Introsepction: reasons to be vegetarian
Jul. 24th, 2009 03:30 pm( Preamble on objectivity )
So, what are the standard arguments for being vegetarian, and do they apply to me?
1. ✗"It's healthy". It may or may not be true, but even if it were unhealthy I'd feel the same way.
2. "✗It's better for the enivronment". I'd LIKE this to be true. I'd also love it if coding PERL turned out to make me a hero saved lots of lives. But that doesn't mean it IS true. I'd be vegetarian either way (unless being vegetarian was much worse).
3. ✓ "It's part of my cultural identity". This is a big part of it. I spent 20 years being vegetarian, and it's part of who I am. Giving it up feels like giving up being English if I lived abroad -- sure, I could do if I wanted to, there's nothing inherently better about being English, but I don't want to, and I'd expect people to find it strange if I rejected it.
4. ✗"Because animals in the food (or dairy) industry suffer a lot." Often they do, often they don't. Again, it would feel very validating if this were true, and if it were true, I think it WOULD be a deal-breaker. But there is ethically grown meat and I don't want to eat that either. Indeed, I think I've been afraid to find out how bad the current industry is because I'm not sure how it would affect my opinions.
5. ✓ "Because killing things for pleasure is bad, mmkay." This is the reason I always quote. If there were vat meat, it would feel strange, but I'd eat that. Even though if I ate meat for long, I'd quickly get used to it, and though I'm not yet saying I'm RIGHT to believe this, this is definitely the real reason (along with #3) that I actually am.
6. ✗ "Because eating dead flesh is wrong/icky, mmlkay." This is definitely related. After not having done so I'd probably feel queasy morally and literally to eat something dead, even if it had died painlessly and accidentally. But I don't think I actually have a moral objection to it.
7. ✗ "Because it lets me feel superior." There's probably a little truth here. Even if they weren't true, I wouldn't adhere as closely to the habit if it didn't have trappings of morals and health. It's a reason I'm slow to reconsider my opinion, but if vegetarianism definitely had no benefits, I would reluctantly abandon it.
8. ✓ "Because I'm stubborn". This isn't a reason to be vegetarian forever, but it does mean I don't want to simply eat meat because it happens to be there, without actually deciding I have a good reason to.
( False arguments against being vegetarian )
So, what are the standard arguments for being vegetarian, and do they apply to me?
1. ✗"It's healthy". It may or may not be true, but even if it were unhealthy I'd feel the same way.
2. "✗It's better for the enivronment". I'd LIKE this to be true. I'd also love it if coding PERL turned out to make me a hero saved lots of lives. But that doesn't mean it IS true. I'd be vegetarian either way (unless being vegetarian was much worse).
3. ✓ "It's part of my cultural identity". This is a big part of it. I spent 20 years being vegetarian, and it's part of who I am. Giving it up feels like giving up being English if I lived abroad -- sure, I could do if I wanted to, there's nothing inherently better about being English, but I don't want to, and I'd expect people to find it strange if I rejected it.
4. ✗"Because animals in the food (or dairy) industry suffer a lot." Often they do, often they don't. Again, it would feel very validating if this were true, and if it were true, I think it WOULD be a deal-breaker. But there is ethically grown meat and I don't want to eat that either. Indeed, I think I've been afraid to find out how bad the current industry is because I'm not sure how it would affect my opinions.
5. ✓ "Because killing things for pleasure is bad, mmkay." This is the reason I always quote. If there were vat meat, it would feel strange, but I'd eat that. Even though if I ate meat for long, I'd quickly get used to it, and though I'm not yet saying I'm RIGHT to believe this, this is definitely the real reason (along with #3) that I actually am.
6. ✗ "Because eating dead flesh is wrong/icky, mmlkay." This is definitely related. After not having done so I'd probably feel queasy morally and literally to eat something dead, even if it had died painlessly and accidentally. But I don't think I actually have a moral objection to it.
7. ✗ "Because it lets me feel superior." There's probably a little truth here. Even if they weren't true, I wouldn't adhere as closely to the habit if it didn't have trappings of morals and health. It's a reason I'm slow to reconsider my opinion, but if vegetarianism definitely had no benefits, I would reluctantly abandon it.
8. ✓ "Because I'm stubborn". This isn't a reason to be vegetarian forever, but it does mean I don't want to simply eat meat because it happens to be there, without actually deciding I have a good reason to.
( False arguments against being vegetarian )