Dying For A Pie

The visual pun is better than the verbal one on this PETA poster. But either way, it seems to have upset a few people. Of course, being a vegetarian or a vegan is supposed to upset people.

I remember once being the only vegetarian at a dinner party and being seated alongside the owner of a meat-products company. "Do you realise that people like you could put me out of business?" he asked me, quite seriously. "Yes. That's why I'm doing it," I answered as politely as I could.

This latest PETA campaign is making the point that meat-eating isn't healthy. Which it isn't; vegetarians tend to live longer and healthier lives than meat-eaters. But if it were proved that vegetarians die earlier and more miserable deaths than carnivores, I wouldn't stop being vegetarian. Better health is a bonus from refusing to eat meat, but not the main reason for it. The main reason for my being vegetarian (and for admiring the principles of vegans) is because the meat industry is cruel, disgusting and unnecessary.