tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043381.post3522458278137608769..comments2023-11-03T04:48:30.117-07:00Comments on themacinator: Jonathan Safran Foer: Eating Animalsthemacinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14604965394470394628noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043381.post-33893736430121953542010-09-14T11:18:42.075-07:002010-09-14T11:18:42.075-07:00No offense taken :) I do remember being a vegetari...No offense taken :) I do remember being a vegetarian and avoiding conversations and thoughts about veganism specifically because I was so annoyed and offended by PETA, so I've been there. I've come to terms with a lot of what PETA does and why they do it, but I doubt they'll ever give me a reason to become a real supporter. Anyway, vegans, like Pit Bull owners, have to grow a thick skin so I'm no longer easily offended. <br /><br />I do wonder if Safran Foer's point in never really mentioning veganism was to purposefully not turn off the reader. Other books are similar in content ("Ethics of What We Eat" for example, minus the extent of the cultural aspect) but advocate more heavily for veganism by name. They have certainly not made the splash this book has. <br /><br />And yay, part 2. Something to look forward to.Jenniehttp://www.citypittie.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043381.post-9766763718685781072010-09-14T09:09:48.567-07:002010-09-14T09:09:48.567-07:00Hey Jennie- Thanks so much for coming by :) I love...Hey Jennie- Thanks so much for coming by :) I love your blog- going to go check it out a little more, now.<br /><br />First, I should apologize for any snarky vegan comments in my post. I think PeTA has done the animal welfare and the animal rights communities a huge disservice in their stridency- those of us "in the know" or maybe "in the care" is better, have been turned off by them to such an extent that many people have turned anything they're related to into an "eye roll." This is wrong, and I should know better. One of the things that I try to do, though, is analyze my many many many faults :) So, if I eyerolled at vegan, I totally apologize, as I know that vegan does not equal PeTA, as much as PeTA works on branding everything they touch.<br /><br />Second, you're totally right- I became a vegetarian for the human factor, and Safran Foer's book is a lot about the human factor- I think maybe partially because it's what worked for him. We aren't JUST eating to survive, we're eating because we can, because it's cultural, because it's pleasant. And, what we eat, how we eat, affects everything else we do. And inflicting pain is also what makes us human.<br /><br />I didn't touch on the pain part of the animals, and I think, lying in bed last night and now reading your comment, that I need to write part two. Thanks again!themacinatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14604965394470394628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7043381.post-76791315758586886942010-09-14T07:15:09.682-07:002010-09-14T07:15:09.682-07:00I've been reading and loving your blog for sev...I've been reading and loving your blog for several months now, but I am generally an awkward first time commenter and like to put it off as long as possible.<br /><br />I'll lay this out there first; I'm a vegan. I would prefer it if no one ever affiliated me with PETA though. <br /><br />I became a vegan about five years ago, after having been a vegetarian for over a decade. I was a strong resister for a long time, although I can't exactly remember why. If I wasn't yet a vegan, I think this is a book that would have flipped the trigger switch for me.<br /><br />I think you've hit on something that people don't always talk about when a discussion of factory farming comes up, and that's the human cost of CFOs. I recently had a chance to experience some huge (10,000+ animals) pig farms in the southeast, and the devastation they cause to local human population was, well, devastating. The whole town we visited stank. It hurt my throat and my eyes. The people who hadn't yet left couldn't, and they were stuck there, inhaling toxic fumes for the rest of their lives. It was bad, and sad, and you rarely hear about it.Jenniehttp://www.citypittie.comnoreply@blogger.com