Peter Singer is my Hero
June 3rd 2010 21:00
Photo of Peter Singer courtesy of his web site http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/photos.html.
I have just finished reading Animal Liberation by renowned philosopher Peter Singer. And I must say it’s like reading a book I would have written myself. Just as the sales person at the store I bought it from warned me, after reading about the deplorable living conditions imposed on farm animals until they are killed for human consumption – not to mention the countless redundant experiments that have been performed on animals - it has put me off eating meat. I almost cried when I read about how male chicks are discarded because they cannot lay eggs. In some instances, they are tossed inside a plastic bag and left to suffocate under the weight of other chicks that are thrown on top of them. To think that people can treat these sentient creatures as merely trash…I was also heartbroken by the photo of a calf forced to spend its entire short life in a twenty two inch pen just so its muscles do not harden from exercise so the animal can then be slaughtered for veal. It then goes without saying that ethically, those concerned about animal liberation should become vegetarians.
I was glad Singer mentioned one of the biggest hurdles a prospective vegetarian needs to overcome is the unpalatability of vegetarian dishes. This is something I can really relate to because, as mentioned before, my (vegetarian) mother is a terrible cook when it comes to preparing vegetarian meals. I’ve tried her dishes and they are so bland. That said, she likes to make steamed vegetables. I don’t think steamed anything is tasty. It cries out for some sauce. I’ve also tried some vegetarian frozen meals from the supermarket and I didn’t find them that great. Still, Singer reassures the reader that there are plenty of delicious vegetarian recipes and he has provided a list of cook books at the end of his book. I should also ask my vegetarian friends for recipe ideas.
On the other hand, Singer mentions that meat eaters tend to eat chicken, eggs, milk, turkey, rabbit, veal, beef, pork, lamb and seafood – most of which I don’t eat so I feel I am halfway there to becoming a vegetarian.
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