Wow, it's been a long time since my last entry! I actually had one not so long ago that some of you may have read (but I accidentally deleted it,) oops.
Anyway, on to tonights spectacle, vegan carnism and how this can help us see the other side's perspective, and free range super-happy animals.
If you are a vegetarian or vegan and you are reading this you've probably tried some mock meats. I think some of the mock meat products are great. I can take it or leave it, but the value that they bring to helping people transition to a plant based diet and as an addition to vegan gastronomy is enormous.
That said, let's quickly jump over to carnism: almost everyone I meet claims to either like or respect animals, but almost everyone I meet also consumes meat. They also seem to have an acceptable species list, it's ok to eat a cow, but not a cat, then when I ask why things seem to start to get a little unclear for them.
Now as vegans imagine this, you come to my house and I serve you the most delicious vegan cottage pie you've ever had made with a mock meat. You leave thanking me and thinking I'm a pretty cool guy for feeding you so well. I invite you back, you accept, only when you arrive there's something different.
More mock meat, but you don't recognize it...
"This meat is all vegan," I explain, "this is faux-dog, this is faux-whale, this is faux-monkey, this is faux-dolphin."
How do you feel about my food now? I would feel uneasy, shocked, queasy and a little disgusted.
What's the problem? It's not real meat. It's just plants, just like the vegan beef I served you last time. The argument could be made, that in order to create the vegan version you would first need to sample the real thing, but there are people that eat those animals and know the taste, just like there are people who eat cows, pigs and chickens. So I can't help but think there really is no difference.
I'm totally fine with eating a vegan meal resembling and branded as beef, but not a vegan meal resembling and branded as monkey - why? I'm clearly a vegan carnist. These is no other explanation, it's a crazy psychology, the same crazy psychology that leads people to say, "I love animals...yeah, can I get extra bacon with that...oh, where was I, yes my dog is getting sick, I'm so worried that she feels ill..."
Next time when you speak to someone who starts spouting how much they love animals as they chow down on a side of ribs remember that we may also be carnists. Next time that rage wells up inside of you about societies miss-treatment of billions of animals, hate the action, not the people, because some of us may be good deep down, but just need some serious rewiring before we realize that murder is wrong regardless of the species. It's our job as vegans not to isolate ourselves further, but to engage people and find effective ways of animal advocacy.
Which brings me on to another point. What is all this BS about happy healthy animals roaming free and living good natural lives before we eat them? Is that supposed to make people feel good about themselves? OK, point number one, most of that is just marketing bull crap, terms like cage free do not equate to well treated. Point number two, they are still being KILLED!!
I remember seeing the recent outrage at Sandy Hook Elementary and thinking that the kids all seemed to have lived pretty good, happy lives. Does this mean it's ok to kill them? Should I feel better about the murder of a happy child? Of course not, it's an abomination. So why should I feel better about the murder of a 'happy' cow. Total and utter BS. It's this S-O-B carnist psychology meaning people can't join the dots; if you take a girl out on a date and treat her nicely, it doesn't mean that you're all the more justified when you rape her, if you have a kid living a happy life it doesn't mean it's fine to murder him, if you let a cow roam outdoors it doesn't mean I should feel all soft and fuzzy inside about murdering her and eating her corpse.
Messed up.
Totally messed up.
