From the Archives: My rebuttal to veganism...

First, unfortunately there is a trend away from vegetarianism in the world largely due the rapid expansion of Western style fast food restaurants. Societies in Asia that used to be primarily vegetarian (though few were ever vegan) are being weaned into meat eating. In some Western societies there has been growth in the vegetarian ranks but that too has been reasons are not that clear. There is a certain cult of vegetarianism, indeed, but I would argue it's based solely on personal morality and not any economic, social or environmental concerns. Morality alone is not strong enough to convince the vast majority of people to give up eating meat and in reality, their views are counter-productive to the real scourge of agriculture: corporate farming.

Second, regarding the first topic, yes, their are more non-meat choices out there and that is largely due to marketing. Companies recognized a persistent sector of the population had converted to veganism and created products to suit that market. Companies like Cargill and ADM have jumped on the soy bean band wagon. What was once wasted soy product can now be reconstituted into soy milk with the help of vitamin and mineral supplements and presented as a "healthy" alternative to dairy products. Yet, it's no less natural or healthy than dairy products, except perhaps whole milk that has proven anti-allergen properties. Unfermented soy, like the kind found in soy milk, may cause other health problems, but as someone so knowledgeable about food, must already know about the dangers of raw soy. The other marketing ploy of the seed multinationals has been to turn us away from saturated fat and towards oils produced by various plant matter. The result has been almost fifty years of promoting hydrogenated vegetable oils, or transfats, which we now know are seriously detrimental to human health, far worse than natural animal based saturated fats. In fact, there is considerable controversy about the suspected health problems of saturated fats since saturates also contain numerous amino acids that are highly beneficial to human health. Indeed, many nutrients in meat are fat soluble and only ingested into the body through the fat.

Third, relating to number two, our system of factory farming is also largely to blame for the shift from meat eating. Meat is not as good and not as healthy as it once was. Animals are reared with hormones and antibiotics that correlate with the rise in allergies and other suspect health problems. That said, you're no less safe eating vegetables that may or may not be genetically modified. Grocery store vegetables are prone to E coli and other dangerous toxins if not washed and handled properly. The soy bean is the world's largest genetically modified crop.

Fourth, veganism won't necessarily let make you live longer, die younger be smarter or stupider... I mean... less stupid. My grandmother lived healthy to age 93 and ate perogies covered in bacon fat. The last oldest living person attributed her life expectancy to a steady diet of pickled herring. What's the point? The is no point. Neither Noam Chomsky nor David Suzuki are vegetarians and they seem pretty vibrant. The argument is moot. Move on. Einstein also believed in God, but I won't hold that against him.

Fifth, the agriculture argument is the vegan's supposed clincher, but it too is lost in a haze of assumption and a poor understanding of economics. Yes a lot of the world's food goes to feed, but a majority of that is deemed too poor in quality to be sold as food. The meat market is no where near as powerful as the seed multinationals, those who are trying to patent every vegetable and grain source from under the flip flops of every peasant in the world. It's the same ones trying to force feed Indians and Chinese GM rice through various nefarious economic incentives and back room deals with governments. Don't support them, buy your meat and vegetables from local independent producers of organic foods.

Sixth, and related to five, avoiding meat will in no way reduce world hunger. That's simple utopian nonsense. Every report I have ever read clearly states there is enough food in the world to feed the world. The problem is not the "C" word as in carnivore, the problem is the "C" word as in capitalism. Our food distribution system is THE problem and converting to veganism will not make this problem go away. When you have a system where only those who can afford to eat will eat, you have a recipe for starvation. Of course, there are many other problems with capitalist food production in that a vast majority of arable land, especially in the Third World, is owned by a few families growing crops specifically for export. Why sell a pineapple locally for 10 cents, when you can sell it to Canada for 4 dollars. Until land is redistributed fairly people will always have to rely on earning an income in order to feed themselves. Ådd to that the fact that many large landowners are in cahoots with the seed multinationals (or multinationals themselves like United Fruit) and you have something called agribusiness or the "green revolution" which is a nice word for unsustainable farming practices. Agribusiness is heavily reliant on fuel both to power machinery and to use in fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Much of this land is only marginally adequate for crop production thus accelerating the need for artificially induced, and largely counter-productive, agricultural methods.

Seventh, you say animals produce large amounts of manure which in corporate farming systems is detrimental to land use. I agree. But in sustainable agriculture systems and peasant societies this manure is utilized as natural fertilizer and is burned as fuel. It's recycled. Peasants also utilize livestock as working animals so they don't need to buy tractors and thus don't need to burn fossil fuels, much to the chagrin of oil companies. Read Vandana Shiva. Also, in true sustainable agricultural systems, livestock are utilized for grazing on fallow and in the process recycling nutrients back into the soil naturally. Isn't that what environmentalists should be promoting?

Finally, another point about the dreaded "C" word. Capitalist farming methods continually squeeze the profit margins or producers forcing them out of business or into more mechanized farming methods. It's the Wal-Mart principle: consumers in the West are averse to paying high prices for products whether it's televisions, salmon or tofu dogs making the entire system continually rationalize methods to save operating costs. If I choose to eat salmon, for instance, the price should not only reflect the effort it takes to catch salmon and ship the salmon to my plate, but it should also ensure fisherman make a decent wage so they do not need to over-catch or sell salmon on the black market in order to survive. Likewise, there should be no need to rake the sea bottom in order for independent fisherman and producers to eek out a basic living. The price should also include the cost of salmon preservation and it entails. If it costs me $50 dollars to buy a salmon, then so be it. Perhaps I wouldn't eat much salmon, but at least I would know that the cost is reflective of the actual price to ensure a productive and sustainable fishery. Of course the same holds true for virtual every product we consume in a wealthy society, whether it's meat, fish, wheat, rice or soy. The pressure on producers is the same: produce more for less. It's unsustainable. Likewise, heavy subsidies in the West keep the prices of our products low, while making it virtually impossible for those in the Third World to either sell their agricultural products here or floods their local markets with cheap imports. It's a vicious cycle and their only choice is often to sell their land to the seed multinationals and work piecemeal as farm labourers. We also see it here: prices hit an all time high, but independent producers can barely make a living. It's the distributors making all the profit.

So you see, being a vegetarian or vegan has nothing to do with the points you make. Unfortunately, there are a lot of activists wasting valuable time and effort in promoting a cause with little basis in fact and virtually no basis in rationality. I don't hold that against anyone who makes that choice, but you should also not judge anyone for eating meat. It's important that we educate everyone on sustainable farming practices, good health and a fair and equitable global economic system. All of which can and should involve keeping livestock.