Animal Advocates Watchdog

The vegetarian was rational, the chef was emotional... *LINK*

You'd think a conversation between two people on opposite ends of the
animal use spectrum would quickly turn into World War III, but they
remain respectful to one another throughout, and it turns into a
productive and even friendly dialog.

What I found most interesting about this debate has to do with the fact
that it's generally vegetarians who are thought of as making emotional
appeals, and being guided by passion and feeling rather than reason. Yet
in this debate, it's Bourdain who time and again makes reference to a
"magical" sensuous realm, filled with good fellowship toward others,
that can apparently only be entered through consumption of animal products.

There's something-not much, but something-to what Bourdain says, but his
argument is far more tenuous than he suggests, and Foer does a nice job
of respectfully revealing its holes. The funniest part is when Bourdain
points to grandma's Thanksgiving turkey as an everyday example of meat's
special powers to deepen bonds between people, and Foer points out that
this is a meal served once a year and that Americans don't eat much
factory farmed turkey otherwise because it doesn't taste very good.

Basically, Foer is willing to concede to Bourdain the idea that meat can
be a uniquely wonderful thing that is a sacrifice to give up. But in
return, Foer points out that 99 percent of the meat that we eat isn't
eaten within this context: it's factory farmed crap that we
unconsciously wolf down, and it would be better for everyone if we
stopped. This is exactly the sort of argument that someone sympathetic
to animals, but who uses her love for Thanksgiving turkey as an excuse
to do nothing, needs to hear.

Towards the end of this discussion, Bourdain reveals how uninformed he
is about vegetarianism by flatly stating as established fact that
children won't thrive without animal products. It's shocking that one of
America's bestselling food authors could be so ignorant about something
so basic. It would be like a top-selling vegan author trying to claim
that beef has no iron.

When /Eating Animals/
came
out a year ago, Foer could have gone on an eight week book tour, and
then abandoned the cause to turn back to full-time fiction writing. I'm
so glad he's continuing to get out there and engage in public
discussions like this. For animal advocates wanting to learn how to
persuasively discuss animal agriculture, I doubt there's anyone who is
more worth listening to than Foer.

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Podcast online Tuesday: Jonathan Safran Foer debates chef Anthony Bourdain on meat-eating on CBC's Q *LINK* *PIC*
The vegetarian was rational, the chef was emotional... *LINK*

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