January
2005
Vegetarian
Advocate: Wanted: A Gloria Steinem for the Vegetarian Movement
By Jack Rosenberger
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Wanted: a vegetarian goddess to enlighten America
about the health benefits of a meat-free lifestyle. Ideal candidate must
possess a desire to change the world, raw ambition, a sense of humor,
a healthy ego, stellar communication and leadership skills, and an ability
to perform in the public spotlight. No carnivores need apply.
It was an unpleasant and unusually dark night in Manhattan, with a strong
wind blowing around discarded newspapers and other garbage. The threat
of rain was
imminent. After a late night of laboring in my midtown Manhattan office, I was
walking up Fifth Avenue, headed for Grand Central Terminal. Some people were
going home. Others were heading for work, night school, a friend’s birthday
party, an art gallery, a first date, or a last one.
As I strode up the east side of Fifth Avenue, I encountered a man and a woman
huddled together and talking. A young boy, bundled up in his winter clothes,
was standing with them and kicking an empty coffee cup.
“Don’t worry about it,” the woman declared in a slightly loud
voice. “Things can’t get worse.”
I had no idea what the pair were discussing, but my immediate reaction was to
consider the statement’s validity: what type of situation couldn’t
possibly get any worse? It was easy to imagine, for instance, President Bush’s
second term in office being worse than the first—a larger federal deficit,
protracted assaults on the environment, an escalating war in Iraq. Then I thought
about vegetarianism: Are things getting better, worse or staying the same?
Before I tried to answer the question, I considered the existence of vegetarianism:
it had begun in the West around 550 to 500 BC and in the East around 600 to 500
BC. In short, vegetarianism had existed for about 2,500 years. Yet, the percentage
of the world’s population who is vegetarian is frightfully small. True,
vegetarianism in the West has made exceptional advances during the last several
decades, with an increase in the availability of vegetarian food in supermarkets
and vegetarian or vegetarian-friendly restaurants, but its slice of the pie chart
remains minute. “Hmm,” I said to myself, “I hope the next 2,500
years are better than the last.”
A Vegetarian Savior
As I boarded my train in Grand Central I thought about how to change public attitudes
toward meat consumption. Obviously we can’t look to the federal government
for leadership. It seemed to me that what the vegetarian movement needs is a
female leader, someone who can do for vegetarianism what Gloria Steinem has done
for women’s rights.
Indeed, one of the chief problems with vegetarianism in America is it lacks a
person that the public can identify the cause with—a charismatic, visible
leader.
While I don’t think the role of vegetarian leader should be restricted
to a woman, as opposed to a man, a woman possesses several inherent advantages.
The people most likely to embrace a meatless diet are female and they are probably
more receptive to hearing about vegetarianism from a fellow woman. Also, when
it comes to families, women are still responsible for the majority of the food
shopping and meal preparation. Lastly, carnivores feel threatened by vegetarianism
and, I believe, many of them may feel more comfortable with a woman, not a man,
advocating a meatless diet.
Of course, I might be wrong on all or most counts.
While Gloria Steinem has been a powerful leader, public symbol, and spokesperson
for the women’s movement, an advocate like her is not the only type of
public figure who could increase vegetarianism’s stature. Julia Childs
exerted a tremendous influence on cooking in America, and a vegetarian cook with
a similar combination of ambition, determination, and personality could also
drastically affect how Americans eat. Also, Oprah Winfrey is a cultural and social
force in the U.S. A vegetarian woman, using her own TV or radio show as a platform
for dietary change, could also exert a marked influence.
Regardless of what type of leader—social justice advocate, celebrity cook,
or TV or radio talk-show host—comes forward, she must present a simple
and persuasive message that the public can buy into. The single strongest message,
I believe, is that a meatless diet is the healthiest diet in the world. While
the arguments about animal cruelty, compassion, and environmentalism are strong
ones, the public will respond best to a message about personal health and well-being.
In addition to sharing a message that can be summarized in a single, short sentence
and appealing to people’s direct interests, the vegetarian savior should
also create a public advocacy organization, which would support her work, build
public approval, and produce a lasting legacy after her death.
Need some inspiration? Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The
purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be
compassionate; to have it make some difference that you have lived, and lived
well.”
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