Acknowledgments
Itisnormalpracticetothankthosewhohaveassistedinthe
writingofabook;butinthepresentinstancemydebtsareof
a special kind, which can only be indicated by a brief
narrative.
Inthefallof 1970 IwasagraduatestudentattheUniversity
ofOxford. AlthoughI had specializedin moral and social
philosophy, it had not occurred to me—any more than it
occurstomostpeople—thatourrelationswithanimalsraised
aseriousmoralissue.Iknew,ofcourse,thatsomeanimals
werecruellytreated,butIassumedthatthesewereincidental
abuses and not an indication of anything fundamentally
wrong.
MycomplacencywasdisturbedwhenImetRichardKeshen,
a fellowstudentatOxford anda vegetarian. Overlunch I
askedhimwhyhedidnoteatmeat,andhebegantotellme
abouttheconditionsinwhichtheanimalwhosebodyIwas
eating had lived.Through Richard andhis wife Mary,my
wife and I became friendly with Roslind and Stanley
Godlovitch,alsovegetariansstudyingphilosophyatOxford.
Inlongconversationswiththesefour—andparticularlywith
RoslindGodlovitch,whohadworkedoutherethicalposition
in considerable detail—Ibecame convinced that by eating
animalsIwasparticipatinginasystematicformofoppression
ofotherspeciesbymyownspecies.Thecentralideasofthis
book derive from these conversations.
Reachingatheoreticalconclusionisonething;puttingitinto
practiceisanother.Withoutthesupportandencouragement