Like many interested in food I have considered the issues over many years. In a recent online discussion with a somewhat over the top Vegan I am once again thinking of these issues.
Primarily I have a great deal of sympathy with the argument that not eating meat saves animals from suffering. I am of course very careful to choose free range meat and eggs.
When it does come to Vegans I do not believe they hold the high moral ground. There are a number of ethical issues that Vegans for whatever reason are just plain unwilling to address.
1. Factory farming using genetically modified crops is a disaster waiting to happen, what are vegans doing to combat this affront to our vegetable farming future?
2. The use of animal products to fertilise vegetable crops seems a very obvious contradiction of basic principles, what are vegans doing to address this?
3. Vegans offer no alternative to animal testing for most if not all medications, this is a central problem.
4. There seems no viable alternative to using leather for so many products
I don't raise these issues because I think there can be no answers, I raise them to highlight that we all have ethical issues to examine when it comes to the production and consumption of food. It is just to easy to say eating meat is the problem and by doing that alienating a majority of the population.
What I would like to see is a constructive dialogue about food production and consumption from all those who believe that food has an ethical dimension.
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