Stephanie
Cruz
J.
Hutchman
Lang
120-007
10
October 2012
Physical, Eudaemonic, and
Spiritual Well-Being
Epiphanies, sudden realizations,
come to those who meditate on a belief which is questioned repeatedly. In many
cases, the previous decision is then turned into a life choice which can grow
and develop. Vegans and vegetarians choose to abstain from consuming animal
products, and more often than not they have a genuine reason for doing so. Not
only did they have an experience which was then brought up again in order to
make the change; but when they did become a vegan or vegetarian they were also
more knowledgeable about the choice they had made. In the article “‘What Pushed
Me Over the Edge Was a Deer Hunter’: Being Vegan in North America,” Christopher
A. Hirschler extrapolates these concepts and facts about vegans and
vegetarians, suggesting that they have a personal devotion to learning about
health factors, saving the animals, and connecting with other people who feel
the same way they do. Hirschler’s article supports the vegan community in their
reasoning for abstaining from animal byproducts and extrapolates their point of
view of living in a world in which they are attempting to contribute to positive
actions.
Hirschler
argues that the vegans and vegetarians desire to improve the world they live
in,
regardless of the odds which are often against them.
In his opening paragraph he writes, “Vegans tend to embrace the philosophy of ahimsa, a Sanskrit
word representing a concept of dynamic harmlessness, which guides them not only to do the least harm, but
to do the most good” (Hirschler 1). In one way, Hirschler is expanding on the idea of veganism being
universal and cultural. Also, he clearly uses the word “philosophy” which demonstrates that the vegans
and vegetarians are taking into consideration knowledge and understanding of their choices. The
philosophy of ahimsa itself sums up everything that he vegans and vegetarians stand for. They do not
want to contribute to the harm, but they also want to do everything they can to impact the world and turn it
around.
Since
the vegans and vegetarians are not the norm in modern society, they must push
their
argument further if they want to make a difference
and go through life changing experiences in every aspect of their identity.
In the article Hirchschler writes,
“Veganism as a dietary practice is rare among those living
in developed
countries. In the United States about 1 percent of adults are vegan (Vegetarian
Journal, 2009), and 2
percent of youth between the ages of 8 and 18 are vegan (Stahler, 2010)
. A Vegan
Research Panel (2003) survey of 1,249 vegans found the main reasons for
becoming
vegan were
ethical/moral (82 percent), dietary/health (14 percent), and
spiritual/religious (2 percent).
Distaste for nonhuman animal flesh or products
and a preference for the taste of vegetarian foods
were also a
factor (Larsson, Ronnlund, Johansson, & Dahlgren, 2003)” (1).
Hirschler uses the word “rare” to describe the
practices, and undoubtedly the statistics are minor. Though the numbers are small, the vegans and vegetarians
change their overall life and therefore make that much more of an impact by being part of the one or two
percent. They change their ethics, and their diet, they may be conforming to a religion, or may display pure
disgust for meat. In any of these cases, there is a great impact for each person who makes the lifestyle
change.
One
of the major challenges the vegans and vegetarians must make is standing up
against the
quota of society with a new personal way of life and
having to defend why the change even occurred.
Hirschler
explains the experiences which lead to veganism or vegetarianism by writing,
“Some
individuals, upon learning about cruelty,
repressed that knowledge until some later event triggered
memories of the
initial catalytic experience. Repression delayed becoming oriented. Following a
catalytic
experience,
those who did not repress became oriented. This meant they intended to learn
more and/or
make a decision
about becoming vegetarian or vegan. Learning involved discovering information
about
animal cruelty
and acquiring the necessary knowledge to transition to a vegan or vegetarian
diet” (2).
The beliefs of each vegan or vegetarian, whether
they are able to suppress the memory or not, still reflects who they are, and yet their entire life changes when
they follow this decision. Hirschler greatly mentions the knowledge which immediately follows the choice,
which adds more credibility to the thorough contemplation of the vegans and vegetarians, which
is a sign of growth in it of itself.
The
most direct experience of judgement for the lifestyle change of a vegan or
vegetarian comes from his or her own household. Naturally, the family
has preconceived how the person is or lives and when they undergo a development stage, their
families are more inclined to change him or her. For the vegan or
vegetarian, this will be a more difficult challenge than random people
questioning their choice because they know their family. The experience of
one vegetarian is mentioned in the article when Hirschler
writes, “Rob, 50, a social worker who adopted a vegetarian diet at 22, recalled
sitting down for a chicken dinner as a child and thinking, ‘It’s a
pile of bones. Oh my God—it’s like bones! Everybody is gnawing on bones!’ Although he felt an impulse to
become vegetarian, he, like many others, did not receive thesupport of his family. He repressed his
thoughts about meat, and this acted to delay the onset of change”
(Hirschler 5). Even at the age of 22, Rob is still influenced by the experience
of his past, but more importantly since he is on his own and is not
dependent on his family for his lifestyle choices, he can fully devote himself to vegetarianism. Rob’s own
struggle with the acceptance of both his family and the choice he wanted to make for himself extrapolates
what vegans and vegetarians face all of the time. There may not always be defenses against the outside
world, and since there is a defiance against the family, the identity of the person is also
compromised since the family molds who the person is for the first part of their life.
The
explanation of the changes, developments, and epiphanies the vegans and
vegetarians
experience serve to evoke thought in the audience.
Within the work, Hirschler presents the audience as being people who are critical and unsympathetic
towards vegetarians and vegans. In order to aid their understanding, he provides experiences of vegans and
vegetarians, and does not base the article solely on facts. Hirschler illustrates the harsh reality for
the vegans and vegetarians when he writes, “The vegans nterviewed had quickly understood that their diet
was a source of conflict; learning how to present themselves and their developing ideas in a manner
that fostered the development of enjoyable relationships was a challenge. In terms of social
challenges, family members were the most frequently cited group (among friends, coworkers, significant
others, and acquaintances) and presented the most intractable problems” (7). He wants the audience to
know that vegans and vegetarians not only struggle with battles of their own morals, but they must
worry about what their families will think about their decisions.
Hirschler can allow apathy to occur within his audience because they can
appreciate having a conflict of keeping to their own beliefs, while
still wanting to hold on to the people they love. As long as there is a new understanding among the readers,
Hirschler’s goal is being accomplished. They do not have to become vegans or vegetarians, but they can at
least lower their defenses against that lifestyle choice.
The hope and compassion which
Hirschler attempts to establish within his audience is reflected through the motivation of his words. The underlying
message in the writing is presented when Hirschler writes, “In their actions and the acts of other
activists they saw the promise of a better future, yet their altered view of those who continue to use products
derived from animals sometimes led to disappointment. They understood, however, that they
had once consumed animal products and attempted to be understanding” (9). The bright ideology of the
vegans and vegetarians are represented through words such as “promise” and “better”. Hirschler is
using a encouraging voice and tone so the audience can repeatedly soak up the positivity that the
vegans and vegetarians see for the future. For a brief moment, there is some doubt which Hirschler
establishes when using “sometimes” within the sentence. There is no definite sound of defeat because
immediately afterward, the positivity beams back in again. The overall argument of a new acceptance between
meat eaters and vegans/vegetarians is universal because Hirschler uses the work “understanding”
twice. The main message is understanding, and is salient so the audience cannot overlook the solution
of the situation.
As
people, the vegans and vegetarians are the movement of the future, and the way
in which
Hirschler presents the article he never allows his
audience to forget it. He begins by explaining veganism and the general reasoning of the traumatic
experience which vegans and vegetarians go through. Then Hirshcler explains why certain results came back the
way they did and more importantly their overall significance in the article. In the opening
statistic eighty-two percent of vegans had made the choice because of the ethics. One of the women described in
the article was named Rose watched an animal rights video which emotionally connected with her
(6). Hirschler uses the statistics to
support his credibility and yet right after he goes back into
the experiences and interviews of the vegans and vegetarians. He never ceases to remind his audience
that the vegan’s and vegetarian’s cause is not about the numbers but the actual impact they make. Also
the audience s able to empathize when they hear horrific life stories; and through pathos there is
an overall understanding which Hirschler wants to achieve on both sides of the argument.
The goals which Hirschler has
established are very relevant and credible based upon the source of his publications and also the time in which he was
writing. This particular work was published in the Society &
Animals: Journal of Human-Animal Studies in 2011. Considering the fact that the topic is recent, there is an indication that there are vegans
and vegetarians in the world, but that their mission to gain understanding also remains. The fight for
acceptance is still there, but it comes from an individual who can be accounted for. Hirschler’s credibility is
stable because he is being published in an actual journal about human and animal studies. He is not
some random person writing in a family magazine or the newspaper, but someone who is published in an
educational journal. The combination of his own understanding and relevance are enough to provide
the audience with an assurance that Hirschler is a credible writer whose argument is also modern.
Hirschler’s
position presents the vegans and vegetarians in a neutral light, but with a
cause. They are peacemakers who also want people to understand
the impact of their choices. Every person can make a difference
whether they stop eating meat, slow down, or are not so quick to convert a
vegan or vegetarian back. There is no vicious demeanor on
either side of the argument. Hirschler also makes an effort to have the audience recognize why vegans do
make such a drastic lifestyle choice and that they still have work to do before, after, and during the
decision. They create a solution in the present to improve the world and only want that ideology to
continue throughout.
Work Cited
Hirschler, Christopher A. “ What Pushed Me Over The
Edge Was A Deer Hunter’: Being Vegan In
North America.”
Society & Animals: Journal Of Human-Animal Studies 19.2 (2011):
156-174.
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