For the second time in my life, I've been converted by a book. Before it was The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (yes, I'm one of dem "new" atheists), and now it's a book called Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I first encountered his work by watching Everything is Illuminated, a touching film based on his novel of the same name. On first appearances, he seems a mild-mannered novelist, but once you get into the meat (oh dear) of his book, he writes more like a passionate journalist. It's a readable and eye-opening book.
Just as with my clichéd love affair with The God Delusion, I was a partial-convert before I'd even heard of the book. I was aware of, and partially sympathetic to, the feelings and arguments of vegetarians, and I don't consume dairy, though only for reasons of vanity. But like with Dawkins' book, I hadn't stopped to take my slight discomfiture to its necessary conclusion: using animals for food is not justifiable.
I won't restate any of the facts and experiences recounted in the book, because I don't intend to make this a long polemical post, but I strongly recommend that you read it yourself for the full effect.
Unlike my new-found atheism, I don't really see myself becoming a great proselytiser, aggressively persuading everyone of the narrow validity of my tenets. Maybe I'm just older or more apathetic, but I think it's probably simply that I'm too aware of the awkwardness of accommodating vegans' dietary requirements.
That's a terrible reason, I know, for someone not to stick rigidly to something they believe to be right. I write this post so that, in a few years' time, I can look back and see how inflexible I've become. I doubt I'll look back as a lapsed, full-blown omnivore. I may eat meat and fish when presented with them in a social environment in which it would be rude or inconvenient to decline them, but ethical and environmental considerations leave me with little desire to purchase such items myself.
Apologies for the lack of sarcasm, cynicism or attempts at humour in this post. In retrospect, it is a very dull and boring post.
