VEGANGELICA

Hi, Rickenbacker,

I’ve been thinking about how best to reply in order to keep you in dialogue with me about the emotions and issues you raise in your post, because I want to understand the causes of your negative feelings. I would like to understand what exactly makes it irritating for you when I sing about wishing I had cared about and loved animals instead of eating them blindly for many years.

First, thank you for reading my lyrics and for giving a response, since I can tell from your reaction that doing so wasn’t pleasant for you! Still, you actually acknowledged reading the lyrics and you shared your honest reaction, and for that I thank you.

Your comment is similar to a common response I hear when some people are confronted with veganism: they don’t like it when someone points out that we have the choice not to eat animal products and there are many good reasons to make this choice. For example, here are some of the recent posts four different MB members made about veganism since I joined MB:

Because I write songs about vegan issues and base my songs on what I learn or observe about omnivores and vegans, I want to understand the reasons people have for continuing to eat animal products and for having negative feelings about veganism.

Rickenbacker, or other omnivores, I’m hoping you will tell me more about your reactions, such as whether you agree with some of the following reasons omnivores may give for eating animals, milk, and eggs, and why you may not like it when vegans question this practice.

REASONS OMNIVORES MAY GIVE FOR EATING ANIMALS/ANIMAL PRODUCTS:
Do you agree? What is missing from the list?

(1) “Animals don’t have feelings.”

Very few people probably believe this now, since neurobiologists have established that non-human animals, like humans, exhibit behaviors and brain functions associated with sentience (the ability to be aware of experiences and have emotional reactions to them). For example, parrots or dogs with psychological problems (obsessive/compulsive disorder and depression/self-mutilation) have symptoms that improve with Prozac, just as occurs for many humans with these psychological issues.

(2) “Animals have feelings, but I don’t care about them.”

I think this is the most common response omnivores might give to explain why they eat animals. A variation of this response is, “Might makes right: since I *can* do this to animals, it is okay for me to do so.”

One reason for not caring about animals’ feelings is that within human cultures the most common type of morality appears to be “anthropocentrism,” which is a human-centered morality in which only humans have moral standing (meaning we only need to be concerned about our ethical treatment of humans), while everything else (nature, all other beings) has “instrumental value” (meaning they only have value insofar as they are useful to us). Another rationale often given is that since animals will die anyway, I might as well kill them when they are young and eat them.

Related to this explanation for omnivorous diets are some economic reasons: often people who make their living through animal agriculture or processing have a vested interest in maintaining their livelihood and in feeling they are doing a good thing, and so they may be especially strong in their opposition to veganism. A more complicated issue is that sometimes people who actually do care about animals may try to bury their sympathy, otherwise it would be too hard for them to live with themselves and still believe they are being good and kind as they support people who hurt/kill animals.

(3) “I like the taste of animals, and so I don’t like it when you tell me you feel I shouldn’t be eating them.”

I understand that no one wants to be told what to do/eat. The irony, though, is that most people were never given a choice about becoming a meat (dairy/egg) eater. If you are like the typical omnivore, then family members and schools probably gave you meat without any option. Similarly, the animal industry tells people repeatedly to eat meat, dairy, and eggs, and spends a huge amount of money to get you to want to do so. They have discovered their advertising works.

When an omnivore reacts by saying (3), I generally ask the following: if you feel your freedom of choice is being attacked when people simply sing about the positive reasons for eating plant-based diets, and the negatives of eating animal-based diets, then are you similarly angry/annoyed at all the people who have forced meat and a meat-eating culture on you since you were a baby, and if not, why not?

(4) “Religion/culture tells me animals are here for us to use and so I do so.”

An example of this would be the whole “humans were given dominion” idea. For example, a religious young man once told me he believes humans have souls, but animals don’t, and so although he doesn’t want them to be tortured he also doesn’t feel it is wrong to kill them.

(5) “Diets with animal products are healthiest.”

In reality, well-planned omnivorous and well-planned vegan diets can be equally healthful for most people, although vegan diets have certain benefits recognized within the nutrition community (such as the American Dietetics Association or ADA). For example, vegan diets have fewer carcinogens (created by cooking meat), less saturated fat, less animal protein, more plant protein, and more health-protective vitamins (folate, etc.) than omnivorous diets. Vegan diets are high in essential fatty acids, and non-essential long-chain fatty acids such as DHA and EPA can by obtained from algae. The one vitamin supplement vegans need that omnivores get from animal products is vitamin B-12, which is synthesized by bacteria (the source of vitamin B-12 in animal products).

Do you or other readers feel this list covers most of the reasons omnivores give for remaining omnivores, or are there some I’ve missed? If you wish, please let me know by posting or by private message, because this will help me greatly in writing vegan songs.

To THE ABOMINABLE HOMAN: thank you again for your fair assessment of my work! I’ll be interested to see your response to future song lyrics I post.

–Erica