strongly when their carnivorous pets killed smaller animals, which makes me wonder why they didn't choose different pets.) But really, it's mostly just what I'm used to. I do think, however, that vegetarian options have become much more viable over the years. I don't eat fake meat, but I understand that some modern meat substitutes are actually pretty good, and vegetarians are no longer forced to eat tofu (which, as far as I can tell, is essentially rubber made out of soybeans) in order to get protein. I think it's possible that humanity will eventually reach the point where vegetarianism is the norm. But I don't think we're anywhere close to that point yet.

While I'm on the subject, I can't say I'm a fan of PETA's scare tactics and pictures of cute little animals being tortured. That's not to say that I don't feel really uncomfortable watching a cow get slaughtered or a rabbit clubbed to death, or feel that there's a lot of room for reform in the meat industry. It's just that, when your moral or philosophical argument boils down to an attempt at a visceral reaction, I have to wonder if you've really thought your position through all that well. I mean, isn't that basically the same approach used by fire-and-brimstone evangelists and politicians who run on a platform of fear?

Comments

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I had some rubbery tofu once, but I guess that might not have been typical. I tend to be rather wary of meat substitutes, but there might well be some that are actually good. I'm just afraid to try them.

I can't stand the people who think because I'm a vegetarian that I've somehow slapped them in the face.

I can't understand that attitude either. I guess it's just another case of people being insecure whenever they're around someone who believes or acts differently than they do.