The Good and Bad Reasons to Be Vegetarian

Vegetarianism: A Serious Issue

Fraser's choice to become a vegetarian in college because she was "broke" and could not afford meat dishes and because it was a nice "identity" to construct for herself (an alternative to identifying as, say, a "lesbian," as she notes) undermines the actuality of vegetarianism and reduces the lifestyle choice to that of superfluity. Singer's philosophy of vegetarianism, on the other hand, is substantial, consistent, ideologically-rooted, and supported by a conscious desire to want to stay away from unhealthy (for various physical and metaphysical reasons) foods. I will argue that vegetarianism is a serious issue and one that should be given mature consideration because it affects one's health as well as the community of food providers. In the light of this thesis it is easy to see that Singer's vegetarianism is more demanding of respect than Fraser's, who really only used the identity in order to give herself a cover to hide the fact that she had no real identity in her young adult years.

Vegetarianism is a way of life and therefore it should be viewed as a philosophy of existence that asks something of its followers, namely understanding, action and commitment. The aim of vegetarianism is to promote health and safety -- yet as some show, the philosophy can easily be politicized and socialized so that it becomes corrupted and meaningless.

For example, Fraser's claim that vegetarian is "anti-social, necessarily healthful -- and besides, meat tastes good," illustrates the completely superficial and glib manner with which she approaches a subject that many people, Singer included, take rather more seriously. The fact that Fraser should place her "anti-social" nature on vegetarianism is enough to discredit her and suggest that she is completely untrustworthy in the arena of analysis and argumentation. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice that reflects an awareness and sensitivity to how foods affect the body as well as how we as humans should respect nature and treat creation with respect. For Fraser, vegetarianism is just a "thing" that she can use to get attention -- she literally states this: she wanted people to be able to associate her with something, and vegetarianism was a convenient something at the time. After about 15 years, it stopped being so convenient (plus she could now afford meat), so she stopped being vegetarian. That is the thrust of her argument: petty, silly, and without a sense of the actual issues important to vegetarians.

Singer, however, bases the idea of vegetarian in his awareness of a food culture that is "inhumane" and unhealthy. Singer uses McDonald's as just one example of a food outlet that tortures animals but he also raises the philosophical, spiritual and moral implications of uniting oneself to the process of torturing and killing animals for megabucks profits and convenience meals. Singer's argument is rational and not being used to create for himself an identity so that people can associate him with something. Singer's reasons come across as authentic and genuine, while Fraser's reasons for why she is no longer vegetarian come across as childish, which is how her reasons for becoming vegetarian in the first place come across too.