Why I am Not a Vegetarian
by David Oliveira
It's not that I love animals less,
a case could be made I love them more--
and it's not that I love vegetables less, I love them rare, nothing more savory than raw celery clawing and kicking its way down the gullet.
What I find hard to stomach is vegetarians.
If there is a vegetarian at the table, we all get called in to be witnesses at a police lineup.
Cheese, eggs, fish,
each suspect paraded for identification-- pronounced innocent, guilty, please take two steps forward.
And it's not like there is just one canon for the good host to worry about.
Each vegetarian comes with a different menu.
Most won't eat anything that had legs,
though many eat fish, a fin nothing like a leg, And eat shrimp, that have legs which count as fins since they come from the sea and taste so good in a Newburg sauce.
Oysters are problematic, without legs and from the sea, but mostly eaten alive, like carrots.
A few pass on eggs because of the latent leg potential, though pasta is usually okay, the potential hard to realize under the marinara.
One friend doesn't drink milk
but asks for extra au jus
for his mashed potatoes. I haven't the heart to explain what kind of vegetable the "au" is or how many get squeezed to make a cup of "jus."
Don't misunderstand,
I admire those who stand on principle,
however vague, who doesn't admire
the resolve of, say, a Jerry Falwell,
to bear the weight of so much conviction he can hardly walk to church.
Praise the Lord for limousines.
As my mother would say,
"Live and let live--
Just keep the details to yourself,
And pass the ketchup, please."
The point of being a vegetarian isn't to associate with a certain group and love or hate them, and it's not necessarily for the animals. Mr. Oliveira states his reason for not wanting to be a vegetarian is he finds vegetarians themselves "hard to stomach."
ReplyDeleteThe point of vegetarianism is to use fewer resources. If one agrees the use of resources is a legitimate concern, especially when considering the current world population, unless one's goal is to destroy the world, it might be prudent do reduce the amount of energy it takes to sustain one's own body.
Consider what it takes to get a vegetable (we'll use a zucchini as an example) versus an animal (we'll use a cow). The zucchini needs the initial seed, soil, water, and fertilizer. As the zucchini is growing it takes very little infrastructure to apply the water and fertilizer, a rolling irrigation system and a small tractor perhaps. The cow on the other hand needs water, grassland, grain, hay, straw, antibiotics and other medications. Before even getting to the point of slaughter, a single item on the list needed for a cow, the grain for example, uses as many resources as the zucchini's growth cycle. There's a 'double investment' in the cow's growth, that of the cow and that of all the things needed to grow the cow.
Be a vegetarian not for the animals and not for the ideals, but for the future of the planet. Humans don't need to consume meat in order to sustain themselves, therefore it's wasteful and morally wrong to do so when you take into account how many people are starving and state of the planet.
Berkelep,
ReplyDeleteLove the comment. Great defense of vegetarianism or rather, invocation to vegetarianism. I hold it against no man. At least not much. But I think you missed something in Oliveira's poem and perhaps lent it credence with your comment. He's not saying vegetarianism is wrong but rather it’s too religious. There are too many sects and rules and hard nosed , steely eyed summons and commands. There are too many blanket judgments. And this, as with many things religious, does not allow for locality. I agree with all the observations about our insatiable appetites that don’t recognize limits and result in feed lots and factory farms and those limits should be accepted. The reality is, however, not everyone should be vegetarian. It’s not the road to salvation. It’s not a fix all and is completely impractical for many people. Being beholden to your place seems much more realistic. In my place, growing vegetables is hard, growing cows is easy. We have lots and lots and lots of grass, not a lot of water and a short growing season. I garden and grow vegetables but I dread the prospect of surviving on it. We’d have starved by Christmas. Whether that is more a commentary on my poor gardening or my point here I won’t argue. But perhaps you see my position. Also, Vegetarians make meat eaters very uncomfortable. May haps it is they’re living in sin or maybe they just don’t understand. I think it’s a nice combination of both.