Jonathan Safran Foer is all over

By Published On: 14 November 2009Last Updated: 17 January 2017

Jonathan Safran Foer is all over the internet these days, isn't he? Of course I'm talking about his latest work, Eating Animals.

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Jonathan Safran Foer is all over the internet these days, isn’t he?  Of course I’m talking about his latest work, Eating Animals. I’ve been pretty mum about the book because I haven’t had the opportunity to read his work, and that’s important.  I have read, however, that he is not a vegan.  I’m curious as to how someone could visit slaughterhouses and explore animal agriculture and not become vegan.  I can’t imagine, personally, being able to justify the use of any animal products after that.  But that’s me.

So like I was saying, he’s all over the internet.  Everywhere you turn is another JSF article, or an article about JSF.  While I have mixed emotions about “JSF-gate” as I like to call it (does it matter if he is vegan or not), one cannot deny that he is getting people to talk about the use of animals as food.  It’s an important conversation, one that is not talked about nearly enough, so it’s nice to see so many mainstream news outlets starting the discussions.

I came across an article with the title, “Quitting Meat is a Process – Almost impossible to do all at once.”  I didn’t realize that Jonathan Safran Foer had penned the article at the time, I didn’t care.  I saw the title, thought it was a fallacy, clicked on it, with my vegan at the ready.  My vegan quickly deflated as I began to read the article.  It’s hard to disagree with someone when they say this:

“We don’t live our lives on the inside flaps of philosophy textbooks. We live in the world. And in the world, everyone is a hypocrite. In the world, change is not a switch but a process. Being serious about changing requires a certain amount of forgiveness. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t draw lines in the sand, or that we should be quick to accept all of our own apologies. But if animal welfare matters to us, if the air and water matter, if swine flu and E. Coli matter, if global warming matters, if biodiversity matters, if rural communities matter, if our ability to tell honest stories to ourselves and our children matters… then we shouldn’t be distracted, intimidated or misled by someone else’s idea of purity. We should begin at the beginning, and begin now.”

That’s a pretty damn good message, don’t you think?  And I think he’s on to something here.  Change is a process, I agree.  I don’t mind so much that he doesn’t advocate for veganism, or vegetarianism either really.  He presents facts and ideas, then lets you decide what to do with them.  Which, I’m all for.  I applaud his self exploration into the world of animal agriculture and I appreciate his promotion of his book (exposing, by default, the horrors of animal production).

But, at the same time, JSF implies that it’s too hard to become vegan outright, that maybe we could ease into it.  To know of the torture and killing of other sentient beings, and decide to ease into the halting of such practices is, barbaric, at best.  And to the animals killed each year, it’s unacceptable.  Unfortunately, this seems to be how the human species deals with such matters.  Many a genocide we have been aware of, but yet did nothing about because of societal phenomena such as politics.  The inevitable and irreversible environmental catastrophe upon us has been dismissed owing to economic pressures.  Don’t get me wrong, every life spared matters.  But easing into veganism with excuses doesn’t help the billions of animals every day that are slaughtered.

So please, let’s not use excuses as to why some cannot stop eating animals (and defend it by following it up with, “…we shouldn’t be distracted, intimidated or misled by someone else’s idea of purity.”).  It’s insulting.  Not to me- to the billions of lives lost each year.  They deserved better, they deserve better.  And this?

“The big deal is we’ve been eating these products since we were kids, and we digested them with stories. We got over our colds with chicken soup. We celebrated the Fourth of July with grilled burgers and hot dogs. We ate our grandmother’s brisket. These things matter. As do our cravings. As does convenience.”

That implies that our memories, food associations and convenience matter more than the life of another.  And that, that is simply outrageous.

via alternet.org

2 Comments

  1. crystal November 14, 2009 at 6:33 pm - Reply

    Yes it is true, he is not vegan, but if you read his book you will see his point of view. He is however a vegetarian, which is a great thing to see. just because he’s not vegan doesnt mean we should just say hes an idiot or hypocrite. “Eating Animals” is a GREAT book, I just finished it last night, and it was fabulous. It is mainly about factory farming and how screwed up the farm/meat industry is. we should be giving him praise that he made the commitment to give up meat. it’s a huge step in anyone’s life, and we should encourage it.

  2. Krista Robinson November 14, 2009 at 3:28 pm - Reply

    After seeing him on Ellen I was shocked to find out he is not vegan. Even though he talked like he was at least he didn’t say he was. Last thing we need is one more hypocrite calling themselves a vegan.

    If you think about it easing into veganism is like you are saying you are easing into caring. You can’t see/know what goes on and slowly care about it.

    When I became vegan I became vegan because I care about animals. I didn’t build up to caring about the torture they are put through.

    If he wants chicken soup buy Amy’s No-Chicken Noodle soup. Want a hot dog get some veggie hot dogs (there is several brands). There is no excuse beside being lazy and having no commpassion.

    I will say though if he has had time to research and write a book on the subject and now do interviews he has had plenty of time to “ease” into veganism.

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HELLO! I'm KD Angle-Traegner.

Writer, activist, and founder of Four Urban Paws Sanctuary. I’m on a mission to help people live a vegan life. Read more about KD…

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