Category: Something to chew on
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“Meat-eaters’ fragility” as an obstacle to change
A couple of week’s ago I gave a quick overview of my thoughts on meat-eating and the use of animals and animal products more generally as well-entrenched ideologies of privilege. Using “ideology” to mean not just a set of ideas, but a set of firmly entrenched ideas that solidifies relationships of domination and subordination, I…
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Meat-eating as an ideology of privilege
I have mentioned before that meat-eating is an ideology. Here “meat-eating” is really a stand-in for the use and consumption of animal products more generally. As for “ideology,” if you just consult the dictionary you’ll come away thinking of ideology neutrally, as a system of ideas, usually associated with political positions. But I like the…
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Ten reasons to try more vegan living in 2024
As the new year approaches, it’s a great time to think about what sorts of positive changes might make 2024 better than 2023. On Friday I’ll be more specific about ways to insert more vegan options into your life. But today I am going to offer a few reasons worthy of consideration for anyone who…
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On being vegan in a sea of omnivores whom you love
I’ve just finished reading Ed Winters’s book, This Is Vegan Propaganda: And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You (Vermillion 2022). It’s a great book with really good info about the impact of animal agriculture (particularly factory farming) on the animals, the planet, and humans’ health (not just the claim that veganism is a nutritionally…
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The dark side of dairy
The dark side of dairy isn’t some secret underbelly of practice that we don’t know about. It’s obvious that the main reason mammals produce milk is as a source of nutrition for their babies. No recent pregnancy? No milk. So yes, in order for cows to lactate, they need to give birth. In order to…
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Why single out horses?
Did you know that Canada is the leading exporter of live horses for meat? This fact hit the news this week because of a private member’s bill introduced to Canadian Parliament calling for a ban on these live exports. In 2022, 2600 live horses, bred specifically as livestock for consumption, were shipped to Japan. Once…
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Should vegans be eating “facsimiles of flesh”?
I just read a paper called “Facsimiles of Flesh“ by philosophers Bob Fischer and Burkay Ozturk that goes against my long-held belief that there is nothing wrong with eating realistic facsimiles of animal products. Indeed, I have even made the case that from a harm reduction perspective these imitators are welcome additions to the vegan…
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On leading a “less hypocritical or richer or better life…”
One of the great things (for me) about starting this blog is the steady stream of recommendations people (especially Shelley and Samantha) send my way. This week, it was Lorna Finlayson’s London Review piece, “Let Them Eat Oysters” (thanks, Shelley!). Ostensibly a review essay of Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation Now (Harper 2023) and Martha Nussbaum’s…
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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…
Vegan Practically 