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Guest Post: ‘Don’t Eat Anything With a Face’

December 6, 2013 by Mary 8 Comments

Hello everyone! My name is Sophie Johnson, and I am posting on Mary’s behalf.

Wednesday night, I had the pleasure of representing The Daily Meal and LOVE- the secret ingredient at a fascinating event at the Kaufman Center in New York City. I would like to share my experience with all of you. Feel free to contribute your own thoughts!

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The award-winning debate series, Intelligence Squared U.S., concluded its fall season with ‘Don’t Eat Anything With a Face”, moderated by ABC News correspondent, John Donvan.

The debate was centered on physical, psychological, environmental, and moral impacts caused by the American consumption of animal protein.

Not surprisingly, the topic ignited a strong reaction from vegans and omnivores alike. The program’s chairman, Robert Rosenkranz, announced to audience members that the online response prior to the debate was so great that the Intelligence Squared website was unable to handle the massive increase in traffic. None of their previous events have ever sparked so much interest.

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What made the public feel so strongly about something as basic as food? Rosenkranz speculated that it was because our dietary choices have become a form of branding.

Choosing to buy organic and locally grown foods, or to only consume a plant-based diet is part of our identity that broadcasts our personal values to the rest of the world. For example, being a vegan implies that you value your own health and the well being of other species and the environment. However, is it possible to be ecological, ethical, and health conscious while still consuming meat? The debate’s four panelists sought to answer that very question.

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In his opening argument, Dr. Neal Bernard, M.D. testified to the negative effects that animal products have on our health. He grew up in a family where meat, specifically red meat, was present at just about every meal. In his early twenties, he was dissecting a cadaver when his instructor pointed out a hard substance lining the cadaver’s blood vessels. “There’s your morning sausage,” said the teacher.

Since then, Dr. Barnard has devoted his practice to the study of how a person’s diet affects body weight, chronic pain, and diabetes. He cited cases where patients suffering from type-two diabetes were cured simply by switching to a strictly plant-based regimen. He went on to say that other studies imply that people who consume meat have a greater risk of Alzheimer’s and even cancer.

Countering Dr. Barnard’s argument, Chris Masterjohn, Ph. D., a Nutritional Sciences Researcher and blogger for The Daily Lipid, cited his own personal experience. Masterjohn lived as a vegan for several years and developed several health problems including lethargy, irritability, anxiety, and tooth decay during that time. He claims many fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, essential to bone, dental, and even psychological health are most efficiently obtained by eating meat. Masterjohn suggests that the maladies Dr. Barnard attributes to meat are actually the result of modernized food processing as supported by the research of dentist and nutrition advocate, Weston Price. Beginning in the 1920s, Price studied how dental health of people living in developed areas differed from those living in less modernized surroundings. He found that the developed areas had a far greater rate of tooth decay, which Price attributed to a diet of refined grains and sugar. Masterjohns concluded that a simple, unprocessed, well-balanced diet would not carry any of the negative effects Barnard presented.

Gene Baur, the president and Co-Founder of Farm Sanctuary, an organization that rescues animals from commercial farms. He was most concerned with the ethical aspect of the debate. Baur stated, referring to our ability to gain nutrients from plant-sources rather than ‘murdering’ animals, “If we can live well without causing harm, why wouldn’t we do it?”. He added that whenever animals are raised for consumption, no matter how humanely, there is always exploitation.

Joel Salatin, a third-generation alternative farmer, disagreed with Baur. Salatin expressed his deep love, compassion, and respect for the animals he raises. He also argued that environmental integrity depends on the cycle of life. Plants feed prey which feed predators, which die and decompose to provide nutrients for the plants. Everything that lives must die.

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Both sides of the debate could agree that large-scale commercial farming was a dangerous industry, and presented data on the nutritional quality and ethical considerations that were lacking in modern food productions.

‘Don’t Eat Anything With a Face’ was a lively discussion with emotions running high for both parties. However, it would appear from this debate that the information on health defects relating to the consumption of free-range, grass-fed, ‘happy’ animals as part of a balanced diet is still unclear at this point.

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That said, it would suggest from Salatin’s use of the word ‘dressing’ instead of ‘slaughtering’ when referring to an animal’s final moments, that even he feels some guilt about it. So, health concerns aside, will meat-eaters ever be able to feel like their brand identity is as morally intact as their vegan counterparts? Perhaps not.

What do you think?

– Sophie

Photos by Samuel LaHoz

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Filed Under: Meat, Travel, Vegetables Tagged With: Chris Masterjohn, Debate, Don't Eat Anything With a Face, Ethics, Gene Baur, Health, Intelligence Squared, Joel Salatin, John Donovan, Neal Bernard, The Daily Meal, vegan

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  1. Margaret Brown says

    December 6, 2013 at 11:33 AM

    I am a non-processed-food eating omnivore who is delighted that Mary asked for this guest report on this ethical/health issue involving food. I think the points of the discussion were well presented by Sophie Johnson. I agree that the health issue is largely not about animal versus not, but the quality and balance of ones diet. One can be very healthy with any well thought out approach to nutrition.

    The real issue to me is one of ethical behavior toward animals and towards the planet — as animals used for food create more of a “footprint” in terms of negative effects on the land than plants raised for food. So, I have concluded in my ethical world that eating vegan is better for the planet, but I also am concerned about all the animals that are raised for us to eat. Are we going to insist that they no longer reproduce and we drive cows and chickens to extinction? Shall we let them roam in NYC as they do in Bombay? As modern cows and chickens have been bred for domestic life, how do we ethically send them off to the wild? Or should we use our finite resources to create shelters for them? The ethics of eating animals and domesticating animals is complex, so I will go on eating an occasional chop and a more than occasional slice of salmon.

    One point that I would like to throw in to the discussion is the failure of such talk to place this form of ethical concern into the larger context of ethics involving food. A larger question to me is the ethics of which specific people have easy access to plentiful and healthy food and who starves. That to me is the larger “branding” concern: Am I up in arms more for animals being used to supply food or am I more concerned that in our society too many people are going hungry and our Congress is willing to cut Food Stamps while jacking up tax subsidies for mega-farmers? I don’t have any answers, but I use more of my energy focused on fighting for people who are currently powerless to gain more equity for them than I do feeling concerned about eating animals. Yes, let us be concerned that those who raise animals for slaughter do so with concern for the animal’s welfare, but let us also be more concerned that our fellow human beings fare as well in terms of their welfare.

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      December 8, 2013 at 4:33 PM

      Margaret, you’ve raised so many important issues in this discussion. I am in total agreement with you about being more concerned about feeding the folks who now go to bed hungry every night and that pool of people keeps getting larger, particularly with children. I think that is a crime in our country, especially.

      Your point about what would we do with all the animals raised for consumption is one I had never thought of, and I have seen the cows and chickens wondering around Calcutta and they cannot be happy.

      Thank you so much for taking the time to make us all think about these issues in a more global manner.

      Reply
  2. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says

    December 6, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    I’m an omnivore who doesn’t eat processed food if I can help it. I care where my food comes from and how it’s grown and I make a point of buying from the farm gate when I can. Interesting conversation and it’s obvious a topic that warrants more discussion.
    Maureen | Orgasmic Chef recently posted…In My Kitchen, December 2013My Profile

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      December 8, 2013 at 4:36 PM

      Maureen, we are exactly the same. And yes this conversation definitely warrants more discussion. But frankly, plants are living creatures too – they still grow in your refrigerator – as in seeing all root vegetables continue to sprout.

      Reply
  3. apuginthekitchen says

    December 6, 2013 at 2:36 PM

    This is such a hot button issue. I thought that Sophie portrayed both sides well. I am an omnivore, have been vegan and vegetarian in the course of my life. I do not eat meat often and when I do I buy responsibly. For me health issues take a backseat to the ethical issues on how animals are treated.
    apuginthekitchen recently posted…Thank You!My Profile

    Reply
    • Mary Frances says

      December 8, 2013 at 4:39 PM

      I have never been a vegan or a vegetarian, yet I try to eat fish 2-3 times a week and have one night a meatless meal because, like you, I think that is healthier for you.

      I also thought that Sophie did a great job!!

      Reply
  4. yummychunklet says

    December 7, 2013 at 10:41 PM

    Great post. Something to think about.
    yummychunklet recently posted…(A late!) ffwD: Almond Orange TuilesMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Mary Frances says

    December 8, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    Yes – definitely!!

    Reply

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