Vegetarian hypocrisy

Recently, I came across two friends comparing their gloves. One of them was convinced that his were better because they were made out of leather. He happened to be a vegetarian.

Killing animals is inhumane. As a vegetarian myself, I believe that we refrain from eating meat solely because the process of attaining edible meat involves the killing of animals. The broader concept underlying secular vegetarianism is that killing animals is inhumane and we will not support it by being a part of the process. However, there are some important considerations that must be made before we can distinguish ourselves from the ruthless animal-killing humans.

Manifestly, the concept of vegetarianism will be facile and meaningless if vegetarians blithely participate in the process of killing animals through means other than eating meat.

Vegetarians must refrain from eating eggs as they are the animalistic equivalent of embryos. There is little difference, if any, between directly killing a chicken and eating a chicken egg.

Next, we must give up the practice of wearing all forms of leather products.

After all, leather is made from animal skin, and obtaining animal skin requires us to kill animals. We must burn our shoes, watches, belts, jackets and the seat covers in our SUVs that are made out of leather in order to not support the process of killing animals for human needs. It seems like this is only the beginning of a consistent lifestyle for vegetarians.

Most fluffy or down jackets that offer the most insulation against extremely cold climates are made using goose feathers. Feathers are acquired by killing pretty geese amongst other animals. Wool, silk, ivory, tusk and whale oil are a few other animal byproducts.

There are so many products of daily use that involve the killing of animals at one stage or another that it is nearly impossible for us to live without killing animals. And yet, if we consume anything that involves the killing of animals at any stage of production, it is essentially no different from consuming meat itself. In fact, meat gives us more utility than leather belts or woolen hats.

We are inadvertently faced with two options. Either we embrace an eccentric lifestyle and refuse to consume any and all animal byproducts, or we renounce vegetarianism altogether. We always have the third option of embracing hypocrisy by paying hundreds of dollars for leather jackets while refusing to eat meat, but for most, the third option is not a true option. It is better to proclaim to be a murderer rather than disguising the act and embracing falsehood.

For me, the choice is simple ó I am not a vegetarian from this day onwards. I am not being pedantic, nor am I being a stickler for animal rights, I am simply trying to add consistency to my actions by extending the underlying logic behind vegetarianism to all spheres of life.

Usman Gul is a regular contributor to the Voice.† He can be reached for comment at UGul13@wooster.edu