...what I am doing is going along with the fact that I live in a society where meat eating is accepted as the norm, and it requires a level of social courage which I haven't yet produced to break out of that. It's a little bit like the position which many people would have held a couple of hundred years ago over slavery. Where lots of people felt morally uneasy about slavery but went along with it because the whole economy of the South depended upon slavery.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author admits to conforming to societal norms around meat eating despite moral unease, comparing this compliance to historical acceptance of slavery.
- In plain terms
- I follow social norms about eating meat because it takes courage to stop, similar to how people accepted slavery in the past.
- What can you take from it?
- Social conformity can override personal moral discomfort.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What norms do I follow despite moral doubt?
- Is comfort a valid reason to maintain harmful habits?
Another view
This analogy may oversimplify the complexity of individual choices regarding diet versus systemic institutions.
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