Author: Max Weidman
Being a vegetarian might be making you an asshole. Granted, college is a time for experimentation, for shameless discovery and, most of all, wild throes of self-righteousness. Most students are inclined to think that the various motions they make, the myriad of causes to which they pay lip service, change the world. At the very least, they are proud to brandish these affectations like medals from a war on ignorance. One cannot go a day at Oxy without having ideology thrust upon him. For this I am proud; we have access to modes of thought generally denied to the huddled, hopelessly foolish masses. However, when it comes to vegetarianism, I have a few qualms I’d like to register.
Firstly, let us be absolutely clear as to the murdering of animals. If you eat seafood, you kill animals: you are not a vegetarian. If you use mousetraps or bug spray, if you have a down comforter, leather shoes or a beautiful mink stole, you consume animals: you are not, as I understand it, their friend. Remember when you had your dog’s testicles chopped off? Sure he was sedated, but you still mutilated an animal. As with all things, the chain of supply and demand is a great deal more complicated than most care to recognize; living in a society of consumption, it turns out that some of the things you probably consume on an everyday basis, whether to your knowledge or not, are animal products.
I take this ideological vegetarianism to be symptomatic of a wider and more profoundly disturbing trend in the wake of the industrial revolution: we are less and less acquainted with the practices and realities of production. I come from farm country. Many Californians, I take it, despite the exceeding import to their state’s economy and their own sustenance, have never seen a farm-let alone deigned to inquire as to the techniques there employed.
For those who think produce comes from a grocery store, I offer a review of what growing vegetables is actually like. When you plow a field, lots of animals that live there-mostly rodents-get scattered, severed or slaughtered. During the growing season in many places, the hunting of grazing animals, especially deer, is not only allowed but encouraged. That’s right, vegetarians-Bambi died so that you could eat your corn.
To be perfectly honest, most of my critique of vegetarianism/veganism is of its harmful effects on social skills. I learned early on never to turn down a friend’s mother’s dinner. On a bigger scale, when you go traipsing about the world-either to study abroad or simply to find yourself-you’ll be the guest of nations. My guess is that, as a vegetarian, you will be constantly turning down culinary and, with them, cultural opportunities. Furthermore, you might find yourself second-guessing or condemning all kinds of religious and ethnic rituals that have been going on for centuries-from Luau pig roasts to Hajj goat sacrifices. I’m not well traveled myself, but I would venture to guess that a more diverse palate would make for easier going. On a broader scale, it seems that limiting one’s tastes-figuratively or in the sense of buds-is generally a way of saying no to the world.
Allow me to entertain some possible refutations. Perhaps you’re a vegan, not a vegetarian. Veganism, as I see it, is a more intent and probably coherent ideology, which attempts to limit one’s mistreatment of animals altogether. I doubt very much that one can thoroughly be a vegan in 21st century America, but I will allow you your conceits.
There are certainly valid refutations in the realm of economics. It seems foolish to waste food on livestock when so many human mouths remain unfed. It is a misuse of space to farm cattle on a ranch where so much grain could instead be grown. It turns out, however, that humanity has been doing exactly this for millennia-and shows little sign of stopping.
Finally, there are many who entertain vegetarianism/veganism as a religious, ethnic, medical or palative ordinance. To these I make no gesture, save the universal pity for everyone who doesn’t eat meatloaf. My attention is to those who affect the lifestyle for conservational purposes, which, to my mind, are exceeded by the destructive exigencies of production.
I am somewhat familiar with, and have witnessed to some extent, the violent mistreatment of domesticated animals involved in the production of meat and other by-products. I have largely made my peace with this reality. Before urging others to make a similar peace, I would at least recommend examining-with your own hands-how deeply entrenched the sacrifice of animal life is in nearly all agricultural practices.
Finally, I would question whether your affinity for certain animals is rather an outgrowth of their domestication and presence as victims in your consciousness-do you hold all animal life as sacred or merely those to which you were exposed at a petting zoo? Ultimately, if one is materially concerned with the survival of animals, my suggestion would be to find a commune which fits your particular ideological notions and go grow your own vegetables. As far as I know, that’s probably the only way to ensure that your consumption of food doesn’t have collateral critter damage.
Max Weidman is a junior ECLS major. He can be reached at mweidman@oxy.edu.
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