Animal, Vegetable, Miserable

Gary Steiner gives some very hard challenges that vegans face in his essay “Animal, Vegetable, Miserable.” It’s hard to believe that in the 15 years he has been a vegan he has only made 5 other friends that are vegan. It takes a very dedicated and unwavering person to stand by their beliefs while they lose friends and alienate themselves. He is obviously very passionate about being vegan but he does not seem very happy. I think he is talking about himself in the title when he mentions miserable.  To me life is about the pursuit of happiness. I think we all need something to be compassionate about and fight for, but what if that thing we are so focused on standing up for is the only thing we have a connection with anymore? I understand that vegans have an issue with using animals as a support system to live when they have obviously proved there are ways around it. I don’t think there needs to be such an extreme point of view that makes someone feel they can’t even eat around other people. I’m still new to the vegan diet and everything that does or doesn’t come along with it. I think that vegans want what most people who are aware of where their food comes from want, and that is for more humane ways of obtaining food or alternatives for animal products. There is common ground here. Steiner argues that as humans we feel that we are more superior to non-human animals due to our egocentric and anthropocentric views. For me this seems like a no-brainer. I’ve always been taught about food chains and unless there is a T-Rex walking around somewhere that I don’t know about this means that humans are the top. We’ve evolved and developed into the most intelligent and awesome lifeform on this planet. Part of that is because we survived by killing and scavenging anything that stood in our way. I’m thankful for everything my ancestors have done to get me where I am today. Sure there are problems with how we mass produce our food. That doesn’t mean we need to take a stand that is so extreme it alienate ourselves from our own species. Instead of looking at ways we are different we need to come together and look at how we are the same. That’s when I feel we can actually start making a difference.