Photographer : Nicole Sarkis
Flesh eaters often like to challenge the choice I have made in being vegetarian. Generally, due to laziness and a desire not to get into a heated argument at an inopportune moment, I say ‘Yep, I guess you’re right’.
What follows are the answers I have often thought and rarely spoken when confronted by the meat loving omnivores of our species.
Let us begin with the most popular.
“It is natural to eat meat.”
Very little of our capitalist culture is ‘natural’, although recent marketing trends may indicate otherwise, most of what we eat, use, and believe we need to survive is processed, packaged and designed by human hand.
The animals occupying our butchers and frozen food sections, and being thrown into car boots overseas have been reared for a specific purpose, and serve no other ecological or cultural purpose than, to provide meat, for human consumption. There is nothing natural about their industrially timed conception, cage confined existence, and truncated life by guillotine, knife, axe or shot gun, again all tools engineered by humans.
Sure homo habilis and homo rudolfensis clobbered other animals and ate their insides, however whilst there may have been a need for them to eat meat, there is no need for humans to eat it now.
But... “What if there was no other food anywhere, and you were starving, in the desert even! Would you eat meat?”
Short answer: Yes.
I am opposed to the industrialised way meat is obtained by our society, on principle if I needed to kill and/or eat another animal to survive, I would. Further, if an animal died naturally, I would have no ethical problem eating it, the same goes for unfertilised eggs routinely laid by a chicken.
Milk from a cow is designed for her infant, in our society calves are most likely to become veal. Supermarket chicken eggs are generally produced by chickens that would have more space if they lived in a shoe box, and the same amount of natural light. In Australia, the RSPCA alone offers certified free range eggs. If a company produces battery/cage eggs it’s probably best to trust that they are incapable of producing free range.
But… “Meat is good for you, you can’t be healthy without meat.”
Really? Don’t see many obese vegetarians do you?
However, for those of you who idolise the ‘expert opinion’, a dietician friend tells me vegetarians live longer than omnivores. Look it up if you please.
“If you’re a vegetarian, why do you eat things like soy sausages, and soy chicken nuggets that taste and look and feel like meat… [and are widely available from freezer and cold food sections of supermarkets]”
Genius… because “soy sausages (and nuggets)” are NOT MEAT
They never were, nor will they ever be a living animal.
“What about plants…”
Valid argument.
I assume that plants can feel, or at least would prefer to continue living than enter the melange that is my salad. However, unfortunately, I see no valid alternative to eating them. In which case, I make every effort to value my food, and to waste as little as possible.
And finally for the sympathisers…
“I would be vegetarian but it’s too hard.”
Life’s hard baby – if you want to look at it that way.
Firstly, if you’re happy to continue living knowing that you are personally responsible for killing a good couple of thousand chickens, pigs, cows, sheep, fish and their babies every year that you are not vegetarian, then go for it.
Being vegetarian means cheaper meals at restaurants, kissing food poisoning and massive bouts of indigestion goodbye, and feeling lighter, healthier, and calmer. You might also feel a little more at ease because you will be making a conscious effort to screw the earth that little bit less.
