. . . but she sure likes the bone!

I have been following the heated discussion on Alternet (and in The Nation) regarding meat-eating. I don't know why people have to drag out the same arguments over and over again. I personally do not care what anyone else chooses to eat or not to eat. However, I do think that we should be aware of where our food comes from. The environmentalist solution, in my opinion, would be to try to convince people to buy more local food and perhaps reduce their consumption of meat and dairy products. Telling people to stop eating meat altogether just makes people defensive. My god, people are defensive about what they eat. Here's the thing, though: some people see animal suffering as analagous to human suffering, some do not. Some people see an egg as a chicken, some do not. In these types of cases, beating people over the head is not going to change anyone's mind. Nor is informing vegans that they probably step on bugs all day, because, um, I think they know that. Everyone draws the line in a different place, according to their own morals and philosophies and cultures and locations and tastes and desires.

I am not someone who could eat meat after watching a slaughterhouse video. Some people can. I don't judge them. Some people can't lie around watching TV knowing there is poverty and violence and suffering in the world — unfortunately, I can. I don't think I am any better than my boyfriend because I don't eat hamburgers, just like I don't think I am any worse than my mom because I don't grow my own vegetables. What we eat is important, and I think people should strive to eat fresh, local, and delicous food when possible. I also think people need to stop telling each other what they "should" and "should not" eat.