Category: Ethics
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Conference catering: what should the defaults be?
I’m at the International Social Ontology Society Conference in Stockholm this week. The conference provides lunch and breaks. And I’m happy to say that the lunches are all vegan and vegetarian. No meat-based options on the menu. This has become a trend at some conferences I’ve either attended or heard about lately. It’s especially prevalent…
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Meat and the lives of non-human animals
[Content warning: this post engages with a philosophical discussion that defends the killing and eating of non-human animals. Though I ultimately reject these arguments I present and explain them first.] As noted in my blog welcome post, this blog is part of a larger project that includes, among other things, a book-in-progress. As a philosopher,…
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Vegan “meat” products: is more realistic better?
Several years ago, before I’d ever heard of “Beyond,” I sent back a burger I’d ordered in a sports-bar style restaurant because I thought it was a beef burger rather than the veggie burger I’d ordered. It was red inside, and I thought the juice running out of it was blood on my plate. It…
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On labels: “vegan” or “plant-based”?
In recent years, you’ve probably noticed the rise of the term “plant-based.” What’s the difference between “vegan” and “plant-based”? Does it even matter? As a philosopher, I may be more prone to seeking significance in distinctions that others might consider simply a matter of semantics. But in this case, there is a difference in both…
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Lab-grown meat? I’ll take a veggie burger, please
In recent years you’ve likely encountered reports of lab-grown or cultivated meat. As outlined in the article, “Will I See Lab-Grown Meat in Supermarkets Any Time Soon?” some people consider it a great alternative that addresses any ethical concerns they might have about killing animals for food. And we are one step closer to it…
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Why is talking about food ethics so prickly?
In my “about” blurb I mention that the blog is a companion to a book-in-progress. One thing the blog is helpful for is working through some issues I’m having with tone. I realize that food ethics in general raises issues that immediately put people on the defensive. Why so prickly? I touched on this a…
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Some Reflections on Fish and other Seafood
A lot of people ease their way into vegetarianism or veganism through pescatarianism. Pescatarians avoid meat and poultry products, but they still consume and enjoy fish and seafood. In the past, I used to eat fish and seafood despite eating mostly vegetarian. So many “mostly-vegetarian” people will eat seafood on occasion (sometimes as a treat…
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Ways to be imperfect
Ever since I started my project on imperfect veganism, thinking of it more as a practice than as a theory, I’ve been reflected on the various ways a practicing vegan, who is vegan for ethical reasons, might be imperfect. I mention ethically-motivated vegans in particular because I think that someone who is vegan for health…
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Kindness Matters
kindness noun /ˈkaɪnd.nəs/ the quality of being kind kind adjective /kaɪnd/ generous, helpful, and thinking about other people’s feelings (from the Cambridge Dictionary) When vegans talk about their stance towards non-human animals, they often offer thoughts about the importance of kindness and compassion. The slogan “Kindness Matters” comes up a lot, and it is not…
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An Invitation to Be Imperfect
Really I don’t need to invite you to be imperfect. We are all already imperfect in so many ways. A frequent rejoinder these days is “don’t be so hard on yourself.” Few people are harder on themselves (or frankly on others), than people who have strong ethical convictions that they sometimes fail to live up…
Vegan Practically 