WWSFD?

My first job - that required a tax form - was with Jerry's Subs and Pizza. I was fifteen and my parents filled out a work permit for me. My station was the pizza prep area - though other duties included washing dishes, wiping tables, sweeping, taking out the trash, refilling the drink station with ice...I preferred to be in the back because I didn't like to be seen wearing my Jerry's hat. After I was there a while I got to fill in on the grill. That was fun, I liked to use the two long spatulas to slice and dice the steak strips on the grill and mix them with the onions and green peppers for Philly cheese steak subs. The whole process seemed faster - more impressive - and somewhat theatrical...compared to docking the pizza dough and sprinkling on toppings. 

I met my first real-life vegetarian at Jerry's. Now that I think of it, yuck. What a job for a vegetarian. Pepperoni - everywhere, sausage crumbles, bacon bits, meat subs....She was several years older and therefore an object of - I confess - admiration and a bit of infatuation. I forget her name though. Really, I promise. She was a little bit of what became my stereotypical view of vegetarians. (The term vegan really hadn't hit the popular culture scene yet) She was an animal rights activist - I"m not sure how active she was, but that was how she described herself. I only remember two moments with the girl. One was when we were robbed by gun point after coming in the back door from taking out the trash (that's not really applicable at the moment so I'll leave the rest of the story for another time), and the other was when she was telling me about her thoughts on animal rights.

Even this second moment is very foggy as I try to pull it from my memory banks. The main thing I remember was my impression that the girl's position was illogical. I couldn't understand how she could compare the life of an animal with the life of a human. That's where she lost me and that's where I dug the ditch that separated me from vegetarians. I began associating all animal rights proponents and vegetarians with a belief system that I found to be illogical. I mean, just the thought that a dead dog on the side of the road - hit by a car or a dead human on the side of the road would generate similar emotions and reactions is up-surd, mystifying, and a tad bit disturbing, to say the least. Suffice it to say, my thought process (at the age of fifteen - and subsequently, I never revisited the issue) went...vegetarians are animal rights people, and animal rights people are fruit loops.

There are all sorts of other influences that have either deepened this stereotype or added another layer of nuance. I share the Church's teaching regarding the sanctity of human life and when I see our nation fund and support the degradation of human life while campaigns are in full swing to protect endangered species or rally my emotions for the cute and cuddly - it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. What ends up happening is I react in opposition... This is a flaw. It's just as illogical. 

So, I'm reading one of the several "Vegetarian Starter Kits" I received in the mail/ online. This one was put out by Mercy for Animals. It's got thirty-one pages of "recipes, tips, and info". Half of it covers cruelty to animals and how "factory farming" is bad for the planet and fosters unethical treatment of animals. Two pages tell about the health benefits of vegan eating and the rest are recipes. 

As I read the first fifteen pages - which are filled with some gruesome photos and tons of referenced sources - two things happen. First, I can't help but make note of the humanizing terminology meant to muster up deep pity and guilt over the mistreatment of animals - I've eaten and therefore condoned their abuse and suffering. I also can't help but notice quotes like: "According to animal behaviorist, Dr. Chris Evans, chickens are as smart as mammals, including some primates. He explains that chickens are able to understand that recently hidden objects still exist, which is beyond the capacity of small children." or this one, "Pigs have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly [more so than] three-year-olds, says Dr. Donald Broom, Cambridge University". My alert goes up. What are they saying? I ask. Here they go again. A chicken deserves the same level of care and devotion and love....as my two-year-old child? They are out of their mind. Are they raising pigs up to the level of humans or are they lowering humans to the level of pigs?...on and on it goes. Then, I pause. 

Ok, I don't have any idea if those two doctors meant to imply these things or if there are animal rights activists or vegetarians out there with such a perverse trail of logic...but what I do know is that if buying meat in the grocery store required me to walk through the front door of a factory farm down it's aisles to the conveyor belt past the tanks and the hooks through to the packaging area to select my purchase...I'd walk out empty handed and feeling more than a bit nauseous. I can't think of anyone I know who would condone hurting an animal on purpose and without some cause - like protection or something. And in my little bit of time as a vegetarian and looking up information I can't see any examples of factory farming being humane to their product line - in their defense, they wouldn't be able to stay in business if they were. So, I've been faced with a conundrum recently. I've begun to question my preconceived ideas and conclusions...I certainly started this process with no moral or ethical reasonings...it was more of a lark really - a few health reasons maybe....but...I haven't fully ruminated - digested - processed...but I am fairly certain what St. Francis would do.