How I Am a Vegetarian

"Can you really ask what reason Pythagoras had for abstaining from flesh?" —Plutarch

In 1895, when J. Howard Moore delivered his address, "Why I Am a Vegetarian," to the Chicago Vegetarian Society, he understood his audience was made up of meat eaters. The fact is apparent right away. He said, "I am not here to convert you to vegetarianism. I know too well the nature of mind to commit any such blunder" (1). Irony aside, Moore shows that abstaining from flesh was merely aspirational for some at that time, and American food culture has changed but slightly in the intervening 129 years. Thus, since these arguments are now well-known, it may be appropriate to shift from the why of it to the how. In my case, though, the two questions are one because the logos, ethos, and pathos that informed my decision to become a vegetarian also give the energy needed to continue resolutely. In other words, it is possible to live without meat, and that in itself is a reason to do so.

Activists have historically tied the issue of animal rights to other social movements. The concept of human rights is widely accepted by nation who subscribe to the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1949. Animals, however, are nonhuman creatures, so to claim that a pig (for instance) has a right to life will already raise some eyebrows. Peter Singer, at the beginning of his book Animal Liberation, tells of an 18th century satire calling for animal rights as a way of parodying the call for women's rights. Singer writes: "One way in which we might reply is by saying that the case of equality between men and women cannot validly be extended to nonhuman animals" (2). Whereas men and women are different in some ways, there is enough commonality between them that women can exercise the right to vote, whereas animals cannot. In a similar vein, Moore connects his diet to the liberation of slaves and women's suffrage, using Biblical language ("Do Unto Others," Luke 6:31) to make the an ethical case for recognizing animal suffering. Moore said:

"Human beings preach as the cardinal of morality that they should act upon others as they would be pleased to have others act upon them, and then take the most sensitive and beautiful beings all palpitating with life, and chop them into fragments with a composure that would do honor to the managers of an inferno.”

The tendency here demonstrated is to become emotional because of the huge amounts of pain and death involved in the food industry. This argument is my attempt to come to terms with this reality and to explain my thought process behind the decision I make daily to remain a vegetarian. What I eat is an element of my spiritually nourishing lifestyle in harmony with the Earth which has the added benefits of being economical, healthy, and delicious.

I have deep roots in the American South and the Midwest, and my family eats meat on both sides. My paternal grandfather was born in Richmond, Virginia, and that side of my family eats North Carolina barbecue and fried chicken with Coke of all kinds, including Sprite and Pepsi. On my mother’s side, they always eat a Thanksgiving turkey and a Christmas ham. On non-holidays, they eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, meat sandwiches for lunch, and meat casserole or steak for dinner (with a side of steamed vegetables). This diet led naturally to fast food like McDonald’s and Wendy’s, where my high school friends and I ate beef hamburgers, fried chicken sandwiches, and French fries at every opportunity. These habits were ingrained until three years ago when I stopped eating meat.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2021, my wife and I both stayed home. I had been a substitute teacher when Iowa City shut down schools, and she was a barista at the coffee shop near our apartment. Moving to Omaha at that time created the conditions for several significant lifestyle changes, including getting sober and going vegetarian. Toni has been a key support in eating meatless.

It helps that we share the value of living in a way that is conscious of our impact on the planet’s ecosystem. Animal agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, and eating vegetarian is a straightforward, practical step to reduce your carbon footprint. The effects of climate change are evident now, as the poorest countries are hit hard by floods and intense hurricanes. Leading scientists agree about our worsening situation, but international efforts to mitigate effects have had little success in countering the capitalist profit motive benefiting the factory farm industry through an incentive structure encouraging over-consumption of intensively produced meat products. Linking consumer choices to the current crisis gives hope that change is possible because it is up to each person individually. As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote in his book How to Eat: “The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations proposed that the meat industry be reduced by at least 50 percent in order to save our planet […] If you’re not able to entirely stop eating meat, you can still decide to make an effort to cut back” (3). This gentle approach is very skillful, as it avoids triggering resistance by acknowledging that eating less meat is already better.

Some nutritionists argue meat is a necessary source of nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. According to this view, health conditions like protein deficiency and anemia might result from cutting meat out of your diet, so vegetarianism is not a healthy option for most people. For example, France encourages citizens to supplement protein intake through dairy products. As Anna-Lena Klapp and others report in their article, “A Global Analysis of National Dietary Guidelines,” France states: “It is important to replace these sources of protein by eating […] especially cheeses” (4). The emphasis here on cheese shows that although nutritional science often presents information as objective and universal, cultural context matters. Given that cheese is a major part of French cuisine, these guidelines were created with an eye on the French economy as an exporter of cheese. Indeed, of the 100 countries mentioned in Klapp’s article, only four explicitly warned against veganism. They were France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Now consider that Germany, Italy, and France were the 1st, 3rd, and 4th leading exporters of cheese worldwide for the year 2022 (5). There are healthy ways of avoiding meat. Plants provide many protein options, including tofu, beans, legumes, nuts, broccoli, spinach, and tempeh to name just a few. Micronutrients are also important, so look into breakfast cereals fortified with iron and B12. It is not such a big problem. Trust your intuition. If you get enough calories, then you won’t starve, and you might even lose weight. I did.

Economy is a contentious field. Suppose factory farmed meat is actually cheaper than plant-based protein like tofu and beans (it isn’t, but let’s suppose). Is money worth inflicting misery upon animals? I believe in karma. Suppose we all decide to stop eating meat tomorrow, and there is an economic collapse because the failure of the meat industry sends shock waves around the world. Instead, we should wean ourselves onto a plant-based diet. Then, the economy can adapt, and products will become more available. I am not an economist, but I understand supply and demand. Besides all that, according to a Lancet study reported by Oxford University, cutting meat out of your diet will save you money: "Vegan diets were the most affordable and reduced food costs by up to one third. Vegetarian diets were a close second" (6). Each factory farmed burger you buy sends a message for more cows to be killed.

Please stop the torturous cycle.

The last view I will address is that meat tastes good, so vegetarianism requires unreasonable sacrifice. This view incorporates emotional reasoning due to warm feelings of friendship, family, and community associated with outdoor barbecues and holiday meals. I must simply concede the point. A vegetarian diet does involve sacrifice (at first), but the benefits far outweigh the cost in the long run regarding health and sustainability. Also, taste is subjective and variable, so my cravings for meat have all but disappeared. It no longer feels like a sacrifice.

That is all. Through this writing, I discovered all consumption is political. Politics is about management of scarce resources, so food is inherently political. What does your diet say about your beliefs?

References

  1. Moore, J. Howard. "Why I Am a Vegetarian." Press of Purdy Publishing, Chicago, 1895. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Why_I_Am_a_Vegetarian. Accessed 9 April 2024.

  2. Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation. Harper, 1975.

  3. Hanh, Thich Nhat. How to Eat. Parallax Press, 2014.

  4. Klapp, Anna-Lena, et al. "A Global Analysis of National Dietary Guidelines on Plant-Based Diets and Substitutions for Animal-Based Foods." Current Developments in Nutrition, vol. 6, no. 11, 2022, pp. 1-19.

  5. “Leading Exporters of Cheese Worldwide in 2022.” UN Comtrade, 2023. Statista. www-statista-com.leo.lib.unomaha.edu/statistics/827446/top-exporters-of-cheese-global.

  6. "Sustainable Eating is Cheaper and Healthier." Oxford. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-11-11-sustainable-eating-cheaper-and-healthier-oxford-study. Accessed 7 May 2024.