Yes, you read that right, a vegan butcher.
From
https://www.theunion.com/news/local-news/a-meaty-matter/
Marc Mongiardo is a vegan butcher at the BriarPatch Co-op Community Market’s meat department.
snip……
“I know I live in a world where most people eat meat, but I feel that being a butcher for natural meat allows more options,” Mongiardo said. “If everyone in the town ate natural meat, they’d be better off because there’s no hormones, antibiotics or chemicals in natural meat.”
Their isn’t enough agriculture land left to provide everyone with meat produced that way and meat produced that way at a price they can afford. The population of the planet has grown too big and modern agricultural has destroyed too many resources. While the animals raised in such conditions may eat a better diet, they still suffer horrible conditions and are still killed in a brutal way.
The difference in the level of cruelty ( and environmental cost ) between conventional and alternative meat production methods is at best superficial. The most noticeable difference is price. Alternative meat producers can charge you a lot more. That is why many of them are getting into alternatively labeled meat. They can use mostly the same practices they have always used, but charge people a much higher price. If you really want to do something about reducing animal cruelty or the environmental cost of your meat consumption save your money and just eat less meat. You can also go Vegan.
Having written that I have a problem with this butcher’s veganism.
The word “vegan” was coined by Donald Watson and his wife in the late 1940s. Rather than diet their definition refers to the ethical belief that it is wrong to exploit animals ( use animals for our own “selfish” purposes ). Using animals includes egg, dairy, and clothing production. The Watson’s coined this definition after having discovered that animals still get killed, still lead lives immersed in cruelty, even if they are not used for meat. The original definition of the word “vegan”, only about 60 years old, defines a “vegan” as a person holding and living by a particular ethical belief
This butcher may eat a vegan diet, but I don’t see how he could be a vegan. He eats the diet, but he doesn’t hold the beliefs that define the word “vegan”.
Philosophical matters aside, I don’t see how he can truly care about animals and cut their bodies apart for a living without some serious compartmentalization ( hypocrisy ) going on.
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Agreed… my understanding is that people who eat no animal products are “strict vegetarians”, and those who live the lifestyle are vegan.
I wouldn’t even put it that way as “live the lifestyle” is potentially confusing. Many people interpret “strict vegetarian” as either a vegetarian who doesn’t eat fish or a vegetarian who does not occasionally eat meat.
Veganism isn’t about what a person eats, it is about a belief and what a person does to be true to that belief.
Judaism is a religion that requires dietary rules and veganism, if you accept the Watson’s definition( which is the original definition), is an ethical belief that requires dietary changes.
Someone who “eats vegan” isn’t a vegan anymore than someone who eats kosher is Jewish.
If you don’t believe that exploiting animals and hurting animals unnecessarily is wrong then you aren’t a vegan, you are just someone who doesn’t eat any animal products.
^word.
PW
[[Veganism isn’t about what a person eats, it is about a belief and what a person does to be true to that belief.]]
or even better
Veganism isn’t about what a person eats, it is about knowledge and what a person does to be true with that knowledge.
[[If you don’t believe that exploiting animals and hurting animals unnecessarily is wrong then you aren’t a vegan, you are just someone who doesn’t eat any animal products.]]
I would also change the first part that one too; from believe to know
“If you don’t believe that exploiting anim…” to “If you don’t know exploiting animals ….”
I guess the word ‘believe’ is used so often as sort of a courtesy or a pleasantry. When I’ve used it with people in the past it always felt like I was placating them, which I guess in certain situations can’t be avoided.
For me now though, if I can’t talk straight, I usually remain silent.
Could be the Pierrepoint effect – Albert Pierrepoint went through his career as an executioner trying to make the whole process as humane and painless as possible. Although if that were this guy’s reasoning he’d have to get down and dirty with the actual killing, which doesn’t seem to be what he’s doing. Can’t see why meat-eaters would trust his opinion on what to eat anyway. I would certainly not take any attempt on his part to promote veganism seriously having heard what he does for a living.