Bird Carcass

I’ve been fighting with some vegan’s over on Craig’s List today. One woman called me a fascist because I sit at the table on Thanksgiving in front of a “bird carcass.” The following is my attempt to re-focus the debate:

Factory farming, while inflicting terrible and inhumane suffering on the animals, is also a symbol of a very sick society which values corporate profits over both people’s and animal’s well being. I am not interested in getting into an argument over whether one type of living creature has more intrinsic value than another; I have my own opinion on that but it isn’t relevant to the point I’m trying to make.

What confuses a lot of us socially conscious vegetarians, who don’t buy their food from a factory, is why you vegan folk focus almost exclusively on the plight of the animals rather than on the larger social issues, which impact all species. For example, vegan’s wouldn’t care to be seen in a leather belt since leather is the byproduct of the exploitative factory farming system, yet the amount of petroleum that goes into manufacturing a pair of non-leather shoes (well, manufacturers produce thousands of pairs), not to mention the pollution created by the manufacturing process, is not inconsiderable in and of itself. Every choice has consequences. I have seen a lot of vegan recipes which contain processed sugar and margarine. How is this treading any more lightly on the earth than buying locally produced honey or milk?

The other thing I can’t fathom is how some (not all) vegans I know think that subsistence hunting and fishing is somehow morally suspect, even in areas where farming and/or access to fresh produce is limited. Every native culture I have come into contact with that is based on hunting has profound respect for the animal and uses the entire thing; not a scrap is wasted. Do you suggest that these cultures petition for a Whole Foods of Trader Joe’s in their corner of Saskatchewan?