describedthereformsproposedby theHouseofCommons
Agriculture Committeein 1981,and wrote:“The Houseof
Commonsasawholehasyettodecideonthisreport,andit
maywellbeintheendthatitisdiluted;butevenso,thereis
nodoubtthatitrepresentsasignificantadvanceincombating
the abuses of factory farming.” Frey then argued that the
reportshowedthattheseabusescouldbeovercomebytactics
thatstoppedshortofadvocatingaboycottofanimalproducts.
(R.G.Frey,Rights,KillingandSuffering,Oxford:Blackwell,
1983,p.207.)ThisisoneinstanceinwhichIsincerelywish
mycritichadbeenright;buttheHouseofCommonsdidnot
botherto“dilute”thereportofitsAgricultureCommittee—it
simplyignoredit.Eightyearslaternothinghaschangedfor
thevastmajorityofBritain’sintensivelyproducedanimals.
Theexceptionisforvealcalves,whereaconsumerboycott
didplay a significant role.
3.FrancesMooreLappé,DietforaSmallPlanet(NewYork:
FriendsoftheEarth/Ballantine,1971),pp.4–11.Thisbookis
the best brief introduction to the topic, and figures not
otherwiseattributedinthissectionhavebeentakenfromthis
book. (A revised
editionwaspublishedin1982.)Themainoriginalsourcesare
TheWorldFoodProblem,aReportofthePresident’sScience
AdvisoryCommittee(1967);FeedSituation,February1970,
U.S. Department of Agriculture; and National and State
Livestock-Feed Relationships, U.S. Department of
Agriculture,EconomicResearchService,StatisticalBulletin
No. 446, February 1970.
- The higher ratio is from Folke Dovring, “Soybeans,”
ScientificAmerican,Feburary 1974.KeithAkerspresentsa
different set of figures in A Vegetarian Sourcebook (New