Awhile back in high school, one of my friends
decided to go vegan after he became interested in learning about some of the
modern day problems with our countries food system. This was not an easy change
in lifestyle. He constantly had to pass up some of the food that he used to
love and watch me and the rest of our friends eat our fill. He usually ate a
salad or one of the few, less appetizing vegan food options. This got me
interested in learning what his reasons were for making this change and when I
asked him he suggested several books, including The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A natural history of four meals by Michael
Pollan. In this book, Michael Pollan exposes some of the major problems with
our current food system and the diets of the average American and provides a
critique and solutions for how they can be solved. In the first part of the
book he discusses the idea of the omnivores dilemma and why we have become known
as the country with the highest obesity rate, which reminded me of a present
day example to Immanuel Kant’s piece What
is Enlightenment?
The omnivores dilemma is the dilemma we face when
we are trying to figure out what we want to eat. Pollan talks about how, unlike
other points in human history, we have access to thousands of different types
of food from all parts of the world all in one supermarket. The United States is
unique because we have no real cultural guidance, which in most countries has
served as a way of limiting the types of food people regularly eat. Pollan also
points out that people don’t see any big problem with the way our food system
is and as a consequence they make poor decisions when choosing what foods to
eat. It seem like to the average American, we’d need to put in too much effort
to figure out where all our food comes from, what is in our food, and what
effects it has on the environment and our bodies.
a quick look at what the omnivores dilemma is about and what it has done.
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| Where the food industry wants us to think our food comes from. |
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| Where it actually comes from. |
This problem is what Kant would describe as an issue
of self-imposed immaturity. Kant states that immaturity is the inability to
think for oneself and to be solely dependent on the guidance of others. The idea
of this immaturity being self-imposed is that people have the real facts about
what is going on but choose to not act for them self. This is a common
occurrence because as Kant states “Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why
so great a proportion of men, long after nature has released them from alien
guidance (natura-liter maiorennes), nonetheless gladly remain in lifelong
immaturity, and why it is so easy for others to establish themselves as their
guardians. It is so easy to be immature” (Kant). In my case, I believe that I
have put myself into self-imposed immaturity by continuing to do something that
I think is bad but out of laziness I continue to do it and follow others
because its easier.
I believe that Michael Pollan is also what Kant
refers to as one of the few that thinks for themselves mentioned in this quote.
“For even among the
entrenched guardians of the great masses a few will always think for
themselves, a few who, after having themselves thrown off the yoke of immaturity,
will spread the spirit of a rational appreciation for both their own worth and
for each person's calling to think for himself” (Kant).
Kant argues that enlightenment is the point where man comes
out of this self- imposed immaturity, like my friend taking a stand and
becoming vegan. If you get a chance, I highly recommend reading The Omnivores Dilemma. It could
potentially bring you closer to enlightenment.
Picture source:
As a vegetarian I find this topic really interesting, and I've definitely heard about the discussion revolving around The Omnivore's Dilemma. In this case it seems like we're forced into self-imposed immaturity. I chose to be a vegetarian because of our food system, but shortly thereafter vegans and vegetarians came under criticism because many of the workers who farm quinoa (a grain commonly used in vegan recipes) are exploited and mistreated. So this begs the question of what do we chose to ignore? If we were to evaluate every single issue with our food system, we would literally be unable to eat anything. We have no choice but to ignore some aspects and not be fully enlightened. Therefore we have to have some sort of immaturity in this sense, ignore what we find to be the least egregious cases, and, pun totally intended, stomach it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of your analysis, although I don't agree that Michael Pollen in enlightened -after all that research he's not a vegan. I too enjoyed reading his books and was disheartened when I saw him eating a free range cheeseburger in a documentary. I actually feel that the meat and dairy industry must one day be stopped by law. This sounds extremist, however considering that the government can implement environmental safety standards and pass laws related to domestic abuse of animals, I don't think that legislating an animal free food market is way out of line. In fact, passing these laws would force the industry to find alternative recipes for good food, including using stem cells to make meat, which as a former beef lover, I find a most exciting prospect. But government cannot pass these laws yet because of the food lobbyists and lack of popular support. The lack of popular support stems from the social awkwardness that your companions feel when you confess that you're a vegan- so in essence, immaturity. Sometimes I do think of this as a situation where Kant's philosophy would be of great help. If a few "enlightened" individuals could simply force the food industry to close, the lack of popular support would no longer matter and the world would become alleviated of a lot of environmental pressures, a significant amount of hunger, and cruelty (not just to animals but to factory farm workers). However trading in democracy for oligarchy would run many other risks and I recognize veganizing the world isn't worth having someone else cast my ballot. It will take the Michael Pollens of the future to effect this change, albeit a slow change, so veganism becomes a part of our ethics, philosophy and laws.
ReplyDeleteThis post was particularly interesting to me because I am not vegan or vegetarian. Actually, I love all meat and dairy products, and as long as they don't make me sick, I don't care where they come from. With that being said, I suppose that I am immature and not enlightened because I have not read "The Omnivore's Dilemma," or researched the problems with our country's food system. I honestly wonder whether my eating habits would change if I read those books or watched certain documentaries. I have a strong stomach that loves to digest meat as often as possible, but all of that could very well change. Why don't I expose myself to this type of information? The most likely answer is that I am scared and lonely. I don't want to make the decision to change my eating habits or force myself to eat food that looks green and unappetizing. Even if it would be better for me and the environment in the long run, a drastic lifestyle change is not something that I look forward to. So, I remain in a state of immaturity. Our entire country remains in a state of immaturity because there is not a time in human history where we didn't eat meat or use animal products. What would an entirely vegan society look like? How many jobs would be lost in the food industry? If more Americans are exposed to the horrors of our food system, these will be questions that warrant answers. But in order to spread information, maybe high schools should be required to show a documentary about the meat industry in Health class. This is a class that we all take, and if people are exposed to information in an educational environment, they would be able to make informed decisions about their diets.
ReplyDeleteI think the general US population is not enlightened about our industrialized food system because the companies that run it are so keen on keeping their business practices hidden from consumers. I don't think being enlightened about how our food is processed and where it's coming means that you become a vegetarian or vegan because of it - there are safe and responsible methods to process meat and other animal byproducts for human consumption. The choice of being a vegetarian/vegan could be a personal taste preference that has nothing to do with how it is processed. What people do need to be enlightened about is HOW it is being processed. The government needs to be in check to work for the people instead of the companies that run these large multibillion dollar industries. The problem isn't with the food, it's with us, the people that are in charge of it.
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