> that create a little rabble. But in part I can see some truth in it. I
> mean a vegetarian or vegan ethic *IS* a useful tool to help us overcome
> oppression, but what about, say, in a Native American context? The
> natives of this area hunted and fished and ATE MEAT. Okay, it's in a
> different context... there was a reverance there for the life being
> taken... a personal relationship between the animal and the hunter,
> between the eaten and the tribe. They danced and honored that which was
> consumed. So does that make it less domination?
I think this is a very complex issue I have no hope of addressing
in full. It would make a good topic for a book! You made the first
important point -- many indigenous people do have a great reverance
for the life they must take, and will apologize before doing so. The
second important point is that as a species we have evolved to a
position that, prior to the advent of detailed nutritional knowledge
and the ability to grow a wide variety of plant foods, required
that we kill other animals in order to survive. There is some evidence
to suggest that we have not always eaten meat, or at least, not
to such a degree as people today seem to desire. Indigenous peoples
have either needed to eat meat in order to maintain adequate
nutrition, or have continued to eat meat as a cultural throwback
to a time when there was a need.
How about another question -- what is so wrong with advocating a
lifestyle that others cannot achieve in current circumstances? If
the world was to change in such a way that the "third world" was not
being screwed over by the first, then all people of the world WOULD
have the opportunity to be vegan if they so chose. Just because they may
not choose to do so is no reason for us to feel ashamed for having
a differing opinion. Indeed, there is a flip-side to this story,
namely that the huge, unnatural, greedy desire for comsuming huge
quantities of meat in developed and developing nations is a major
contributor to environmental degradation and famine in the third world.
There is more than enough food and nutrition to feed the world's
population, if only the developed world would stop hogging all the
resources. And the biggest waste of resources in terms of efficiency
of food production, is meat production. The world need not give up
meat, merely limit its consumption to healthy and natural levels.
Russell
P.S. The tone of this message has come out a little more sure-footed
than it should have. Please go easy on me if you disagree, I am not
so sure I have seen all the issues involved...
Geez... I must be still scared of Nicole! :)
--
Russell Edwards (Postgraduate student, pulsar (BH) +61 3 9214 5622
group, Swinburne University) (AH) +61 3 9755 3242
Email: redwards at pulsar dot physics dot swin dot edu dot au
PGP Public Key at http://mania.physics.swin.edu.au/~redwards/pgp.html
