The way we refer to food and to what we eat can add confusion and perpetuate unconscious denial of the suffering our choices can create.
I want to begin the practice - because it will take time to overcome long-enculturated habits - of referring to "meat" items by the names of the animals, rather than the odd euphemisms we have become accustomed to.
"Steak" is a cow. "Bacon" is a pig. "Veal," a young lamb.* Though I understand the references and etymologies here, chickens don't have "fingers" and buffalos don't have wings. "Hamburgers" are cows and do not (at least, most hope!) contain any pigs (aka "ham").
For some reason, most feel ok calling a meal of fish "fish," and commonly "chicken" and "turkey" is how we refer to those birds, though my sense is that more people would feel a need to reckon with their food choices if they used the proper animal names of the mammals cows, pigs, and sheep.
We don't like eating horses, and maybe we would be less inclined to eat cows and pigs if we called them by name.
Similarly, I feel increasingly concerned about the terms "Vegan" and "plant-based." I want to begin to more accurately describe my ethics-based choice of foods as "Non Animal."
Perhaps if we begin calling things what they are, we will bring more light to the shadowy areas of our mostly unconscious and vastly unethical relationships with our sister and brother animals.
May all beings be happy and well.
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* Thank you, Lisa, for your correction in the comments section that "veal" refers to cows.
Shivadam, Excellent post, and I totally agree; it is very important to destabilize the habitual language used that renders animals invisible in their suffering and deaths. I've been trying to use the names of the actual animals, too (cow-meat instead of "beef," for instance), and, when this is not possible or would interfere with comprehension, putting the problem term in quotes (for instance, words like "meat,""cattle," etc...
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read Carol Adams' work? She uses the term "the absent referent" in regards to the animal whose absence a meal of "meat" contains. You might find it interesting?
One quick little thing: "veal" refers to dead calf or baby cow, not a lamb. I know, it's easy to get mixed up with these industry-created terms that are specifically designed to shift our focus away from what actual animal died.
Thank you so much for your insightful comments, Lisa. And for the correction about "veal." I have been removed from eating animals for so long, I had happily forgotten which animal the term refers to. I look forward to seeing some of Carol Adams' writings.
DeleteAwesome, I can send you some relevant excerpts from Carol Adams sometime!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to comment on the very important questions you raised about the terms "vegan" and "plant-based!" "Plant based" is rather BS, I agree. "Vegan" is a little more complicated: it was coined, I believe, by Donald Watson (founder of the Vegan Society) in 1944, with the following definition:
"... a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."
This definition is still used by the Vegan Society today. https://www.vegansociety.com/about-us/history
As sound as this originating and enduring definition is, I can see where we have run into some problems recently with the misuse of the term "vegan," to include, for instance, plant-based dieting for other-than-ethical reasons. I wonder if we need to be very explicit that veganism is an *ethical position*, not a diet? "Reclaim" the term, so to speak? Or rather, as you suggest, try a different term that points our attention toward the animals?
Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful posts, and for caring about animals enough to help us all think clearly about these important issues! :)
And, thank you for your excellent contributions to this discussion, Lisa, and for your own compassion and efforts for animals.
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