Category: Reflections
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Where to draw the line?
Last week the article, “The case against pets: Is it time to give up our cats and dogs?” came across my desk from a number of different people. They sent it to me, not because I have cats, but for a couple of other reasons. First, one of the researchers quoted, Jess Du Toit, is…
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How compelling are ethical reasons?
As a moral philosopher maybe I live in a bubble where I feel more uncomfortable than other people when my actions depart dramatically from my considered beliefs. I’m not saying moral philosophers are necessarily more ethical than the average person. And I’m not saying other people don’t have strong moral convictions. I’m suggesting that maybe…
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Catering fail—no protein
Here’s a thing that has always been annoying: when so-called chefs can’t figure out protein that is not from an animal source. I blogged about it at Fit Is a Feminist Issue back in 2015. I have just come from two days at an off-site meeting where the catering fell short in this way. Now,…
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Where lies the burden of proof for eating meat?
Philosophers often talk about the “burden of proof.” What it means if you have the burden of proof is that you, not the other person, have the burden of proving that you’re right. In other words you need to provide the arguments and evidence in support of your position. Where the moral permissibility of meat-eating…
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Not all that’s edible is food
When I was at the social ontology conference last week I went to two great papers that considered, among other questions, the broad idea of what counts as food? In his paper, “Friend (Not) Food: Livestock as a Social Kind,” Dylan Brown, PhD candidate in Philosophy at Duke, noted that not everything edible counts as…
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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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Travelling while vegan: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
I don’t travel as much as I used to, but I’m doing it more than I did during the pandemic. I was recently vacationing in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario where I spent two weeks with my parents in Haliburton. While away, I came up with the idea of a series of “travelling while vegan” posts. Whenever…
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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…
Vegan Practically 