Vegetarianism has been part of my identity for the last 25 years (thanks to arguments like this one and this one), but I’ve been increasingly recognizing the term’s limits.
For one thing, I’ve eaten dairy, eggs, fish and seafood all along — which makes me a lacto-ovo-pesco-vegetarian. For another, I’ve started to occasionally eat locally farm-raised chicken (and rarely, when offered, meat of locally hunted deer or other things freely given and which would otherwise be wasted — which makes me a bit of a freegan). I also recognize that the food industry has changed, in ways that makes food ethics more complicated than the old binary of veganism versus carnivory, with moderate vegetarianism as a reasonable half-way station.
Realizing I need a better term for my own food consumption practices, I’ve struggled with meaningless terms like flexitarian and briefly considered locavorism (forget about that in Vermont).
But mostly I’ve fallen back on some form of eco-ethico-politico-cultural selectivism (as opposed to the culturally selective but otherwise freewheeling omnivory most North Americans practice). That is, I’ve remained committed not so much to the vegetarianism I’ve espoused as to a diet that takes into account a welter of factors, including the suffering of animals and humans in food production systems, the ecological impacts of those systems, the promotion of viable and desirable cultural alternatives to industrial food production, and of course the undeniable influence of taste, convenience, and the needs and desires of loved ones. All of which is a little difficult to describe in a word.
But with all my reading about the implications of the Anthropocene and the deep time it allows us to inhabit, I’ve found myself flirting with another identity, one that draws a line between one kind of creature class — to which we belong — and others. That class, or clade as biologists call it, is the class of animals that emerged into prominence with the Mesozoic-Cenozoic transition — which we might think of as a new “global hegemony” that followed the last great extinction crisis 65 million years ago.
I mean mammals: creatures like us, who give birth to live offspring, bodily nurse their young, have neocortexes (no need for neural reductionism to hypothesize that this contributes to a different sense of selfhood), and so on.
Drawing a “line in the sand” around that class feels like a form of extended ethnocentrism: broader, to be sure, than any form of human ethnocentrism (racism, nationalism, and so on), and even broader than speciesist anthropocentrism, but discriminatory nonetheless. But we need to make decisions, and when these are too complex, a categorical crutch can be helpful and an easier sell than the kind of complicated checklist I summarized above.
For lack of a catchier word, I call this simplified dietary preference a “non-mammalian” diet. And its discriminatory prohibition only extends to taking the lives of other mammals, not to drinking their milk. We, or our infants, drink human milk after all.
Judged by an ethic of minimizing harm to sentient beings (and of honoring those we do harm), a non-mammalian diet is only partial, and clearly a crutch. But I like that it provides a deep bio-geo-historical perspective on our affiliations that doesn’t negate respecting differences — or taking ecological, sociopolitical, and other concerns into consideration — but that makes deciding what to eat a bit easier for us.
From the perspective of vegetarianism, a “non-mammalian” diet discriminates against birds, reptiles, fish, and other living and sentient beings. In preferring members of our own clade, such a diet is “cladist.” In the slow march of extending rights to beings like us, and progressively to beings unlike us, does this step make sense as a tentative goal?
Thoughts welcome.
but are you doing it for the cause or for yer own pleasure/ease?
Pragmatically speaking, I don’t think it matters. There are multiple causes here, and “ease” is probably one of them. Pleasure less relevant here. (I don’t get much pleasure from eating flesh, but some do.)
I’m curious about the line “…locavorism (forget about that in Vermont).” Do I understand correctly that you think that’s not possible (or not possible without meat)? If the latter, I do think you’re on to something, that northern climates have a much harder time meeting dietary needs locally without including animal protein.
Finn (sorry for the repetition from the other place where we’re having this conversation): I do think it’s possible and, for those willing to work the land directly (as you do), it’s an accomplishment worth taking pride in. I just know that I’m not a farmer in this life (or even a gardener) and that the value I place on cultural diversity/richness, including in foods I eat, trumps the time I could ever spend making locavorism work for me in Vermont.
well pragmatically your or my individual diet doesn’t matter much but if we don’t consider all the aspects of eating we aren’t likely to make much headway scaling up:
http://backdoorbroadcasting.net/2014/03/annemarie-mol-physio-moral-accounts-eating-pleasures-and-destructions/
Hi Adrian, the latest ‘thing’ is to be a ‘pulsarian’ and create your meals around pulses; that is, dried beans, chickpeas and, especially, lentils. (With all hummus, say grace to Pacal Votan and “The Harmonic Convergence” ; ) These foods have a relatively light footprint, even if they are not grown locally. THE WASHINGTON POST ‘posted’ about this in yesterday’s weekly FOOD section. The Post noted how pulses carried in backpacks helped the Romans conquer Europe & North Africa. The hard part is putting these together with veggies (optionally cheese) so that don’t come out looking like mush. Large macaroni shells and broccoli (with feta chunks or seitan) usually work well to bring the pulses into a format acceptable to palettes raised on meat-&-potatoes .
Hoping for a new year that doesn’t end up being ‘trumped’, Mark
I wonder if those Romans conquered by gassing their rivals… (Poor joke, I know.) If you happen to be among the 40% of people who don’t digest pulses well without producing a socially undesirable side effect, you may have to go to some lengths to mitigate the climate change impacts of your new diet 😉 (Here’s a helpful guide: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/diana-herrington/pass-on-the-gas-7-ways-to_b_3080786.html) Otherwise, pulsarians rule!
No matter what you want to believe, pleasure will still be something that you would want to experience every now and then. Sometimes, it helps to become conscious too and be mindful of how and what we eat. This will definitely help in keeping us free from junk.
For one thing, I eat meat, fish, dairy, seafood, and the rest. I don’t really have the intention of becoming a full fledged vegetarian as I have always believed that all they eat is vegetables. I’m not sure if anyone can really survive with just vegetables even if they do, I doubt they can have the same strength as someone who eats a healthy combination of foods.
I have been checking out many of your stories
and i must say nice stuff. I will make sure
to bookmark your website.
But still the question remains same. What should one be a herbivorous or carnivorous.
There is no more thing which is booming in today world, it is known as “VEGANS”, all veggies without the use or animal related products such as dairy, honey etc.
Good morning here in London,the capital of England and the United Kingdom. TUVM=thank u very much for your honest article,journey and research. I am lifetime mafist,if not count the years of vegetarianism and vegan diet,mostly raw.
i suggest you to become a founder of Mammal Rebelion foundation,I will join you,of course. Yours faithfully Tauy Zimer,GULag and covid survivor,lifetime mafist
Why Mafism and Non Mammal Manifesto but not veganism or vegetarianism can save this planet Abattoir aka Earth? A quick answer:Because mafism (non-mammalian diet) is pragmatically achievable worldwide.Thus it is a paramount task for all vegan and vegetarian organizations to focus on mafism first. It is very important to identify as mammal,this identity is a prime category above all anthropocentric categories. All humans descend from a common ancestor,in scientific taxonomic terms we are family. Christianity,Islam,Judaism,Paganism,Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhism are religious of bloodthirsty savages and semi-cannibals. Mammal-eaters are people who eat our fellow mammals,have no moral responsibility,and often have no moral values at all. Unless they discover their ignorance and realize that humans are mammals therefore eating mammalian flesh is tantamount to cannibalism.-Tauy Zimer,mammal,lifelong mafist, GULag and covid survivor,Degree in Forestry,PhD in Biology
Dear Tauy – Thanks for telling me what this diet is called. I had never heard of “mafism”; now I have. And I guess it’s easier to say than “non-mammalian.”
Dear Professor Adrian J Ivakhiv. I adore you,TUVM=thank u very much for your comment. Basically your two relevant articles are the best in the world so far.
My essay right here: Mafism and No Mammal Manifesto:The human ambition for mankind to earn salvation. My definitions are the following. Mafism is a non-mammalian diet which excludes mammal’s flesh.No Mammal Manifesto is the principle of emancipation of non-human mammals from exploitation by man,it is our cladism,it is our veganism towards our fellow mammals. Gary Yurovsky’s essays indict humans as criminal violators of animals. The essays written in chronological order by Llowell Williams,Dustino,Randy Laist,Graig Millett,Adrian Ivakhiv,Satyabrat Mahali,Adam Rogers,Thys Caarts,Tauy Zimer,and others,indict humans as criminal violators of non-human animals. A philosopher Daniel Dennet once called the theory of evolution by natural selection ‘the single best idea anyone has ever had’. Tauy Zimer calls the theory of mafism on the grounds that humans are mammals,’the single best idea anyone has ever had’,which can save our species Pan genocidal suicidal aka Homo sapiens sapiens,and the planet Abattoir aka Earth.
I remain yours sincerely,Tauy Zimer,mammal,born as troglodyte in a dugout/dungeon in the permafrost soil,Tauy region of Kolyma,Eastern Siberia,on Monday 15 August 1949,lifelong mafist intermittently vegan or vegetarian,GULag and covid survivor,august father and majestic grandfather,Degree in Forestry,PhD in Biology,Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (UK),Access to Higher Education Certificate (UK),Deferred Entrance to MESCI Environmental Geoscience (UK).
Dear Professor Adrian Ivakhiv. Thank you for your reply. I adore you,your two relevant articles are the best in the world so far. A few minutes ago i submitted my comment but now I do not see it. No problem.,let’s try a short version. Mafism and No Mammal Manifesto:the human ambition for mankind to earn salvation.My definitions. Mafism is a non-mammalian diet which excludes mammal’s flesh.No mammal manifesto is the principle of emancipation of non-human mammals from exploitation by man,it is our cladism,or veganism towards our fellow mammals.
I remain yours sincerely Tauy Zimer,mammal,born as troglodyte in a dugout/dungeon in the permafrost soil,Tauy region of Eastern Siberia,on Monday 15 August 1949,lifelong mafist intermittently vegan or vegetarian,GULag survivor,Degree in Forestry,PhD in Biology,Diploma in Public Service Interpreting,Access to Higher Education Certificate,Deferred Entrance to MESci Environmental Geoscience.
Clarification,in my comment dated 20 March 2022. The third paragraph should be read correctly as the following:
‘Gary Yourofsky’s essays indict humans as criminal violators of animals. The essays written in chronological order by Llowell Williams,Dustino,Randy Laist,Graig Millett,Adrian Ivakhiv,Satyabrat Mahali,Adam Rogers,Thys Caarts,Tauy Zimer,and others,indict humans as criminal violators of non-human MAMMALS’. Sorry if you have been confused.
My next comment: Eating Mammals is semi-cannibalism, its genetics,evolution,addiction. i continue my research to find out who has coined a word ‘mafism’,it seems it was a biologist A.K.in 2002.
It is AD 2022 =2022 CE,but it seems it is the same as 2022 BC=2022 BCE. Thou Shalt Not Kill (ha-ha-ha). All religions of all dominance despise this commandment. Orthodox Christian swine-eaters,savages,semi-cannibals, celebrate Easter 2022 by killing each other. Followers of Islam and Judaism do not eat pigs. These cow-eaters,savages,semi-cannibals, celebrate Passover 2022 and Ramadan 2022 by clashes in Jerusalem. It always will be the same unless and until all these bloodthirsty cruel mammal-eaters,savages,semi-cannibals,discover their ignorance and realize that humans are mammals therefore eating mammalian flesh is tantamount to cannibalism.
I remain yours sincerely Tauy Zimer,mammal,lifelong mafist intermittently vegetarian,GULag and Covid survivor,Degree in Forestry,PhD in Biology,Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (UK),Access to Higher Education Certificate (UK),Deferred Entrance to MESci in Environmental Geoscience (UK).
Wow, Thanks for sharing this blog.
Mafism is a diet that excludes mammalian flesh mainly for the ethical reasons, and namely that mammals are not food for humans because humans are mammals,therefore eating mammalian flesh is tantamount to cannibalism.
Semi-cannibalism is a diet that includes mammalian flesh and often relies on devouring the corpses of our fellow mammals,members of our taxonomic family.
Mafist is a person who does not eat red meat or pork,or any mammalian flesh.mainly on the ethical grounds.
The words mafism and mafist were coined by a biologist Anatol Kuis Zimmermann in 2002. the term semi-cannibalism was coined by Tauy Kuis Zimer,PhD in Biology,in 2022.
Dear Professor Adrian J Ivakhiv. We had a surprise. Let’s search on Google Internet and ask a question: ‘What is no mammal diet called? The answer is my definition of mafism dated 31 July 2022 and available right here in your blog just above this comment. Google used your blog and my citation without mentioning our names,moreover they wrote a wrong date (12 January 2016). The words ‘mafism’ and ‘mafist’ were coined by a biologist Anatol Kuis Zimmermann in 2002.
From 2014 he was known as Tauy Kuis Zimer,PhD in Biology. Both terms are derived from two words: mammalian family. There were four original versions (in alphabetical order): mafaism,mafism,mamfaism,mamfamism. Basically mafism and no mammal diet are not the same. Logically no mammal
diet means dairy-free mafism. Currently I am working to coin a single term for no mammal manifesto,in other words -veganism relatively mammals. And I believe religiously that only no mammal manifesto can save this planet A = Abattoir aka Earth. There is no planet B for Homo sapiens. Regards.
Your Tauy Zimer
Apparently the 12 January 2016 is the date of the remarkable article ‘A case for a non-mammalian food ethic’ written by Professor Adrian J Ivakhiv. Unlike the famous ‘Case for animal rights’ by Tom Regan,’A case for a non-mammalian…’ could be a game changer around the world due to its pragmatical approach to the urgent problems. Thus everything is alright with Google the Internet. ”Sorry,Earth,we are still growing !” In 2016 there was my first January Veganuary;and my third period of my vegan diet in the 21st century after two previous periods: 01.01.2001 – 31.03.01 and 15.08.2005 – 31.12.05. My fourth period of being an ethical mafist and a dietary vegan was from 1 November (World Vegan Day) 2019 until 8 April 2020. When I contracted the coronavirus from Covid-19 and had a dozen symptoms it turned me to ovo-vegetarianism. Not everyone has a clear distinction in different terms. Mafism and vegetarianism are diets. Ethical mafism is a creed and lifestyle Ethical vegetarianism is a principle of no murder. A vegan diet is a strict vegetarian diet. Veganism is a lifestyle,philosophy and religion,not a diet. Let’s illustrate the above mentioned with these two men and their destines. JordiCasamitjana(2019): ”Most of my adult life I have pursued the philosophy of ethical veganism. Originally from Catalonia,but resident in the UK for several decades,I am a Zoologist-Ethologist.” Tauy Zimer (2022): ”Most of my adult life I have pursued the philosophy of ethical mafism. Originally from Belarus,but resident in the UK for two decades,I am a Biologist-Ecologist”.
Today about cows and dairy. The comment about Mafism written by Dumpkin Momma (Vegan): ”I’m glad that you have started thinking about this. But if you’re doing it for ethical reasons,why are mammals different than other animals? Why is it better to kill dozens of birds for the same amount of meat that would come off of one cow?”. My answer: ”Dear Dumpkin Momma. I’m glad that you have started thinking about this. Apparently you do not identify as mammal but you should. You are not a bird. Mammals are different and special simply because we humans are mammals. Cow is a female member of our taxonomic family. OK,UK,let’s continue the topic. Is dairy really scary? Some mafists call Mafism a ‘perfect transition diet’.Right? – Wrong ! (unless straightaway). The traditional way of thinking and a commonly known scheme: carnivorism,demiveg-Mafism,pescatarianism,vegetarianism are
artificial and anti-scientific,and certainly not environmentally friendly. Trust me,this is the right 4-step way: 1.Demiveg-Mafism 2.Non-dairy Mafism 3.Non-dairy pollotarianism
4.Eggitarianism (ovo-vegetarianism,vEgganism).
Like all other our fellow mammals,the members of our taxonomic family,female mammals mothers: cow,nanny goat,
mare and ewe lactate for their babies:calf,kid,foal and lamb.
Their milk is designed by Mother Nature or Father God for their
offspring and definitely not for adult human moronic perverts and thieves. If you do not believe me what about Professor
Gary L Francione,vegan activist (December 2006): ”There is no meaningful distinction between eating flesh and eating dairy…
Animals exploited in the dairy industry live longer than those
used for meat,but they are treated worse during their lives,and
they end up in the same slaughterhouse after which we consume their flesh anyway. There is probably more suffering in
a glass of milk or an ice cream cone than is in a steak”.
My resume: Thus dairy is scary. The outgoing Prime Minister of
the United Kingdom Alexander Boris Johnson once called dairy
consumers ‘cheese lovers’. I.Tauy Kuis Zimer,lifelong demiveg-mafist mostly dairy-free during my lifetime,call them mammalian misogynists,perverts and the enemies of Earth.