My prayers this morning go out to all those affected by the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy. I have a few Hokie alumni in my family (though far more who went to UVA), and I know a couple of folks still closely associated with the Blacksburg campus. I know that several of my readers are Hokies, and my thoughts and prayers are especially directed towards them.
It’s spring break (Pasadena City College has what must be America’s latest spring break), and I’m in our little study at home. I was in Virginia yesterday, if driving from the District to Dulles in a downpour can be considered being “in Virginia”. (We did find some great vegan Ethiopian food in a little strip mall in Ballston.) My wife and I spent the weekend in Washington attending the Art of Compassion gala to raise money for and celebrate the accomplishments of one of our very favorite charities, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
What I love about PCRM is that more than any other animal rights outfit, they adopt a holistic approach to personal and global transformation. PCRM is one of the leading organizations advocating vegan diets for all. Backed by a growing network of hundreds of doctors and nutritionists across the USA and Canada, PCRM is reaching out to millions through increasingly savvy media campaigns. (My wife and I are particularly pleased with — and particularly interested in supporting — PCRM’s brand-spankin’ new Spanish-language campaign.) PCRM also campaigns against the use of animals in medical research, and has played a leading role in developing alternatives. (PCRM helped create “Digital Frog” to help end school dissections; they’ve helped popularize TraumaMan to replace the use of live animals in emergency medical education.)
Most animal rights organizations — and Lord knows, they all do fabulous work — want to save animals. The folks who run PCRM, led by the remarkably energetic and charismatic Dr. Neal Barnard, want to do the same. But saving animals is about more than stopping a seal hunt, or shutting down a few fur farms or puppy mills. (All very worthy causes, mind.) PCRM’s point is that what is good for animals is also good for us and for our planet. A balanced vegan regimen requires far fewer natural resources to produce than a meat-and-dairy laden one. And the health benefits of veganism (or even its softer form, lacto-ovo vegetarianism) are sufficiently well-demonstrated as to be nigh on undeniable.
The world says: “Children need milk to build strong bones”. The world says “Beef is the best source of iron and protein, especially for women.” The world says “Without animal research, we can’t make necessary medical breakthroughs.” The world says “A vegetarian or vegan diet is too boring, too miserable, and too time-consuming for the average modern person.” And carefully, with painstakingly documented research, PCRM works to disprove all of these deeply-held myths. (PCRM helped expose the roots of the Vioxx tragedy: what had proved safe in animals turned out deadly for humans. Animal testing too often makes animals suffer and tells us nothing about what works for people.)
Sigh. This post is turning into an infomercial. That’s not what this blog is supposed to be about, and I apologize. This is how I feel after retreat weekends with my youth group, or after a men- against-rape training. I feel inspired and invigorated, and more than usually evangelical!
Last month, Stentor at Debitage put up this post: Moral Relativist Anti-Vegetarianism. Stentor, a trained amateur philosopher, has pointed out more than once that I have an exasperating habit of making sweeping moral statements — and promptly disavowing the idea that I am actually proselytizing, claiming at times that “this is just me.” He’s right. The truth is that a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle almost always is about making a universal moral claim. Stentor writes:
So what makes vegetarianism especially threatening whereas diversity in other parts of life evokes less hostility? One inescapable part of the picture — which unfortunately vegetarians spend a lot of time disclaiming in a usually futile effort to avoid the proselytizing charge — is that vegetarianism is a moral position. Aside from the small number of people who are vegetarians purely for health or henotheistic religious reasons, to become a vegetarian is to implicitly endorse a non-relativistic moral code*. Second, vegetarianism is threatening – becoming a vegetarian involves a significant change in a fairly fundamental part of one’s lifestyle. Third, vegetarianism is realistic. For all the joking about how life wouldn’t be worth living without bacon, vegetarianism is within reach of the majority of developed world adults. (It’s not without hardships for some, and I’m not endorsing a purely personal-lifestyle-change-based policy, but the fact remains that most North Americans could drastically reduce their meat consumption if they really put their minds to it.) Adding to the realism is the surface plausibility of the vegetarian position — it’s comparatively easy for even a committed omnivore to understand what makes vegetarians think they’re right. Bold emphasis is mine.
Stentor is frequently right, and here, he’s dead on. I realize that on this blog, I write about many things: diet, feminism, faith, exercise. As a progressive evangelical writing for a general audience, I’ve deliberately disavowed Christian proselytizing in this space. Do I wish more people would pursue a personal, transforming relationship with Christ? Yes. Do I believe that no one can be saved without consciously forming that relationship? No, I don’t. Do I wish more people — especially men — would embrace feminist principles of egalitarianism in every aspect of their public and private lives? Yes. Do I want every man (and woman) to stop using porn, to stop objectifying women, to stop the economic, sexual, and physical exploitation of their sisters? Yes.
So the question I’m wrestling with is this: does my veganism correlate more closely with my feminism or my Christianity? If it’s like my Christian faith, it’s a “personal choice” — one among many. I do believe that my Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Wiccan, animist, and atheist friends will be saved (though how, exactly, is not something I can always articulate.) I do believe that I am called to follow Christ, but I also believe that others follow Him even as they call Him by other names. What would make the world a far better place isn’t necessarily everyone becoming Christian; what would make the world a far better place is if everyone actually lived out the principles of their faiths and creeds. But if every man and woman on this planet saw women as equally worthy of dignity and respect, as equally entitled to share in resources and in decision-making, as equally prepared to lead, as equally deserving of being seen as a whole person — then heck yes, the planet would be better off. Feminism is, in that sense, essential.
And I’m prepared to start arguing that vegetarianism (or better yet, veganism) has the power to bring about tremendous change. It will improve the health of the individual and of the planet, and it will exponentially reduce the unnecessary suffering of sentient, conscious creatures. So yes, I’m going to risk alienating still more readers with a more explicit commitment to veganism here on this blog.
In the end, I’m trying to follow ever more closely Forster’s maxim: “only connect.” What I wear matters. What I eat matters. Everything we do connects us to other living creatures. Every darned thing I do every day matters. And my brothers and sisters, the same does go for you too. Every dollar you spend is a vote. The food you buy, the clothes you wear, the words you speak: these impact the world. And I’m asking you to consider making the best possible choices in your public, private, educational, familial, sexual, and economic lives.
My commitment to full veganism is relatively recent (I’ve been a vegetarian for longer.) It’s been a slow evolution rather than an instant decision. Like most lasting conversions, it has come gradually rather than in a flash of light. But you’re gonna be hearing more on this blog about animal rights, veganism, and how they connect to faith and feminism.
More about my PCRM weekend below the fold.
I promised my wife I wouldn’t name drop, but I will mention I spent time this past weekend with two very inspiring people. Saturday morning (the day before the big storm hit the East), I joined a few other folks on a short run around the Mall in D.C. I got to run alongside one of my new heroes, Brendan Brazier. I drink his Vega product almost every day, and was eager to pick his brain about nutrition and endurance running. Folks often ask me how I can work out as much as I do (15-20 hours per week) and continue eating vegan. Well, Brendan works out for a living; he’s a triathlete and an ultramarathoner (Canadian 50K champ.) He works out two-three times as much as I do (35-40 hours per week), and does it entirely on a plant-based diet. He was very gracious with his time as we made our way along the Mall; we talked about great places to run in Los Angeles (he trains here in winter) and about chinchillas (he very politely listened to me chatter on about ending pelting.)
Saturday night, my wife and I met many interesting people. My wife and I sat next to Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones at dinner, and she was a delight to chat with. (She’s best known for her objection to the certification of Ohio’s electoral college votes after the 2004 election). Tubbs-Jones is not a strict vegan, but she is tremendously supportive of PCRM. She represents urban Cleveland (her district is right next door to that of the very vegan Dennis Kucinich), and she’s profoundly worried about obesity in the African-American community. She’s partnered with PCRM to work on inner-city nutrition programs. She spoke frankly about the frustrating stereotype that veganism is something for “rich white people”. The congresswoman is eager to bring healthier, fresher, plant-based food choices to the largely black urban cores of American cities. It was a thrill to sit with her, and I am very hopeful that she will continue to use her position to raise the profile of PCRM (and vegetarianism) within the African-American community.
Oh, and we did fly American Airlines, thanks. And paying for the carbon offsets for the flight was the first thing I did this morning.
i actually did a phone interview with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine for a position here in DC back in august. what i find a little strange about them is the way that the central aspects of their work - promoting veganism and animal rights - are not readily apparent in either their name or their mission statement. i just find that odd.
i just made the switch to vegetarianism at the turn of 2007. i’m not eating meat or buying leather anymore. whether i have the willpower to take that to its next logical (ethical?) step, veganism, remains to be seen. i doubt it, though. call me selfish, but at some point a quality of life thing sets in and i think, “sure, i could live without cheese. but that would make me very sad. for decades, probably, i would be sad. so is my going without cheese for the rest of my life going to make *enough* difference to warrant that kind of self-deprivation?”
i guess you have to figure out how to pick your battles, as well as stay healthy and sane (i mean this universally, not even just in terms of the carnivore/herbivore thing). and often i find those decisions hard to make.
what i find a little strange about them is the way that the central aspects of their work - promoting veganism and animal rights - are not readily apparent in either their name or their mission statement. i just find that odd.
I think it’s vital to make it clear that this is an organization started by doctors and scientists; it sets it apart from other animal rights groups. Think of Physicans for Social Responsibility… rightly or wrongly, we place great stock in doctors…
I guess I’m a little more relativist about it. I cook vegetarian at home, but when I go to my sister’s house for Christmas I eat the leg of lamb along with everybody else because I don’t like the idea of telling her she has to cook something else specially for me. I remember Eric Lee similarly writing a while back that he became more flexible about his veganism for reasons of “table fellowship.” How do you deal with that issue?
I’ll be looking forward to your posting on veganism and the issues. I’ve been thinking about going vegetarian for a while, and I’ve cut out some meat, but my partner (whose passion is cooking/does most of the cooking in our house) is not very keen about it.
Hugo, a long time ago I went “vegan” for a while to please a girlfriend. And I did so under her guidance as she was a registered dietician.
I became anemic. Restoring meat to my diet cured it.
Guess I’m a throwback.
Camassia, there are obvious limits to table fellowship; we would not expect our orthodox Jewish guest to eat ham. Why expect a vegan to eat leg of lamb, particularly when their veganism is grounded in profound ethical and spiritual commitment?
I believe in table fellowship. But we can break bread to eat together, and some of us will eat meat, and some only vegetables. (Even if our faith isn’t weak; see Romans 14!)
Stentor, a trained philosopher
Actually, I have almost zero formal philosophical training. (My wife, on the other hand, is a trained philosopher. She was shocked that I had read all of John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice, because apparently one of the things you learn in philosophy classes is that there’s no point in reading the whole thing.)
what would make the world a far better place is if everyone actually lived out the principles of their faiths and creeds
I dunno — there are some creeds with some pretty awful principles, and I’m leery of the tendency to assume that whatever interpretation of a creed we like must be the “true” one.
I was vegetarian (ovo-lacto vegetarian, not vegan) for about ten years; then my meat-eating husband talked me into eating fish and chicken with the trade off that he would cook for me.
I’m relativist about vegetarianism because: a) I’m utilitarian, rather than absolutist, in my attitude toward animal suffering. I believe it’s good to reduce the amount of animal suffering we cause, and particularly so the more intelligent and aware the animals involved may be, but, unlike Hugo, I’m fine in principle with accepting some animal suffering for human benefit (and, in fact, positively in favor of such where animal experimentation is concerned). b) The other, “diet for a small planet” eating lower on the food chain reasons I can see for vegetarianism also are ones I am fine seeing in a utilitarian way, and there may be many different adjustments one might make in eating habits for ecological reasons. c) Different people have different health conditions and therefore different nutritional needs. (It might be possible to come up with a vegan diet that works with all my husband’s chronic illnesses, but, given the diet restrictions he already has, I doubt it would be a good choice for him to aim for that.)
Oh, Hugo -
You know, it has been said (in some Midrash or another) that G-d had intended for the Jews to be vegetarians (I suppose like some Buddhists or Jains) , but as a concession to the animal nature of Man He allowed people (at least Jews) to eat meat under certain conditions. Those conditions are the laws of Kashrut (keeping Kosher).
Many Jews (and not necessarily Orthodox ones. In fact, it is mostly non-Orthodox Jews who hold this position) become vegetarians or semi-vegetarians (eating meat rarely, perhaps only once a week on Shabbat) for exactly these reasons. G-d really prefers for people to be a vegetarians but if as an animal you REALLY, ABSOLUTELY MUST eat dead animals, there is a way to do so without causing as much damage (kashrut). Some people go as far as to replace the shankbone on the Passover Seder plate with fruits and vegetables.
I know of nothing specific anything in Judaism says about Veganism and I imagine they are just seen as extra strict vegetarians, and so I suppose G-d would be just that much more pleased with them for doing that much more to leave less of a destructive footprint on the Earth’s environment.
Anyway, not to sound like an infomercial for kashrut, but this basic position that to be a vegetarian is an ideal even in the eyes of G-d, is something to consider IMHO.
as a (nearly) vegan myself, i think it will be wonderful to see more vegan-ness in your blog. :)
i think vegetarianism is an issue too many people shy away from because it is thought of as “so extreme”, when really it is quite easy to switch to a non-meat based lifestyle.
and i like that point about vegetarianism being threatening exactly because it is a doable lifestyle change.
Animal testing too often makes animals suffer and tells us nothing about what works for people.
I assume you will be volunteering for in vivo testing of new compounds fresh from the laboratory, then? No, never mind, we’ll just farm more of that research out to India and Africa.
There’s such a huge disconnect between what people think scientists can do and what they actually can… I don’t even know where to start.
Carlavii, don’t take my word for it. Take the word of the scientists and doctors who make up PCRM. And Treifalicious, thanks for the info. I’ll see if I can hunt it down in the Midrash.
It’s not that I don’t believe that substances safe for animals can’t be dangerous to humans — that would only shock people who think scientists are some kind of godlike beings who are never wrong. The street goes both ways, too. An NSAID commonly used on humans and cattle has just about wiped out the vulture population of India because it turns out the stuff is poisonous to raptors. (Article was in Smithsonian magazine recently, I’ll find which one if anybody’s interested)
Science knows so little about life, even after all the animals and humans we have killed. If you think a computer can even begin to replace in vivo research or training for doctors… well, you have greater faith in luck than I do.
Speaking as a biochemist, there are many research questions whose answers, needed answers, simply cannot be found without research on animals. Sure, there are some things we can model in vitro (i.e., using proteins/organelles in tubes, cells in dishes, etc.) that we couldn’t in years past, and most scientists avoid animal use whenever possible. But as carlaviii noted, we just don’t know enough to reconstitute much more than relatively simple, isolated processes in vitro (believe me, I’ve spent years of my life on this). I’ve seen groups like PCRM (perhaps them, too, but they tend to blend together in my memory) at scientific conferences and wondered how they can reconcile their beliefs with the research being presented.
There is a huge Jewish Vegetarian Movement with myriad websites on the subject, for instance: “Jewish Veg: Our Diet as Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of G-d’s Name)”: http://www.jewishveg.com/ and “Jewish Vegetarianism — Theological Perspectives on Judaism and Vegetarianism”:
http://members.aol.com/Sauromalus/jewishveg.htm
Even those who eat meat and keep kosher ONLY, ONLY buy kosher organic free range meat (and there is a company that provides this meat, Wise Kosher at: http://www.wiseorganicpastures.com/catalog/). I know a family like this in Harlem (unapologetically Northeastern Jewish leftist Harvard educated elite - but they’re great and are just about my natural habitat). The father in particular is very passionate about food politics and they go out of their way to only buy kosher organic food and keep on top of the food insustry.
It’s really amazing how people get wrapped up in what they eat and why. On one hand I understand, as I tend to believe that the body is a portal to the soul and so it is very important what you do with it and what you put into it. At the same time, I do like my animal instancts in moderation. We have bodies and live on this earth for a reason - to enjoy the bodies that have been lent to us for this short time.
But if we want to make sure that others can enjoy the earth and their bodies, we must be careful what we do with both our bodies and teh earth that supports it, and so thsi is where environmentalism come in.
OH, and BTW, there is an intersection between Judaism, vegetarianism and feminism, as many people replace the shankbone on the seder plate with an orange and part of the reason why is because in the early 70s, an Orthodox (?) rabbi said women belong on the bima (altar) like an orange belongs on a Seder plate. And so now this is why some people have started this tradition of oranges on Seder plates.
speaking as another biochemist i find that only the tiniest fraction of animal experiments are of even the most remote benefit and that scientists do not tend to shy away from using animals except in the case where they can’t afford to.
I’ll call you on it: Poselytizing for a vegetarian diet is so much easier than proselytizing for your faith in Christ. He (and the Christian tradition) is unhestitatingly exclusive and this is painfully awkward in a society that sees tolerance (not truth) as the highest good. So, ‘I believe the truth of a “cruelty free diet’” is a far more palatable claim than ‘I believe in the author and creator of life, the alpha and omega.’ You become the slighly edgy uncle that people humor rather than the raving street corner lunatic. And we’re asked to become, figuratively, the latter.
If you have met Christ and believe he saves, why would you not want to proclaim this at every moment — sometimes using words, per St. Francis?
Stephen
Stephen, I believe Christ saves. But I am also a “hopeful universalist” (Hans Balthasar, Juergen Moltmann, etcetera). I believe God will have all men and women to be saved. But while the Buddhist or the atheist may well be saved, the animal the meat eater is eating definitely wasn’t spared. The meat eater who doesn’t want to think about how his burger got there, who doesn’t want to know what the cow’s face looked like, or how it was killed — that fella needs a wake-up call. And that wake-up call is just as pertinent as reaching the “unreached” with the Good News, particularly because I don’t think the salvation of those good people who follow Krishna instead of Christ is necessarily on the line. The cow’s life is on the line.
I think you have your priorities backward (thus far, the ritual denunciation.)
If your concern is animal suffering, there’s not much I can say that will change your mind. But if your concern is in any significant way about environmental impact, I think you are going in the wrong direction. Animals are part of every healthy eco-system; that’s very noticeably true of farms–it is much, much easier to run an low-pesticide operation if you keep chickens to eat some of the bugs, a couple goats or cows to eat the weeds, etc. If you want to cut environmental impact, eat local–not vegan. Grapes from Chile impact the environment far more than chickens that eat table scraps in your yard.
Sam, as far as environmental impact is concerned, I’m with you. I made a commitment to eat fruit only in season. No more grapes in November, no strawberries in January. We have some great farmer’s markets with many great resources around here.
And small family farms where animals are treated humanely, allowed to range about and have basic pleasure — these are the least of my concerns. We’ll talk to the family farmers after we shut down Big Cattle and Big Poultry and Big Pork.
“I made a commitment to eat fruit only in season. No more grapes in November, no strawberries in January. We have some great farmer’s markets with many great resources around here.” - Hugo Schwyzer
This sounds all fine and dandy, but many people growing up in today’s world, especially in urban environments, have no idea when different fruits and vegetables are in season. It’s in season when the supermarket is carrying it.
I wasn’t the slightest bit aware of fruit and vegetables having seasons until I moved to Israel and suddenly I was only able to get strawberries in the late winter (if I remember correvctly) and loquats in the late spring/early summer.
That being said, I fear that if we only ate locally grown fruit in season, we would have no fruits and vegetables in the Northeast! :)
Hugo-
You live in California and with the abundance of local produce it seems that veganism is a great choice for you. You are also disciplined and mature in your eating habits and make sure that you get enough protein, minerals, and vitamins. Veganism would not work everywhere and with every culture. How would the Inuit go vegan? I guess they could move to subdivisions in California or we could ship produce to them by air and burn tons of fossil fuel).