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avevale_intelligencerA while back, in that haven of reasoned discussion and dispassionate debate we call Facebook, I advanced the argument (in response to a quoted statement that the world would be better if we all became vegetarian) that if we all became vegetarian (which I think is unlikely) then all the animals in the world would suddenly be between us and the food, which historically has not been a very good place to be. I was roundly chastised for daring to argue with a Self-Evident Truth, and specifically for erecting a straw man.
Well, I'm not sure. I think there were bones in that straw. However, I went away and thought about other things, and then this morning what do I see but a basket of adorable little piglets and the caption "Seven reasons to ditch bacon."
Okay, let's try erecting this man one limb at a time, like Hangman in reverse, and we'll see if he's all straw or something a bit more solid.
Left Leg: Every person who ditches bacon is one less person buying bacon.
Right Leg: Every person not buying bacon is one less reason for shops to stock bacon.
Left Arm: Every shop not stocking bacon is one less reason for suppliers to pay for bacon.
Right Arm: Every supplier not paying for bacon is one less reason for farmers to raise pigs.
Torso: Farmers, believe me, do not do anything they do not need to do, i.e. that will not support the farm and their family. Farming's bloody hard work enough, no room for passengers.
Head: The more people ditch bacon, the fewer farmers will raise pigs, the fewer pigs there will be.
So those seven adorable little piglets (unless they are some family's pets, which would be absolutely marvellous as long as they know a pig is for life and not just for Christmas) are actually seven reasons not to ditch bacon.
I am very strongly in favour of animals being more humanely treated. I sign petitions to that effect, if I had spare money I would give to appropriate charities, when I buy meat I look for meat from farms that adhere to standards of animal welfare. And I continue to love pigs and to eat bacon, because whether it's a straw man or a slippery slope or an excluded middle or any other logical buzzword, I do not trust my species to keep animals alive just because some of us think they look nice.
So that's that.
Well, I'm not sure. I think there were bones in that straw. However, I went away and thought about other things, and then this morning what do I see but a basket of adorable little piglets and the caption "Seven reasons to ditch bacon."
Okay, let's try erecting this man one limb at a time, like Hangman in reverse, and we'll see if he's all straw or something a bit more solid.
Left Leg: Every person who ditches bacon is one less person buying bacon.
Right Leg: Every person not buying bacon is one less reason for shops to stock bacon.
Left Arm: Every shop not stocking bacon is one less reason for suppliers to pay for bacon.
Right Arm: Every supplier not paying for bacon is one less reason for farmers to raise pigs.
Torso: Farmers, believe me, do not do anything they do not need to do, i.e. that will not support the farm and their family. Farming's bloody hard work enough, no room for passengers.
Head: The more people ditch bacon, the fewer farmers will raise pigs, the fewer pigs there will be.
So those seven adorable little piglets (unless they are some family's pets, which would be absolutely marvellous as long as they know a pig is for life and not just for Christmas) are actually seven reasons not to ditch bacon.
I am very strongly in favour of animals being more humanely treated. I sign petitions to that effect, if I had spare money I would give to appropriate charities, when I buy meat I look for meat from farms that adhere to standards of animal welfare. And I continue to love pigs and to eat bacon, because whether it's a straw man or a slippery slope or an excluded middle or any other logical buzzword, I do not trust my species to keep animals alive just because some of us think they look nice.
So that's that.
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no subject
Date: 2014-03-28 11:49 am (UTC)If everyone became vegetarian, the varieties of animal bred for human consumption would die out, and that would be a thoroughly good thing, since they have been bred to have gross deformities that are convenient for us, but make life horrible for the animal.
Instead, there would be wild animals, who don't need humans to keep them alive, but can survive very well without us. And if humans decided to kill *these* animals, then they would starve, because the ecosystems that support our crops need animals.*
Also, WWF, RSPB and RSPCA are among the UK's most donated-to charities. People pay LOTS of money to keep animals alive because they like looking at them.
Animals are already 'between us and the food', and would become less so if everyone were veg*an. In the US (can't find UK figures to hand), 60% of the grain farmed is fed to animals. It takes much more land (about five times as much) to feed a human by growing crops, then feeding some of them to animals, then killing the animals for food than it does to simply feed the crops (only) to the human.
* And out of this you *can* make a pretty good argument against everyone becoming vegetarian, since manure is important in arable farming, and I can't quite see a sensible way of obtaining it from wild animals!
Another good argument is that not all land is suitable for arable farming: you can raise sheep on hills, but you can't grow corn there.
As far as I'm aware though, there aren't really any good arguments against any particular individual becoming vegetarian, or against everyone eating less meat.