Analysis on Gary Steiner´s Animal, Vegetable, Miserable

​In conducting a rhetorical analysis of the two articles, "Joel Salatin: How to Eat Animals and Respect Them, Too" by Madeline Ostrander and "Humane Meat? No Such Thing" by Sunaura Taylor, both articles stand in stark contrast in terms of the viewpoints of meat that they present. In order to gain a better understanding of these viewpoints, it's important to understand the persuasive techniques that both authors use in the article for the reader. More specifically, the ethos, pathos, and logos that they employ, as well the way in which the evidence and support is presented will further elucidate upon the arguments that appear in both articles.

The essay of Gary Steiner, “Animal, Vegetable, Miserable,” advises that a vegan lifestyle is an ethical lifestyle. He is a strict vegan which means no meat, cheese, eggs, or anything that contains animal products and byproducts. Steiner seems to be an animal rights advocator, and his essay pushes his beliefs with the hope that his opinions will gain the attention of people in American. The written responses to Gary Steiner's article, “Ethical Choices in what We Eat” argues and agrees with his pro-vegan argument. Many conflicts in the use of animal products in our lives, but the tone of his essay can sometimes undermine the reader affecting his cause to help eliminate animal slaughter.

When, I was growing up my parents would rarely very buy meat from grocery. My parents would go over and beyond when it came to buying meat. A couple of my uncles and one aunt would go with my parents in-group to Indiana. They would drive to farm in Indiana to buy their meat. She would go and pick out the cow that seemed joyful. My mother always said, “in order to have delicious meat. You must pick a looks relaxed and joyful means they have been feed properly and taken care of.” I first did not understand her when I was young. After, I traveled to visit my mother’s side of the family in small village in Yemen named Yafa is when I knew what she meant. Inside the village, all the cows, goats, sheep, and chickens were treated so much love. I was told the animals such as goat would be feed special food, so the meat would taste better. Animal cruelty reflects on our meat product, which is why we need to switch to organic local small

In his 2009 article “Eating Meat,” Jonathan Safran Foer uncovers the cruel and gruesome truth about factory farms and how they violate animal rights. Foer believes changing food habits prevents the sufferings of animals. He explains that factory farmed animals are suffering due to their inhuman living conditions and style of killing. Foer explains that chickens are cramped with twisted legs and cows are skinned or dismembered while still conscious. In addition, Foer clarifies that after making an animal suffer and go through torture, it is just plain wrong to eat it. Foer would often acknowledge his grandmother’s story, emphasizing her famine during the War and how she had refused a piece of meat offered to her. Even though she had been starving for days, she refused the piece of meat.

In Gary Steiner’s Animal, Vegetable, Miserable; he expresses the fact, that people are more interested in the meats they eat and how they were raised. The authors outlook on animals; is they should be considered equal to humans. In the article Steiner references to “non human animals”. He is questioning whether or not the way animals are raised is in lines with the Animal Welfare Law. At one point, Steiner mentions a writer named Issac Bashevis Singer and the story he wrote; which reflects the view of the writer thinking that he and a mouse connect. It is portrayed in the article, that making animals for human consumption is wrong in his eyes. Steiner claims the fact that people purchase free-range meat; but, this does not mean that the animal

We are a nation of meat eaters. We are socialized from a young age to consume high levels of animal products. This deeply ingrained meat-eating tradition is a big part of the American standard diet. A visit to the local grocery store shows that there is no shortage of animal products. Isle by isle you see a plethora of meats, neatly packed and ready to be cooked, dairy products neatly shelved, and even candies that contain animal by-products. This is an omnivore’s utopia, allowing for a lifestyle that involves the overconsumption of meats and animal by-products. The rampant meat industry has managed to condition people to disassociate the meats in our grocery markets and the animals from which they came. Most people have become unaware omnivores, consuming whatever meats are available to them. This shift of moral degradation is evident in how we process and consume our meats. We have become a selfish society that values our own convenience and affordability of meat rather than the consideration of the animal. This begs the question, is eating meat inherently wrong and should we forbid meat consumption under any and all circumstances? To fully address this issue, we must first define the moral status of animals. So, are animals equal to humans in worth and value and should they receive similar treatment?

In addition to his solutions, Pollan’s modern narrative sheds light on the façade of our food industries; asking us to rethink what we know. Despite the mention of certain inhumane acts in All Animals are Equal, Pollan takes us one step further to uncover the reason for which we continue to purchase our corrupt food. We all know animal abuse exists, but the average consumer like myself is more worried about the best price and the fastest way to get a burger rather than how fairly the animals are treated in the process. Whether it be the confined living space of chickens or the mental and physical torture of pigs, we continue to blind ourselves from reality. Is it purely out of selfishness? Or are we too ignorant to come to terms with our wrong doings? Like Pollan explains, it takes seeing the abuse before the shame of our disrespect can be felt (pg.6). After seeing Pollan’s truth, I might now think twice before eating out and the choice to support organic produce can make a dramatic difference for those farmers who promote the ethical lifestyle.

One of the major reasons that people are becoming vegans is because they feel morally obligated to reject the slaughtering of animals for personal gain. As an example, JoAnn Farb, an author, microbiologist, and stay at home mother started her herbivorous lifestyle at the age of thirteen when she made the connection between meat and a living animal; she vowed never to eat meat again (Singer 188-189). For most, the idea of eating meat is an ordinary activity that is learned at a young age. One ignores the fact that animals are being mistreated up until their death which at times is not even quick and painless. For instance, in Lawnel Farms sick cows that are no longer able to stand are dragged by a tractor to the slaughterhouse instead of being

As humanity becomes more civilized, many of us perceive that eating livestock is morally incorrect, but aren’t we are designed to be an omnivore? Our teeth and digestive system serve the purpose of breaking down animal and plant foods and to bring these important nutrients to every part of the body. Despite the fact that, in 2011, U.S. meat and poultry production reached more than 92.3 billion pounds, the ethic of killing and eating animals as well as the concern of the environmental burden caused by the production of meats is debatable. However, animal based diet is necessary for the human body to function properly and we can choose the meat produced from environmentally sustainable farms to avoid the moral ambiguity.

While you’re reading this, thousands of animals are being slaughtered throughout the world and around sixty billion animals are killed every year throughout the world by humans. This is no surprise to most people around the world when animal slaughter is considered “normal” these days. Many people are not aware of the long term impacts animal slaughter and animal consumption causes to the environment and human health. If most people were educated and aware of the major consequences animal consumption and slaughter causes, people wouldn’t contribute to the cruelty and consumption of it. Animals are killed for food consumption all over the world without humans realizing the impact they are causing.I personally believe that animal slaughter should not be acceptable anymore. In this essay, I will be explaining why Veganism is the best lifestyle you can take and how a Veganism lifestyle is healthy for the environment, human health, and important for the animals.

For example, in the article “Vegetarianism Is a Moral Decision with Many Benefits,” psychologist, professor, and author, Melanie Joy states, “When we say yes to health, we say no to harm. We protect our bodies as well of the bodies of the animals—approximately 20,000 of them per minute in the U.S. alone—who are brutally raised and slaughtered for their flesh and excretions.” Animals are intelligent, loving, and very much deserving of life. Humans have come to think that they own every animal on the planet and can extort, exploit and execute them at no cost except $5.99 a pound. However, there is a much greater cost to the meat on America’s plate-- millions of animals’ lives. Furthermore, in the same article, Melanie Joy states, “Animals are routinely castrated, de-beaked, and de-horned without any painkiller whatsoever. They are born and raised in crowded, filthy, dark environments where their existence is one of abject misery and terror.” Animals are sentient beings with nervous systems and thought processes. The pain and suffering animals in commercial farming must endure preceding their murder is harrowing. If factory farms had glass walls, people would take a moment to think about the consequences their eating habits ensue. It is a simple and apparent conclusion that a vegetarian diet is more humane and virtuous than the standard Western

Today, “Over 56 billion farmed animals are killed every year by humans” (Animal Equality, n.d). For hundreds of years’ animals have been killed so that people can source meat for food products. “Human population growth and hunting…invariably lead to major extinctions,” (John Alroy, 2001) and through this the discussion as to if animals should be killed so that the growing population can consume meat products begins. The ethical consumption of animal meat poses two major questions a) is it wrong to raise and kill farmed animals for meat produce and consumption b) does it become ethical if the process is done in a humane manner? (Eating Animals, 2014)

“For most humans, especially for those in modern urban and suburban communities, the most direct form or contact with non-human animals is at meal time: we eat them. This simple fact is the key to what each one of us can do about changing these attitudes. The use and abuse of animals raised for food far exceeds, in sheer numbers of animals affected, any other kind of mistreatment” (Coats). The most effective method to stop this cruelty is to learn about where the meat comes from, by supporting the organic and family farms which will ultimately lead to the reducing the amount of animals that have to suffer (PETA). More than 95 percent of animal abuse in America occurs in the meat packing industry (Harper & Low). Animals suffer an unimaginable amount, they are raised to be killed, then bought and then consumed. In order to help fight back against the abuse, there needs to be a cut back on the amount of meat or poultry that is consumed. Seriously consider the option of becoming a vegetarian; by not eating meat, you completely stop supporting animal

In the debate of whether or not animals should be kept for human consumption, animal activists have a strong opinion and a strong voice to back it up. Animal rights groups argue for drastic changes to – or even complete abolition of – animal agriculture. They believe that each year more than 58 billion farm and aquatic animals are unnecessarily killed for human consumption. Activists argues that humans do not need to eat animals to survive, they can do it on a completely plant based diet. The understanding in every day diet has evolved and, in the process, come to learn that plants contain all the vitamins and nutrients that the human body needs to thrive. Humans find it difficult to overcome traditional idea and ways of thinking that they rarely stop to question the fundamental ethics and underlying morality of slaughtering animals for food. “Just because something has been done a certain way for thousands of years, doesn’t make it automatically right (Srinivas). An example that fits this situation well, is the fact that when born into American culture, people are taught to believe that certain animals are for eating, others are companion animals, and others are wild animals. The idea of eating a dog or a cat is repulsive, but in other parts of the world it is something that is perfectly normal and occurs everyday. Furthermore, they stand behind the theory that humans are creating emotional pain and suffering for the animals. These animals

Everyday nearly twenty six million meat birds die. That’s 300 chickens a second. These chickens who are basically babies, hang by their feet in blood splattered shackles. Their lives have barely begun. With crimson feathers, they are forced to stare at the incarnadine walls. Their only reminder of family, friends, and strangers, it’s a promise of their future. Barely alive chickens who have been thrown, kicked or stomped upon, litter the floor gasping for air in the ammonia filled room. About twenty eight thousand cows die everyday. Cows have their limbs strewn around to decorate the floor, smears of red matching the kill floor’s stained color. Deep, low bellows echoing of the walls signaling the cows’ distress when they smell the blood of their friends and now they know what’s next. The drain overflows with the almost black fluid as a cow’s throat is slit, its eyes wide while all twelve gallons of its blood comes cascading out while the rest of them hang from bloody chains protruding from the ceiling. These animals did not choose the fate that they currently hold. In today’s world, with the beef and poultry industry’s appalling inner workings, being vegetarian, or even vegan, are the only morally right diets, especially since we have said we want animals treated humanely and we would be just fine without meat.