November 2002 | Editor’s Note
The Pain of It All
The subject of vegetarianism versus meat eating is one of the most divisive issues that this magazine confronts. I suppose putting it in terms of one versus the other exacerbates the controversy but, truly, it is seemingly one inalterable philosophy pitted against another. It reminds me of the point often made when the issue of abortion is discussed. One can’t be a little bit pregnant and skirt the issue. So it is that one can’t be a meat-eating vegetarian and "make nice" with all the steadfast purists on either side.
Our cover story this month explores this chasm. The editorial staff agonized over the balance of our coverage, wanting to recognize and honor the sentiments of the broad cross-section of our very informed readers. In fact, our Conscious Choice staff is pretty reflective of our readership on this sensitive subject. About a third of our staff call themselves vegetarians. Yet, we are neither a vegetarian magazine nor one that flaunts meat eating. We are capable of appealing to vegetarians as well as meat eaters. Witness: we carry advertisements for the annual turkey-free Thanksgiving dinner that the Chicago Vegetarian Society hosts (with Conscious Choice as a co-sponsor). Conversely, we also carry an ad for a company that sells meat (or "animal flesh" as some vegetarians prefer to call it) from humanely-raised animals.
However, this hardly makes us wishy-washy. We straddle the philosophies because our readers do as well. Of course, you’ll not see an ad in this magazine for companies that promote the use of conventionally-raised animals; we abhor and condemn the suffering of animals at the hand of Man and the flagrant, multi-faceted abuse of the environment that accompanies the current dominant system of animal use in this country. We, as a magazine, promote the idea that the life forces of our planet are a precious commodity that must be embraced and handled in a judicious manner. But, as you know, there are often various ways to achieve that end.
The realities of making hard conscious choices that entail vegetarianism/veganism and conscientious meat eating are expertly charted in our cover story this month by Chicago writer Dennis Rodkin, himself a vegetarian for 20 years. By doing this story, our intention is not to identify answers but rather to examine the broader implications of how we shape direction for a more humane society. In this vein, then, the discussion will no longer entail an "us versus them" mentality. Instead, I believe our approach can be one of heart-centered choices allowing us to work together for the common cause.
Our "Pig" Cover
In thinking of a way to frame our feature story this month, we were inspired by the classic 1973 National Lampoon cover. As you might recall, it portrayed a bewildered canine with a revolver to its head and the coverline: "If You Don’t Buy this Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog." We thought substituting a hapless commercial food animal — with a gun to its head — would convey the meat-eating controversy in a poignantly satirical way. We hired children’s book illustrator, Daniel Powers, to help us out and he responded with this month’s cover illustration.
— Rebecca Ephraim
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