You may have noticed that most of my recent posts are animal-related. I’ve been a vegetarian for a long time, but I’ve become more interested in these issues after looking more into it and realizing just how bad it is for these defenseless creatures– who collectively suffer what amounts to a Holocaust every hour on this planet. Yes, every hour.
Today is a day that many people “celebrate” in America by eating a turkey. Libertarians think about things, and so I’d like you to think about that.
Do you think that taxes are wrong because they are based on aggression and force? Well, what did the turkey ever do to you?
Not only did the turkey do nothing to deserve death at your dinner plate, it probably lived a thankless life stuffed in a cage in a shed, never seeing daylight while it was alive. Our basic rights are life and liberty, along with the pursuit of happiness. A turkey destined to be slaughtered has the chance for none of these things. So if you think you’re a real liberty lover and yet you are eating a living being raised on a factory farm this Thanksgiving, I’m pulling your freedom fighter card. And yes, if you bought it in a grocery store, your turkey was raised on a factory farm.
For those who say that they won’t take part in things that are massively subsidized by the government– that turkey would be pretty expensive if meat producers weren’t directly subsidized and protected by our very own United States government, to the tune of billions of dollars every year in subsidies.
For those who say that food simply must include meat, I used to think the same but I have never eaten a more delicious variety of foods than I have since going vegetarian. This is no argument, and in fact I’ve noticed that while turkeys get the headlines, the foods most people actually rave about on Thanksgiving are vegetarian– cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, casseroles, butternut squash.
Ever wonder why people want to drop bombs on third world countries? Why wouldn’t less educated (since I’m going to state for these purposes that non-libertarians are less educated than libertarians) people tyrannize unseen masses thousands of miles away when they are willing to celebrate a holiday by *eating a carcass*? What does it say about libertarians as a group that we are concerned about, say, unprovoked wars, but don’t demonstrate en masse against the government-subsidized, unethical slaughterhouses that are probably providing these Thanksgiving turkeys “red in tooth and claw”?
If you are a libertarian omnivore and I’ve lost you and you never want to read my blog again, I guess that’s just how it is and we’ll part ways agreeing on some things and disagreeing on others. But on libertarian issues, I’ve never minced words, and on this I won’t, either. And I won’t until sentient beings are not killed and suffering, paid for by taxpayer dollars.
And if nothing else, let me put it this way– Sarah Palin is eating a turkey this Thanksgiving. So is George W. Bush. So is Obama. Do you really want to follow that crowd and just do what the masses do?
My future posts might not be all about animals, but they will be about liberty, and animals definitely need some of that. You can help. And it’s something you can do today.
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I took a turkey’s life; you took a plant’s life. What difference does it make?
For a human to live, life must die.
phoption
November 28th, 2009
Sounds like you are thinking with emotion instead of logic. Libertarianism is about freedom; force of government is only meant for protecting human liberty. Do you advocate now using government to somehow protect animal liberty? That’s way too much government for me. Treatment of animals has to be classified as either a moral issue or a private property issue depending on the circumstance. Only the latter should be of any concern to the government.
anonymous
December 10th, 2009
I am on my way to becoming vegan because it is an extension of my libertarianism. If you think animals have similar natural rights as humans, veganism follows libertarianism. Though, there might be a possibility of voluntary trade with animals for their products. Though the problem is that it would not be possible to establish consent to trade a priori. Anyway, imagine a dairy farmer on an open range that would feed a cow in exchange for the cow allowing the farmer to milk it. If the cow voluntarily returned back to the farmer, one could take this as a sign of consent to the trade of milk for cow food. Fun stuff to think about.
John
December 15th, 2009
Spend a little time reading this site, esp. the Projects page.
http://www.psychobotany.com/intro.htm
Plants are alive, and respond to both stimuli and thought.
If veganism is what you want, that’s great – and I think it’s kind of hypocritical to criticize people who eat a just different kind of kind of intelligent being.
Peace.
Rachel
December 18th, 2009
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Libertarian Girl » Blog Archive » Can You Be Libertarian If You’re Not Vegan? Responses
January 16th, 2010
phoption – You took a turkey’s life; I took a baby’s life. What difference does it make?
For a human to live, life must die.
Rachel – you win the darwin award! Plants are alive! Revolutionary. You’ve been reading the secret life of plants haven’t you!
To say the least you can live without eating animals (who ate the plants you say can feel pain). You cannot live without eating. So I believe it is logical to try and live causing the least harm to others. Unless you can define others only as white male property owners. Ya want to try that one?
Anonymous – if I wasn’t so logical, I’d get emotional and go rape a woman because it feels good. After all, animals taste good so its ok. I didn’t see any mention of the government in her post. But there you go and getting emotional because someone questioned what you eat. Because white male property owners wrote the constitution, women should be considered a moral or private property issue.
Seems like John’s the only that believes in the ability to extend a sense of liberty and non-initiation of force to others. Thanks John.
The Green Libertarian
February 7th, 2010
Man! Being a Libertarian for the last 30 years has been an often lonely and ALWAYS thankless undertaking. I didn’t know just how good I had it.
After becoming a vegetarian 5 years ago, I got a whole new look at isolation. I longed for the good old days of defending drug legalization, gun ownership and tax rebellion against witless opponents across the political spectrum. Even theretofore friendly Libertarian faces viewed my newfound empathy with animals as something to be viewed with a combination of suspicion, pity and a healthy dose of WTF?
Libertarian Girl does a great job of articulating the cognitive dissonance I was experiencing prior to my epiphany. The ostensibly sacrosanct line between human and non-human animals really doesn’t stand up to any kind of rigorous intellectual scrutiny. Pricipled defenses of human autonomy and natural rights overlay quite comfortably to the lives of animals. Still, If you’re determined not to see it, you certainly won’t. My fundamentalist “Christian” friends are especially resistant. I guess Jesus must have been teaching about a different kind of mercy & compassion. History will surely group them with those who spoke passionately about liberty, while turning a blind and indifferent eye to the plight of the slaves.
prisoner of conscience
March 3rd, 2010