Will Meat Go the Way of Cigarettes? - Jonathan Safran Foer

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/09/21/Eating_Animals_Jonathan_Safran_Foer

18 percent of college students today are vegetarian, and almost half want more vegetarian options at meals, cites Eating Animals author Jonathan Safran Foer. Could this trend parallel the sharp decrease in smoking that occurred when, as Foer puts it, "the conversation tipped"? Is eating meat going out of style?

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Eating Animals: A conversation with Jonathan Safran Foer.

Jonathan Safran Foer looks at our dining habits, insatiable appetites and the cultural meaning of food. He explores the ethical, environmental and health risks behind commercial fishing and factory farming and discusses his journey from carnivore to vegetarian.

Hear from the man that actress Natalie Portman claims changed her from a "20-year vegetarian to a vegan activist." - Commonwealth Club of California

Jonathan Safran Foer is a novelist and short story writer whose works have appeared in the Paris Review, Conjunctions, The New York Times and The New Yorker. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel, Everything Is Illuminated.

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[neilhack10]

@LeLimeLine

The amount of evidence piling up for animal sentience and how similar they are to ourselves is going to make an impact in our collective consciousness in the time to come. People used to eat cats and dogs in the past but now it is unacceptable. So will the consumption of most animals would be in the future. Perhaps then, meat eating would shift toward lower animals whom show little evidence of sentience.. The more civilized we get, the less violent we become toward animals.

[marcluc1988]

@stuvo1977 Why is this a joke? Meat (and all animal products) cause suffering and death. I don't think that minimising suffering should be considered 'a luxury'. I'd consider it a moral imperative.

You go on to say 'You couldn't live in the wild without meat.' Well, you can't use the internet in the wild either so that argument is superfluous here.

[TardsOfParadise]

Consciousness is a one-way street :)

[TheHaasels]

I don't think people are buying into it because of the "Animal" aspect, but if we hit the "Human" aspect as well, and people do the correct research, they will know meat causes cancer quicker than cigarettes. On top of that, long periods of milk drinking weakens the bones. It's unnatural to consume these things. There's other things with protein. Hell, hemp has more amino acids than meat. But, people have the freedom to do whatever. I just wish there were more options for the minority.

[lynettemd23]

Love it! I hope that that will become the case. I do believe it is inevitable.

[MargotVoguey]

@tempemonkey2323 He's not a 'retard' - disregarding how offensive a term that is to a lot of people, if you're commenting on his intelligence, you are way off. He is an extremely bright man. Read up on veganism and vegetarianism, KNOW what you are talking about before you say anything. For starters, Foer went to Princeton, has thoroughly researched eating animals, and really knows his stuff.

[stuvo1977]

Meat causes pain and suffering. If I`m dying or an animal is dying, trust me an animal is dying. This is not a perfect world. It`s survival of the fittest according to science and the diety that is Darwin. Don`t get me started on anthropogenic climate change. I can`t stand tree huggers. I`ll stay in Idaho, where I belong!!! In Idaho I`m considered liberal.

[marcluc1988]

I would disagree that it's 'less possible' to be political (or vegetarian) after college (university). It's just easier when those around you are accepting of it. I've been vegetarian (actually vegan) for 35 years and the only 'problem' is other people's attitude but I'm not going to use animals just because other people don't understand.

[marcluc1988]

@MrMerajjio Hi MrMerajiio!  When you say, "Vegan wet dreams", do you mean that this guy is just dreaming and it's not going to happen?

[marcluc1988]

@tempemonkey2323 And, as for your point about smoking having not disappeared. That's perfectly correct but his point was not that it's disappeared. He was merely stating the true fact that it's not as socially acceptable to smoke as it was years ago. I find it odd that he implies this change occurred over a year but, from my viewpoint, it has happened over several years.

[marcluc1988]

Tempermonkey, this 'retard' is respected for his opinions and invited on to TV shows, sells books etc. So, when was the last time someone invited YOU to express your opinions to this extent?

You say that meat can be consumed in 'moderation' (presumably you mean without causing major health problems). Okay but I'm sure people can smoke a couple of cigarettes a day without problems but that's not the point. Eating meat is always the result of an animals death.