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Is Eating Local Meat Kinder Than Vegetarianism?
In Catherine Friend's book, The Compassionate Carnivore, the argument is made for meat. While it seems kinder on the surface, vegetarianism isn't necessarily the most compassionate choice in the broader spectrum of animal welfare. Which may sound like sheer lunacy to some of my fellow vegetarians, but hear me out, because her points are beyond valid. In the book she explains that for every dollar you're not spending on sustainable meat, you're sending a message to those farmers: that their humanely raised livestock isn't worth your money.
Small farms like Catherine's are the front lines in the war against cruelty to animals and climate change. They place quality of life and the farm's impact on the environment above the bottom line. And when you, the all-powerful consumer, start handing your money over en masse to these farmers, the lives of factory animals will start to improve. The larger industry will realize cruelty is simply bad for business. So bad that people would rather pay more for a kinder product. And as sad as that reasoning is for not beating sows to death - I'd rather have cruelty stopped in the name of the dollar than not stopped at all.
Vegetarianism is definitely a gentler way to govern the earth's resources, and I am in no way disparaging it as a legitimate diet (after all, I am one) but by avoiding meat, we vegetarians have become silent protesters. Not taking part in the debauchery, but also doing anything with our cash to change it. Remember folks, money doesn't just talk - it votes. If we want to see a real change in how farm animals are treated, perhaps boycotting meat isn't the best way to go about it. Boca Burger purchases will never fully turn the heads of meat giants because we're no longer stockholders in the check out lines. Since we're out of the meat-buying business they no longer have to acknowledge our values. And so the meatless consumer becomes white noise. Fodder for water cooler jokes. And all the tofu in the world can't change that.
So now I'm a vegetarian on the edge. A few logical steps from returning to the carnivorous life. For me, it's based on the realization that logic can overturn pride. Specially (and embarrassingly) if pride is masking as compassion. Which I worry is the case with myself. Am I avoiding meat because I want to help animals - or help my own green-tinted ego? My research and recent experiences seem to prove that eating meat raised in my backyard is a lot better for the environment than trucking plastic bags of organic salad from California. Yikes.
While of course, the choice is yours, I think I'll be straddling the line between the two. Eating a little meat, but when I do it'll come from my own farm or from other local sustainable farmers. It's a harsh reality to chomp back into a Thanksgiving turkey after years of abstinence, but I'd rather be boosting the livelihood of kinder practices than handing more money to Tofurkey. Because fake turkey isn't suffering in a cage right now, and doesn't need the paradigm shift in the market to make it's life better. So let's show this industry that we care, and demand a more humane product. It's a sad truth, but for millions of animals across America, that red plate could be a vote for a greener future.
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Is Ms. Woginrich really making the argument that killing locally is kinder than not killing at all? Seriously.
There is no way local farms could support all the meat-eaters if all of them switched to more humane sources - guess what? The local farms would HAVE to turn into factory farms to meet the demand. Vegetarianism and very low meat consumption is the reasonable answer and the only answer!!! It takes something like 5 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of edible meat, therefore about 66% of the grain in the US that could be fed to hungry people, is actually fed to farm animals to get a smaller portion of food for our people. Never mind the pollution that is inevitable to sustain everyone on meat. I do not believe this person is a true vegetarian for the right and educated reasons, plain and simple.
Swerinjer - I took a look at your Weston A Price Foundation. I saw the "15 Myths of Eating Meat". I found most of the information to either contradict itself or was poorly grounded in any kind of substantial evidence. To name a few: a cancer study conducted on members of the Seventh Day Adventists Church in "1978". "Recent" research on cholesterol from 1997. Myth 9 bases it's findings on a "survey of cookbooks". Myth 12 is too ridiculous to comment on... The whole argument and credibility fell apart at Myth 15: "Eating animal foods is inhumane" where the author begins the first paragraph with mention of dogs being beaten to death with a club. But "recommendations for animal foods consumption most definitely do not endorse such practices." Well that's a relief!
We read about "happy meat", and conclude here: " Nevertheless, many people have philosophical problems with eating animal flesh. Dairy products and eggs, though, are not the result of an animal's death and are fine alternatives for these people." I'd say "veal" and billions of boy chicks macerated live because they can't lay eggs, is a definate concern for those who wish to eat ethically.
Finally, we are told that the justification for eating animals can be found in the fact that during harvesting plants animals are killed. Hooey!
The site is antiquated - with outdated information and dead links. But the logic of a meat eater is still the same - flawed, erroneous and self serving. Go
More devil's advocate food for thought: veganism is in fact unhealthy. I was vegan for 2 years. I was on your side in every way. But then I learned about the Weston A Price Foundation and it completely turned me around. WAPF disseminates the dietary wisdom of pre-industrial cultures all over the world. One of the most convincing parts is the baby gallery of infants fed cod liver oil, organ meats, and raw dairy.
I have never felt more empowered voicing my opposition to the unneccessary slaughter of animals as I do when I spend my money. I make sure my grocer knows that there is a market for the many vegan products offered by buying them. I support vegan products and contribute to vegan causes every chance I can. To say I would be doing more for animals if I "economically" supported other institutions that (nicely) raise, breed, slaughter and butcher animals is absurd.
"Happy" meat animals are still killed - no matter how "wonderful" a life they lead in some mythical "Old MCDonald's farm". No matter how "humane" a product tries to represent itself as, if captivity, artificial insemination, forced castration, tail docking, extermination of wrong sex animals, or killing was involved it was not "humane". Supporting these businesses does not help animals. It helps people who want to "rationalize" their determination to eat animals.
It's nonsensical that you can end a wrong, by continuing a wrong. The ends do not justify the means. Killing is wrong. That is an absolute and isn't negotiated by "degrees". Committing oneself to a vegan lifestyle draws that distinction. The right time to do the right thing is "now". Not supporting the slaughter of animals is the right thing to do... "now". Sanctioning eating animals that were "happier" alive, or "happier" when slaughtered is convoluted logic. It's meant to avoid the issue and forestall moral self judgement. Rational people see through the lies and they GO
Rational people see through the lies and they GO VEGAN.
I read The Compassionate Carnivore and was appalled. It's one thing to say that small farms are better for the environment than factory farms, but to use the word "compassion" when talking about betraying animals you claim to "love" and whom you're sending to their untimely death, is creepy and hypocritical.
Next, to claim that people who kill animals are on the front lines in the war against cruelty is ridiculous. Ask the farmers interviewed at The Humane Myth (http://www.humanemyth.org).
Finally, though vegetarians might be silent protesters (and are missing some important connections), many of us vegans aren't silent at all. We simply refuse to sit at the table with those who exploit and slaughter nonhumans who are as sentient as their dogs or their children. We write books and cookbooks, we teach college and law school, we protest, we blog, we produce films about vegans and about the myth of humane farming, we create brochures and pass them around, and we rescue, treat and rehabilitate hens from cage-free facilities as well as other animals allegedly treated "humanely" and we fund such operations. And we tell the world what we believe each day through our consumer and philanthropic choices.
It is we who are on the front lines.
I've seen some of the local farms that raise animals and they are disgusting. Just because it's local and small does not mean that the animals are better cared for. The animals are still considered an economic unit. It does not make financial sense for them to provide veterinary care so they don't. The message we should be sending to these farmers is to grow more fruits and vegetables..not animals. Leading a truly compassionate life means not killing other sentient beings. Nice try...but you missed the big picture with your "logic."
Even locally grown meat does not trump vegetarian foods grown elsewhere, at least according to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology, which concluded that eliminating red meat and dairy products from our diets could have the same impact on greenhouse gas emissions as shifting to an entirely locally-grown diet (which is virtually impossible to do).
There’s no getting around the fact that animals produce greenhouse gasses and tremendous amounts of waste, that they are fed with food that consumes energy when it is grown, harvested, and transported, and that they must be slaughtered and their bodies transported to market (consuming more energy and creating more greenhouse gasses).
Also, many of the foods that vegetarians eat—Boca Burgers, Silk, Lightlife veggie dogs, etc.—are made by companies that have been bought by larger companies that also produce foods that contain animal products. When we buy meatless products made by these companies, we send the message that those products are in high demand, so they make more of them. In fact, the increased demand for meatless products is what spurred large companies to buy smaller makers of meatless foods in the first place.
There are plenty of meat-eaters out there who are willing to spend a little more for animal products that come from smaller farms. What we desperately need more of is people who choose totally vegetarian foods to send the message that, yes, a BK Veggie and a faux chicken KFC sandwich do have a market.
How about eating the eggs from your own backyard or that of a nearby humane & sustainable farmer? We aren't so very hard to find if you just ask neighbors & friends... perhaps use those dastardly "internets". Oh, and the cheese - local of course, from the same type of farmer. Complaining you have too many choices is not an excuse. BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE.
This story doesn't prove its point to me.
Boycotting something is what every consumer in the world, even in places where there is lack of freedom, can do to have some sort of voice! And I don't boycott meat because it's cruel to animals. I think killing is wrong. While I am greatly concerned about the ethical treatment of animals, the main reason I do not eat meat is that killing an animal is wrong, and I believe animals are on the planet for a reason, just like people are.
The writer is wrong. Not eating meat can lead to fewer farmers who grow meat. That means fewer animals being killed inhumanely. But eating meat, even locally-produced meat, still means unjust killing is going on. And just how, may I ask, does on kill a living creature humanely?
Believing something is true doesn't make it so. Check out the statistics. In the 1970s there weren't that many vegetarians, and in the US, people were eating about 177 pounds of meat per person each year.
Fast forward to now. There are more vegetarians than ever---I've seen estimates of 5% of the population, or 15 million people, which is excellent. But look at our meat consumption. We now, as a nation, consume nearly 200 pounds of meat per person per year. More vegetarians, yet more meat being consumed....The result? Many, many more animals being raised in confinement factories.
So even though you'd like to believe that not eating meat helps animals, the statistics prove otherwise. If we really want to help animals, we need to show carnivorous friends and family that they have options. Encourage them to buy from humane, sustainable farmers. Encourage them to stop wasting so much meat in restaurants. Help them to start paying attention, and reduce their consumption of factory meat.
The meat industry does notice when we stop buying meat. In India they sell veggie burgers at McDonalds. In Canada KFC now has vegan "chicken." If consumers demand alternatives to animal products, companies will notice. "Happy meat" still treats animals as property.
Two years ago Satya Magazine did a couple of issues exploring whether animal rights activists should encourage humane meat or not. You can see the different points of view that were expressed:
http://www.satyamag.com/sept06/index.html
Local meat is not necessarily better for the earth.
As many studies have pointed out, the carbon costs of transportation aren't the only variable. A lot also depends on local rearing processes, local weather conditions and so.
Take the example of roses: scientists estimate that because New Zealand has more sunlight and better yields, it is actually better for the environment to import roses from New Zealand to the UK than grow them in the UK (even taking into account fuel and transportation).
Nevertheless, I recognize your point. Eating local is good for a whole host of other reasons, and may even be better environmentally, but not necessarily.
Oh, good grief.
Eat eggs and cheese.
It IS the 21st Century.
Which eggs and cheese? Eggs from hens kept in factories? Organic eggs from hens kept in buildings? Cheese from cows kept in factory dairies? Organic cheese from cows not allowed on pasture for most of the day?
Yeah, this is the 21st century, which means things are MORE complex than in the 20th. Judging people for what they eat is no way to effect change.
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