So here’s some shocking news: I am a vegetarian.
Really shocking. After more than a decade of abstaining, I’m living proof that a vegetarian can lead a totally fulfilling life (often too fully filled, especially when Smart Dogs are around). Many vegetarians I know, myself included, are often asked the question, “So, like, uh.. how come you don’t eat meat?” Some people have a nice, succinct answer to this question, so when they are asked they can simply and clearly answer it. Many, myself included, have only a terribly long-winded roundabout way of answering the question, which leaves the curious party confused and annoyed.
My personal answer involves both philosophical, practical, health, and ecological reasons. The first two of those, the Ph and the Pr reasons, are the most difficult to explain. The third, health, is theoretically easy to explain on its own, but not in conjunction with the stack of donuts dipped in melted cheese and chocolate I am probably eating as make the point about a meat-free diet being healthy. Finally, the ecological reasons are really boring, nobody really seems to believe me, and it’s hard to relate cheeseburgers to global warming. Luckily, Slate has summarized the ecological part pretty well:
Whether you’re a carnivore or herbivore also has CO2 consequences. We don’t blame you for enjoying the occasional filet mignon. But the average meat eater causes a ton and a half more carbon dioxide emissions for food production than the average vegetarian. Like it or not, your diet can have just as much effect on your carbon emissions as your choice of car. It’s like the difference between a Camry, say, and a Prius.
They don’t touch on rain forests being chopped down to make more grazing from for cattle, nor the inherent inefficiencies in eating from higher up the food chain, but with all of today’s excitement about carbon emissions and other, related hippieisms, this one might make the most immediate sense to people. So there we are.
Finally, I would like to make a point of one last thing. If Al Gore went vegetarian, it would be one of the few things he could do to make himself more cool. Unfortunately, it would also be one of the many things that would make him less electable. But imagine it!