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George Plimpton George Plimpton is offline
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Default Squaring the Irrational Search for Micrograms with "vegan" do-nothingism

On 4/6/2012 8:25 AM, Rupert wrote:
> On Apr 6, 5:03 pm, George > wrote:
>> Woopert blabbers a lot about how "vegans" are entitled to their smug
>> satisfaction that they've made a meaningful contribution to the
>> reduction of animal suffering merely by not putting identifiable animal
>> bits in their mouths. I point out that "vegans" never attempt to make
>> any comparison of the amounts of harm caused by those things they *do*
>> eat, and Woopert moans that "there's no data", and so he justifies doing
>> nothing further.
>>
>> But "vegans" - all of them - spend an inordinate amount of time looking
>> for and trying to eliminate the last possible bit of animal
>> "contamination" from their diet. In my time in these groups since 1999,
>> I have seen the following belabored here by "vegans":
>>
>> * brined black olives in tins or jars - the brining liquid is made
>> black by the addition of squid ink
>>
>> * Worcestershire sauce - the classic Lea& Perrins recipe, and
>> probably most other brands, contain a tiny amount of anchovy
>>
>> * refined sugar - the most common method of refining sugar to create
>> white crystalline sugar uses bone char
>>
>> * lanolin in lotions and body creams - lanolin is a by-product of
>> wool production
>>
>> "vegans" spend huge amounts of time and effort trying to identify these
>> last remaining bits of animal "contamination" in their shopping baskets
>> and eliminating them. When they find one of them and report on it here
>> or in other "vegan" forums, there is a palpable sense of smugness in the
>> announcement of the discovery and removal; something like "Well! That's
>> the last time *I* will buy a bottle of Lea& Perrins!!!"
>>
>> I refer to this effort as the Irrational Search for Micrograms (of
>> Animal Parts). If a "vegan" made a comparable effort to determine which
>> vegetable and fruit produce causes the most harm, and eliminate those
>> from her diet, it would undoubtedly have a much greater effect in
>> reducing harm to animals; but announcing that one is *consuming* a few
>> micrograms less of animal bits is much more satisfying to the "vegan"
>> sense of unwarranted moral superiority.
>>
>> This irrational search - and it is undeniable that it occurs -
>> completely queers the "vegan" claim to being motivated by a wish to
>> reduce harm to animals. No, the motivation is *purely* trying to occupy
>> an imaginary moral pedestal, and basking in the fake sense of
>> superiority that comes from imagining themselves upon it. The fact
>> they'll expend enormous time and effort in the irrational search, but
>> *no* time or effort trying to get harm-causing vegetable produce out of
>> their diets, is the proof.

>
> What do you suppose would motivate the search if they didn't believe
> (falsely) that it was the best way of trying to reduce harm to
> animals?


The search is motivated by the belief that not consuming animal bits is
in and of itself virtuous. They're like Jews and Muslims not consuming
pork: there is no concern for the animals, only concern that they be
virtuous.