tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post7168788575759169422..comments2023-12-27T11:59:14.632-08:00Comments on Eva's Book Addiction: Would you eat Wilbur?Eva Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921035998297319995noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-57531631706794656942010-05-11T08:15:08.715-07:002010-05-11T08:15:08.715-07:00I'll have to check out Death of a Pig. Oh, I ...I'll have to check out Death of a Pig. Oh, I know White wasn't a vegetarian! But I bet he was mindful and didn't willfully turn off his brain while eating bacon...Eva Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921035998297319995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-14792810595468459912010-05-11T03:11:45.762-07:002010-05-11T03:11:45.762-07:00Just to point out that White wasn't espousing ...Just to point out that White wasn't espousing vegetarianism at all. Far from it, in fact. Do you know his amazing essay, "Death of a Pig"? Often read parts of it to my students.Monica Edingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03924540264341924291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-71884153238687268792010-05-07T20:51:52.538-07:002010-05-07T20:51:52.538-07:00I, too, became a vegetarian at a young age, and I ...I, too, became a vegetarian at a young age, and I really think part of it has to do with being a reader. You can only read so many books where the animals are anthropomorphised (sp?) until you start empathizing with them-- "Watership Down" is really what did it for me. I was really into that magazine "Cricket" when I was little, and I can't kill bugs to this day!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-89590135104129627792010-05-07T11:14:16.434-07:002010-05-07T11:14:16.434-07:00I'd totally forgotten about Meet the Austins!I'd totally forgotten about Meet the Austins!Eva Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921035998297319995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-79801537069920300562010-05-07T09:51:56.323-07:002010-05-07T09:51:56.323-07:00And bringing in a fictional example of this, there...And bringing in a fictional example of this, there's the scene in Meet the Austins, by Madeline L'Engle, where the young sister refuses to eat "Wilber."Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-53250051681072229562010-05-07T09:07:31.113-07:002010-05-07T09:07:31.113-07:00I think it's true that vegetarians are much mo...I think it's true that vegetarians are much more likely to get flak for their eating habits than meat-eaters! I never bring up the subject ever (unless asked), but some of my own family members seem to think that the very fact that I don't eat meat is a judgment on their eating habits. Which it is NOT - it's a personal choice. And yes, I think our country, if not the world, would be a better place without mass-produced meat factories...!<br />Monica, the conversation going on at your blog http://medinger.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/the-vegetarianism-conundrum/#comment-17284 is fascinating and complex. This is a topic to which we should all devote a bit of time and attention.Eva Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921035998297319995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-75419498136085746802010-05-07T04:37:09.809-07:002010-05-07T04:37:09.809-07:00Have you read Living Among Meat-Eaters by Carol J....Have you read Living Among Meat-Eaters by Carol J. Adams?<br /><br />I've been a vegetarian for 23 years, and I found it very insightful. I've never been a proselytizer, and generally don't make much of a fuss about my vegetarianism. Even so, I still get a lot of negative reactions about it. In her book, Adams talks about how many meat-eaters feel quite a bit of cognitive dissonance in regards to their dietary choices: hence their defensive, or even angry reactions when they cross paths with vegetarians.<br /><br />Basically, they are told a lie. "It's awful to have to kill these cute animals, but if we don't do it, we will die. So, we do what we must!" And there you are, the vegetarian, who is living proof that it isn't true. In fact, the angrier/more unpleasant the behavior, the greater the chance that it's being driven by their own unacknowledged feelings of guilt and shame.<br /><br />Once I started thinking of it in that way, it helped me be a lot more compassionate to meat-eaters.Madigan Mirzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03298558705488237857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6232965658384447649.post-74026639679274843022010-05-07T03:10:46.799-07:002010-05-07T03:10:46.799-07:00Eva, I'm so glad you posted about this even t...Eva, I'm so glad you posted about this even though I don't agree exactly. Strikes me that there are all sorts of horrors in the world, but I think kids have to be developmentally ready to take them in in all their complexity. The issue of eating animals is enormously complex as is the Holocaust and many other topics. I think kids need to be old enough to begin to start to grapple with them. Certainly I point out to my 4th graders that there is a disconnect between their feelings about animals and eating meat (just did so yesterday when they were watching the reality show, Colonial House, and pigs were being born), but I also think it is a very, very, very complicated issue that we all need to look at from a myriad of sides. I also have a blog post about this and the comments are worth reading, I think.Monica Edingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03924540264341924291noreply@blogger.com