“Being a vegetarian should
never be associated with being
a revolutionary or being open-minded.
That’s a dietary choice.
If someone wants to proliferate the
type of ignorance we’re supposed to
be fighting by thinking that,
you’re just fucking yourself.”
–Immortal Technique, “Beef and Broccoli”
Full disclosure: I was a vegetarian for a few years in my life. Most of my decision was informed by two things: (1) The utterly unidentifiable piece of chicken I got one day at Church’s; (2) The fact that the meat served in my college’s dining hall was vaguely undercooked and appeared to be only a half-step (if that) above dog food.
So, I guess I was a selfish vegetarian. As much as I love animals, and as much as I loved reading Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, I just cannot seem to buy into the argument that cows, chickens, pigs, etc. should not be killed just to go on my dinner table. I understand the argument and its nuances, but I think society has lulled me into a sense of complacency and nonsympathy for those particular animals (though I do find it peculiar that I will cry and cry when I see an abused dog). I have no problem with vegetarianism; it’s a dietary choice and not really much more. My biggest problems are with people who believe that their individual choice to be vegan or vegetarian will somehow turn America’s meat industry on its head. Guess what? It won’t.
The vegetarian lifestyle has been alive and well in America since the 1970s. The meat industry has been around for much longer than that, as anyone living in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood can attest to. In the thirty or so years that the vegetarian movement has been part of our dietary landscape, the biggest impact on agribusiness has been that mega-retailers like Whole Foods have enjoyed marked increases in revenues, due partially to the fact that they exploit the niche market created by socially conscious liberals and charge an extraordinary amount of money for things like organic whole wheat pasta and farm-fresh Gruyere. What has been created is a kind of shadow economy, which exists because well-meaning, environmentally aware people eschewed the mainstream economy. Is this better, or just different? Nobody acknowledges this question. I would assert that this analog doesn’t really solve anything, but rather just diverts from the status quo and creates its own set of problems.
But I digress.
My real problem with people who think they’re fueling the revolution with fruits and vegetables is that they don’t even acknowledge the fact that their energy would probably be better spent buying organic, free-range meat than by simply not consuming meat at all. When asked, most political vegetarians will voice their desire to reduce demand in the meat industry. This makes sense, especially since besides the injustices against animals, the meat industry takes a very real toll on human employees. But what do meat producers care about vegetarians? It’s unlikely with the percentage of vegetarians in America that demand will be crippled enough to make a dent on the industry. The real change will come only when people make choices with their money, like buying their meat from local, organic farms. You don’t like the way Smithfield treats their employees? Me neither. But it doesn’t mean I have to stop eating meat altogether, because that doesn’t really acknowledge the fact that the meat industry has to exist! It’s one of the main components of the American economy!
I know this was a rant, but I am sick and tired of people making themselves out to be the next César Chavez just because they don’t eat meatloaf.
Maybe I just feel sorry for them because bacon is so fucking delicious.
