the animals whosebodies theyare selling were raised. In
somecases,suchasthatofchickens,traditionalmethodsof
rearing have disappeared so completely that it is almost
impossibletobuyachickenthatwasfreetoroamoutdoors;
andvealisameatthatsimplycannotbeproducedhumanely.
Evenwhenmeatisdescribedas“organic”thismaymeanno
morethanthattheanimals werenotfedtheusualdosesof
antibiotics, hormones, or other drugs; small solace for an
animalwhowas notfree towalk around outdoors. As for
eggs, in
many countries “free range eggs” are widely available, though
inmostpartsoftheUnitedStatestheyarestillverydifficult
to get.
Onceyouhavestoppedeatingpoultry,pork,veal,beef,and
factory farm eggs the next step is to refuse to eat any
slaughtered bird or mammal. This is only a very small
additional step, since so few of the birds or mammals
commonlyeatenarenotintensivelyreared.Peoplewhohave
no experienceof how satisfyingan imaginative vegetarian
dietcanbemaythinkofitasamajorsacrifice.TothisIcan
onlysay: “Tryit!”Buyagoodvegetariancookbook(some
arelistedinAppendix 2 ofthisbook)andyouwillfindthat
beingavegetarianisnosacrificeatall.Thereasonfortaking
thisextrastepmaybethebeliefthatitiswrongtokillthese
creaturesforthetrivialpurposeofpleasingourpalates;orit
maybetheknowledgethatevenwhentheseanimalsarenot
intensively raised they suffer in the various other ways
described in the previous chapter.
Now more difficult questions arise. How far down the
evolutionaryscaleshallwego?Shallweeatfish?Whatabout
shrimps?Oysters?Toanswerthesequestionswemustbearin