well, well. i am a vegetarian. i have been my whole life and you know what? i never really thought about the general/environmental/social implications of being a vegetarian until i went to college. all of a sudden, at my liberal arts college, it was the buzz word, the hip thing, the only option if you wanted to be "cool"...and cooler yet: vegan!
i grew up in a family of vegetarians and we were vegetarians for personal and spiritual reasons. i saw cruelty to animals as the number one reason to being a veggie. and then, at 18 in a brand new college, in a brand new state i was introduced to the concept of vegetarianism being environmental and progressive and saving the rainforests. interesting. and i actually began to find it easier to tell people i was veggie for those reasons rather than spiritual reasons. eating and diet are such personal things, and yet spirituality having an influence on one's diet was even more personal, too much of myself could be exposed. and so i was on the enviro-veggie wagon.
after a few years of that...well, i realized that diet is very personal. food is a tradition and many times one of the few traditions that families observe today. and though i am fairly certain that a vegetarian (and even more so, vegan) diet is better for the planet overall...it is a very hard point to sell. it's like trying to convert someone to a different religion or make them wear a different style. it's a huge life change and sacrifice for many people...and a burden. the argument should be made from a factual stance. and equally from a spiritual-emotional stance. telling someone they are not progressive because they eat meat is (i believe true) not going to convince them to give up meat. it raises defenses and does nothing to win over omnivores.
i enjoyed this article, but what i found even more interesting were the comments. a lot were very defensive and a lot were rude and a lot were compassionate... and i think it teaches that, we, as a culture, are very dependent on food to give us a place and a common ground. eating and food choices are very personal, no matter how right or wrong another person may claim them to be. and also, after reading the article, i think people need to remember we have free speech... just because somebody writes something doesn't mean you need to take so near to your own heart. we need to respect the opinions of others and let them speak as they see fit.
that all said... i would encourage close friends and relative of mine to go veggie for health and spiritual and environmental reasons. i care about those people and i want them to lead healthy happy lives...though i would never lose a friendship or try to cause arguments based around our differences in diet.
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: You Call Yourself a Progressive -- But You Still Eat Meat?
