Eating Animals Is The New Smoking

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I recently watched an old episode of Mad Men dramatizing the moment in American history when smoking suddenly started to lose mass appeal. Armed with new scientific evidence disproving the audacious propaganda promoted by cigarette manufacturers, the American Cancer Society hires Don Draper’s agency (which formerly had created ads for Lucky Strike), to come up with an anti-smoking campaign. While many members of the Cancer Society were themselves still smokers, the writing was clearly on the wall: smoking was on the way out…it was just a matter of time.

Today, smoking is still legal, and many people still “enjoy” their “freedom” to use cigarettes, but it’s definitely frowned upon. (Not to mention, heavily taxed.) I know this first hand because I used to be a smoker. I recall the disapproving looks and comments I used to receive – not only from family, friends and co-workers, but from complete strangers.  I believe this social disapproval made it easier for me to eventually quit.

It seems to me that eating animal products will follow a similar transition from widespread social acceptance to widespread disapproval. After all, how long should we be expected to tolerate an optional behavior that is so incredibly destructive, not just to ourselves, but to other people, our environment, and of course, to other animals?

I am hopeful that someday soon, we will come to frown upon the “choice” to consume animal products much in the same way we have come to frown upon the choice to smoke cigarettes. Smokers generally only hurt themselves, but eating animal products harms us all.

 

 

5 thoughts on “Eating Animals Is The New Smoking”

  1. Thank you for being so brave about bringing this to light. I agree. It’s so odd that while people in other parts of the world starve for lack of access to quality food, here in this country people are literally killing themselves overeating. The traditional American diet of 3 meals with meat per day, or worse, with meat-ish, is causing all the top killers … diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. I hope it becomes more and more frowned upon as well. Even if only so that we can get back a little bit of our humanity and compassion for the other living creatures with which we share this one and only planet we call home. Thanks for writing! I enjoy reading your posts!

    • Thanks Amy. :-) I agree that eating a diet heavy in animal products can contribute to human disease, but vegans are not immune to disease – or obesity for that matter. I know lots of vegans (including myself) who are overweight. While cutting animal products out of one’s diet can be healthy, as you noted, concern over animal cruelty, human starvation and the fragile state of our planet are all very compelling reasons to go vegan. Thanks for commenting!

  2. “It seems clear to me that eating animal products is going to follow this same transition from widespread social acceptance to widespread disapproval.”

    Yep, I agree. It’s just a matter of time. Just finished Season 3 of Mad Men, so haven’t seen the episode you mentioned yet, but am looking forward to it. :)

  3. Hi! I love the graphics! Can’t wait to see them in the RW! I think the transition stage will be when animal parts are again reverted to the ugly, brown-paper wrapping, and exchanged for dirty money in back alleys.

    And just a point to think on… When the tobacco industries began loosing American dollars they shifted their focus on less educated, less informed countries. I have every reason to believe that’s where/how they will be marketing their contemptible products in the future as well: http://www.unitedsoybean.org/topics/animal-ag/exports-help-as-u-s-meat-sales-drop/

    The article above claims it’s the economy that is forcing exports… With all the data and excellent reasons to eschew “meat” – I’m not so sure that’s the reason at all! Yes! Eating animals IS the new smoking! :)

  4. Hi jo and readers… This theory about the US expanding markets for unfavorable goods here at home is being acknowledged with advocacy groups as well. This from an article that reports Mercy For Animals will be extending their work beyond US boarders:

    “Animal Policy Examiner: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans are consuming fewer of some animal products as compared to previous years. The animal agriculture industry seems heartened to be able to close the gap and sell its products abroad instead.

    Do you see parallels between this situation and the shift to exports that other industries made in the past to cope with lower domestic demand? For example the tobacco industry? As I understand it, when more Americans stopped smoking, cigarette makers began focusing on foreign markets. Any comment on possible similarities?”

    You can read the response and whole interview with Matt Rice here:
    http://www.examiner.com/article/undercover-investigations-group-mercy-for-animals-to-go-international

    Needless to say – The task ahead is enormous! :/

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