Is veganism just a luxury? Or is it cruelty to eat ears, hooves and hearts?
The topic of vegetarianism came up at dinner with a group of meat-eating friends. One asked, with a snort, "Are there any vegans in poor countries?" and then answered her own question with a vehement, "No! Only rich people get to be so picky about their food!"
Since this friend is a slow food aficionado and veteran of the Incanto "Head to Tail" dinner, she's clearly biased in favor of meat. But it got the group debating the question, if you were very poor, or even medium poor, would you turn away meat, even though it equals protein and energy? Or would you just be happy to have anything to eat?
It gets down to the question, is a vegetarian diet a luxury of the developed world, where we get to eat whatever we want and have warehouses full of food choices? Or an ethical choice that crosses socio-economic borders?
Since this friend is a slow food aficionado and veteran of the Incanto "Head to Tail" dinner, she's clearly biased in favor of meat. But it got the group debating the question, if you were very poor, or even medium poor, would you turn away meat, even though it equals protein and energy? Or would you just be happy to have anything to eat?
It gets down to the question, is a vegetarian diet a luxury of the developed world, where we get to eat whatever we want and have warehouses full of food choices? Or an ethical choice that crosses socio-economic borders?
Vegan and vegetarian diets are often championed by environmentalists who believe eating meat has a negative impact on their carbon footprints -- which, in a lot of ways, makes sense. But then I watched this video of Cris Cosentino, the chef at Incanto, talk to to the foodie website Chowhound about using the entire animal -- yes, including the offal. He's pretty awesome, and even has some fighting words for PETA."
Chris's approach is way at the other end of the spectrum from veganism, but in many ways just as green and environmentally conscious. He argues that eating meat is not equal to animal cruelty. In fact, when you're concerned about the whole animal you actually take a much more ethical approach to the way it's raised and slaughtered, and you feel like an asshole for not using all of the parts of an animal you killed. "No waste" is a very "sustainable-living" approach.
In the end, I put it out to you, our Green Daily readers. Is it greener to eat the whole animal, or to be a vegan?
Chris's approach is way at the other end of the spectrum from veganism, but in many ways just as green and environmentally conscious. He argues that eating meat is not equal to animal cruelty. In fact, when you're concerned about the whole animal you actually take a much more ethical approach to the way it's raised and slaughtered, and you feel like an asshole for not using all of the parts of an animal you killed. "No waste" is a very "sustainable-living" approach.
In the end, I put it out to you, our Green Daily readers. Is it greener to eat the whole animal, or to be a vegan?
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