No, No Don't Tell Me!
09 June 2005

This happens to me all the time:

Curious omnivore (CO): So, why are you a vegan?

Me: Well, there are a few reasons, but mostly it is a question of ethics.

CO: How so?

Me: Well, the conditions that animals are kept in to produce eggs, meat, and cheese are deplorable.

CO: Oh, shit, wait. No no no! Don’t tell me. I’d rather not know! (taking a bite of meat)

They’d rather not know because if they did, they might have to think twice about eating animal products. This is the ultimate in consumer hubris: as long as you can continue to consume without knowing or thinking about the conditions of exploitation involved in production, you can fool yourself into thinking that your conscience is free.

Yet, oddly, some of these people see fit to call me an extremist. Me? I’m just living by my conscience. If I’m to be true to my ethics, this is what I must do. Yes, it meant giving up blue cheese (which I loved, though which now seems gross), ice cream (though Soy Delicious rocks my socks), and cream in my coffee (soy milk works just fine, thanks) but these were the only choices to make since I couldn’t in any way justify daily consumption of products that caused so very much suffering. Once I made myself think about it (which took some time, admittedly) there was no other way to go.

I knew, and couldn’t un-know.

  Posted by Bob Torres    Permalink    Filed under:
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