Question for vegans and vegetarians and omnivores as well...

[realitybites]

Did Morrissey's music introduce you to vegetarianism? Or the possibility of? Or were you first already meat-free and then found Morrissey because of this... say through reading about him? Or learning about his animal rights activism? In other words, which came first?

If you are not vegetarian, do you suffer from cognitive dissonance when reading about his views or listening to Meat is Murder? Have you tried to become a vegetarian and failed? Do you feel guilty? Or are you an unapologetic meat eater? And you feel you can fully appreciate his music regardless of your dietary choices?

Please share your story. I am interested.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

Should submitted answers follow MLA or Chicago standards?

 

[realitybites]

Should submitted answers follow MLA or Chicago standards?

Why don't you share your story. I'd like to hear it. Plain English is fine--no endnotes or footnotes needed or wanted.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

Morrissey encouraged me to be a vegetarian. His activism opened my eyes to something I didn't want to see or know about. Now that I do, I could never think of ingesting an animal. I know how difficult it was to become a vegetarian. I know how difficult it was to watch the videos and see the pictures. I know that people tune it out when the message is too overt. I know a lot of people are not even aware where their meat comes from. And I know that some people know and pretend it isn't happening. There are many levels of meat eaters. I know these things because for most my life I was a meat eater too. Now I am not.

But I do contribute to the industry, for sure. Dog food, glue, eggs, cheese, trace amounts of gelatin. I will not eat an animal because of Morrissey.

 

[realitybites]

Morrissey encouraged me to be a vegetarian. His activism opened my eyes to something I didn't want to see or know about. Now that I do, I could never think of ingesting an animal. I know how difficult it was to become a vegetarian. I know how difficult it was to watch the videos and see the pictures. I know that people tune it out when the message is too overt. I know a lot of people are not even aware where their meat comes from. And I know that some people know and pretend it isn't happening. There are many levels of meat eaters. I know these things because for most my life I was a meat eater too. Now I am not.

But I do contribute to the industry, for sure. Dog food, glue, eggs, cheese, trace amounts of gelatin. I will not eat an animal because of Morrissey.

Thank you for sharing this. I mean it.

 

[Oh my god. it's Robby!]

yes, he introduced me to "vegetarianism" and while I am not one anymore, it was an important phase for me
but the truth is, my body does not function unless I eat a lot of protein
yes, I mean doctors have told me this, so while I rarely eat cows I do eat a lot of:
chicken & fish
in addition to cheese and eggs
also, tofu & nuts
lastly, turkey, I love it so, that is when I can get it, though none is to be found where I am now

 

[MadeinSalford]

I was vegetarian long before I found out about Morrissey.
I do like the fact he is vegetarian, it makes me appreciate him even more.
I try to educate people around me about vegetarianism even though I never force anyone to become one. I just share my point of view.
Truth is I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years and people always say I look much younger than I am so that's usually the best incentive to make them think about quitting meat
And no, I don't have any health problems related to that. I pop the occasional iron pills but overall I am in pretty good shape.

 

[the_kaz]

If you are not vegetarian, do you suffer from cognitive dissonance when reading about his views or listening to Meat is Murder? Have you tried to become a vegetarian and failed? Do you feel guilty? Or are you an unapologetic meat eater? And you feel you can fully appreciate his music regardless of your dietary choices?

Good question. I'm not a vegetarian, and even back in the days when I listened to Morrissey obsessively, the song 'Meat is Murder' never really had an impact on me. I wouldn't call myself an "unapologetic meat eater", because I'm well aware of the barbaric practices of the meat industry, and I have huge respect for people who choose to boycott it (unless they're the smug militant type), but I don't have any ethical concerns with the act of eating meat itself, which is the focus of the song. So when I listen to the song, I appreciate it for the great song it is and I never feel any kind of cognitive dissonance.

 

[Rowntree]

I gave up eating meat because of the practices of the mass producing meat industry and not being able to buy free range/organic. I just never went back to it when the latter became available. Meat is Murder didn't make a lot of sense to me, a death for no reason isn't murder for a start. The version he's done live of late makes sense but I'd long been a non meat eater by then. I think the seeds were sewn by my upbringing rather than Morrissey or anything else.

 

[Uncleskinny]

I don't eat meat because I never liked it; bit of a cop out, but true. I'm borderline Vegan at the moment, thought the cheese is a hard one to kick, bit like Johnny Marr in that respect who had the same problem, though he pointed out it was just the saltiness one misses. I'm not proscriptive in beliefs like some, but I do believe the way animals are mass reared for humans, wasting resources, and in particular the factory-isation of it all, the way the meat gets from farm to plate, is pretty shameful. One thing is for certain though - humans will never, ever, ever stop killing animals and eating them. It will never happen. Ever. I believe the best we can do is campaign for as happy a life as possible and as swift and painless an end to life as possible. To that end I support http://www.ciwf.org.uk/. Meat Is Murder came out just as I was ready to leave the familial home. It coincided with me discovering Burgamix and Quorn. Plus I was in a band at the time, and we were all veggies. It just fitted into place for me.

Here's an informative film: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/809422/

P.

 

[hand in glove]

When I was child, I wouldn't eat rabbit or deer - anything that I associated with as being an animal that I loved, thought was beautiful, and cherished. It never dawned on me that the hamburger or steak on my plate was a cow or the bacon for breakfast was a pig. I just never thought about it. Not until River Phoenix came along. He was a passionate vegetarian and very out-spoken about animal cruelty and the meat industry, so he was the first to make a great impact on my life in that way. Then I met my best friend in 1987. She had been a vegetarian since age 10, so she was a huge influence on me, as well. At that time I was not aware of Morrissey. I tried to become a vegetarian because it seemed the right thing to do. She never preached to me about eating meat, but I was always in awe of her and because I thought she was the coolest person on earth, I wanted to be like her. But, it was so hard. I really struggled. In 1989 I discovered Morrissey - and I felt like a greater force was trying to tell me something by putting all of these influential vegetarians in my life. I again tried to become a vegetarian. Quite a struggle (I couldn't listen to Meat Is Murder for a long time.) I figured out the best way for me to stop eating meat was to do it gradually and it finally worked. I have been trying to become a vegan for quite a while now, and I hope to start a raw food plan in October...we'll see how it goes.

So, in short, I credit these three people and am thankful that they opened my eyes to the torture that these animals go through everyday just so a person can enjoy a thirty minute meal.

 

[realitybites]

Thanks to everybody who has shared their story. Hope to hear more.

Funny video, Uncleskinny.

 

[Steve Croce]

Did Morrissey's music introduce you to vegetarianism? Or the possibility of? Or were you first already meat-free and then found Morrissey because of this... say through reading about him? Or learning about his animal rights activism? In other words, which came first?

If you are not vegetarian, do you suffer from cognitive dissonance when reading about his views or listening to Meat is Murder? Have you tried to become a vegetarian and failed? Do you feel guilty? Or are you an unapologetic meat eater? And you feel you can fully appreciate his music regardless of your dietary choices?

Please share your story. I am interested.

I became a vegan on my own.

However, I will admit that Morrissey's fervid support for veganism makes it difficult for me to be compassionate to carnists.

I think this clip serves as a nice parallel for vegans.

 

[realitybites]

I became a vegan on my own.

However, I will admit that Morrissey's fervid support for veganism makes it difficult for me to be compassionate to carnists.

I think this clip serves as a nice parallel for vegans.

Thanks for your honesty. I cannot say you should not feel morally superior. You are. Your dietary choice is a great sacrifice that the majority of us are unwilling to make. We don't need to eat animal protein any longer. Science has given us the tools and means to feed the world a vegan diet. It can be done. It can be safe and healthy. Bottom line is people enjoy eating meat. If it were not pleasurable, people could give it up... and easily. If people did not have taste buds and gums to sense texture and were only fed intravenously they could care less if their liquid intravenous diet was vegan. They would go for it as long as they felt healthy and looked good. It is about the palate--the great enemy/obstacle to vegetarianism/veganism.

The vegetarians who never liked meat... like Uncleskinny... find giving up meat is not a sacrifice at all. They are the ones that seem to be able to stick with it for life. Did you ever enjoy eating meat? Do you dislike the taste as well? Reminds me of those super tasters who sense bitterness in foods to a much greater degree than most folks. Thus they shy away from broccoli and other bitter foods. Maybe we will discover a similar trait in those who don't like the taste of meat. Maybe one day we will genetically select for this trait in our offspring... creating a world of people who don't have to be convinced to not eat meat. They don't want to anyhow.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

One thing is for certain though - humans will never, ever, ever stop killing animals and eating them. It will never happen. Ever. I believe the best we can do is campaign for as happy a life as possible and as swift and painless an end to life as possible.

I think this is true. But I think measures need to be taken to educate the world that the convenient meat industry is creating an environmental crisis. If you want to eat a cow, buy a farm, raise it and kill it and eat it. I think measures banning profiting from the sale of a life aren't entirely out of the question. The convenient meat industry is about money, not food. But if money can't be made, then people will figure out another way to get their meat, (raise their own) or just not eat meat altogether.

It's a crazy idea. But cows and pigs are literally farting their way to being heard and we need to start listening and making change.

 

[Steve Croce]

I think Jonathan Swift's essay "A Modest Proposal" had a good plan for alternative sources of meat.

 

[Uncleskinny]

George Bernard Shaw:

"Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak! Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay."

"Animals are my friends... and I don't eat my friends."

"My situation is a solemn one. Life is offered to me on condition of eating beefsteaks. But death is better than cannibalism. My will contains directions for my funeral, which will be followed not by mourning coaches, but by oxen, sheep, flocks of poultry, and a small traveling aquarium of live fish, all wearing white scarfs in honor of the man who perished rather than eat his fellow creatures."

"A mind of the calibre of mine cannot derive its nutriment from cows. "

"A man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses."

"While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth?"

P.

 

[realitybites]

I think Jonathan Swift's essay "A Modest Proposal" had a good plan for alternative sources of meat.

Sell the kids for food...

 

[prisoner77]

I have ate less meat because of Morrisseys protestations.Yes I am aware that I'm weak willed.

 

[Nico]

I have been a vegetarian before but briefly and not for about 15 or so years. I was an avid Smiths fan when I was a teenager and was mostly vegetarian but primarily because I didn't like eating meat. In my 20s and 30s, I explored and listened to other music and only recently (within the last two months) began listening to the Smiths and Morrissey again. I would say I was leaning toward becoming a vegetarian again but after reading many interviews with Morrissey on the subject over the last two months, he pushed me over the edge to becoming vegetarian. I would say this is unusual since I'm not an impressionable teenager but rather approaching middle age and having a good dose of cynicism to boot. Hearing his words running something to the lines of "I have never heard a good argument for eating meat." I don't know why, but that left quite an impression on me although it's quite a simple statement, really.