Guest guest Posted March 27, 2002 Report Share Posted March 27, 2002 >Horseshoes, Hand Grenades, and Veggieburgers >Posted: March 22, 2002 >By Eric Marcus > >One thing I love about being vegan is that I've never before felt any >desire to compromise. For thirteen years, I've never knowingly allowed >even a speck of animal products to pass my lips. > >I'm not at all suggesting that vegan food is totally free of >suffering. I know that it's often been fertilized with blood or >manure. I know that insecticides have been used to poison insects. >And I know that mice and snakes are dismembered in the reaping >machines. > >Yet even with all this, it's fairly obvious to anyone who researches >animal agriculture that a 100% vegan diet demands the least >misery-per-mouthful. To me, 99% vegan has been never good enough. My >reasoning has been two-fold: I've never wanted to be remotely >responsible for even a tiny amount of farm animal suffering, and I've >never wanted to purchase any food that would fund the livestock >industry. > >To be vegan is to embrace compassion, but with any noble pursuit, it's >easy to fall into the trap of feeling pride: " I eat 100% vegan, >whereas John still puts cream into his coffee, and Sally eats >doughnuts with eggs in them. " > >Until now, I've always been able to deal with potential pride issues >by telling myself that my aspiring to eat 100% vegan is not done on >behalf of some weird narcissistic quest for personal purity. I aspire >to be 100% vegan solely because I think that's what's best for the >animals. > >Matt Ball, a cofounder of Vegan Outreach, addresses this pride issue >in an intelligent way: > >Being vegan, for me, is about lessening suffering and working for >animal liberation as efficiently as possible. It has nothing to do >with personal purity or my ego. If, by some bizarre twist, eating a >burger (or, better yet, a triple-cheese Uno's pizza) were to advance >animal liberation significantly, then I would do it. > >I agree with Matt. But until now, his thought seemed purely >hypothetical. Would I eat a T-bone steak if the NFL would agree to air >nothing but vegan public service announcements in place of commercials >during the Super Bowl? Of course I would. The trouble is, I've been >waiting by the phone, and nobody from the NFL seems to be calling to >make the offer. > >That's the nice thing about being vegan. The question of being less >than 100% pure has always seemed totally hypothetical. I could never >envision a situation where eating animal products could, legitimately, >advance animal liberation. > >This week, the situation changed. It took me a day or so to grasp it, >and in that time I posted what I now regard as an ill-conceived >opinion piece on my site. It concerns the Burger King Veggieburger. > >A few months ago, Burger King announced plans to offer a Veggieburger, >which the press initially reported to be vegan. The product's launch >date was on Monday, March 18th. A few days before the launch, I did a >bit of checking and I found out that the bun has a miniscule amount of >dairy products—less than one percent, by weight. > >Well, for me, even a speck of animal products has always been a >dealbreaker. And I wrote about it in those terms in my first article. >At the same time, I had to acknowledge that it would be a great thing >for this burger to succeed. If we could get 20% of Burger King >customers to switch to eating the BK Veggie, things for animals would >change overnight. It's probable that McDonald's and Wendy's would be >forced to offer Veggieburgers of their own. We'd see a craze for >vegetarian eating like never before, and for the first time, society >might be ready to ask some hard questions about animal liberation. > >But for us to get there, the BK Veggie has to become a success. And >that's anything but assured. Burger King is well known for having >numerous new products crash and burn shortly after introduction, but >even industry-leader McDonald's misfires regularly. For every smash >success like Chicken McNuggets, there are dozens of aborted attempts >at new products. Remember McPizza, McLean, or Arch Deluxe? All these >products—launched amidst high-budget promotional campaigns—have been >yanked from McDonald's menu due to lack of sales. > >We can't afford to let Burger King's Veggieburger suffer a similar >fate. If this product fails, it'll send a clear signal to the fast >food industry that there's insufficient demand for healthy vegan food. >The Burger King Veggieburger represents an unprecedented opportunity >in the vegetarian movement's history. But if the burger flops, it >might set the growth of the movement back ten years. > >And, chances are, if the vegetarian movement does not embrace this >product, it will fail. I'd be reluctant to eat a small amount of >animal products in the hope that it would help produce animal >liberation. There's just too much suffering in a mouthful of animal >products for me to feel right about it. But, with the BK Veggie, the >quantities involved are so trivial, and the success of this product is >of the utmost importance to farm animals everywhere. We have one >opportunity, and if we vegans turn our back on it for the sake of >maintaining the illusion of 100% purity, then shame on us. > >* * * * * > >Historically, if you want to criticize a group like PeTA, it should be >because they've been too hard line and too hardnosed to ever entertain >compromise for animals. But, in this case, the leadership at PeTA >agrees that the BK Veggieburger must succeed at all costs. >Undoubtedly, they will get streams of cancelled memberships and stacks >of outraged letters. But I am certain that they are doing the right >thing. > >I'm going to do the right thing too. I'm going to do everything I can >to promote the BK's Veggie on Vegan.com and at my speaking >engagements. I know this will outrage some people. But Burger King >isn't going to pay me a cent for this. I strongly believe that the >vegan movement needs to get behind this product and do everything we >can to ensure its success. > >If you try to be as vegan as possible, and you agree that supporting >this product is important, you need to make a couple requests when >ordering your Veggieburger. First, ask that they leave off the >mayonnaise, which comes standard with this product. Second, ask that >your burger patty be microwaved rather than grilled. All Burger King >outlets have been instructed to offer this option, so that vegetarians >won't have to eat a product that is cooked on the same grill that is >used to cook beef. > >If I haven't persuaded you that the BK Veggieburger deserves support, >please, at least, do not fight the people who are supporting it. This >movement is divided enough already. I admit that there's a possibility >that I am wrong in supporting this product. I only hope that vegans >who refuse to support the BK Veggie have a similar humility, and >realize that their position may be incorrect as well. The vegan >movement needs to be unified against the industries that exploit >animals—not divided against itself. Remember that we all care >passionately about protecting animals, and disagree merely on strategy >and compromise. > >I believe that there will come a day, in the not-too-distant future, >when vast numbers of people will aspire to be 100% vegan. To hasten >this day, I am going to regularly eat a virtually vegan Veggieburger >at Burger King, and encourage as many of my vegan and non-vegetarian >friends to join me as possible. And every bite I take, of this >just-barely not 100% vegan food, will be on behalf of farm animals. > >--- > >Erik Marcus publishes Vegan.com and is the author of " Vegan: The New >Ethics of Eating " . > > _______________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 27, 2002 Report Share Posted March 27, 2002 This is so sad. Eric had it right (imo) the first time. Since when is it reasonable to exchange some animal cruelty for another? A month ago it wouldn't have been a 'just-barely not 100% vegan', it would have been non-vegan. In many ways, he totally nullifies many concepts of veganism. Ahh well... Keep sending in your donation checks to BK. Maybe they'll make a faux-chicken burger with eggs in it for us to compromise on as well. </rant> - Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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