Eating Animals

Foer’s argument concludes as he revisits the narrative framing from the start of the book. Looking at his own upcoming Thanksgiving meal, he acknowledges that removing turkey from the meal will not damage his family’s enjoyment of the day and of each other, and that it could even serve to start a conversation on the complexities of eating meat. This thought process reinforces Foer’s call to action, which is not that each reader become a vegetarian, but simply that each reader thinks more about the choices they make when eating. However, the book itself shows that vegetarianism, or even veganism, is the real goal, as shown in Foer’s decision to become a vegetarian himself. Ending the book by saying that he cannot be his grandmother’s grandson or his son’s father without confronting his choices implies that vegetarianism is the right choice, even though Foer presents his choice as strictly individual. Foer’s review of the global table, in which Americans form a small portion, includes the note that, were the table organized by food consumption, Americans would have a disproportionate impact relative to their population size. As such, Foer is reaching out to Americans specifically to make better choices in their food, and the clear message is that factory farmed meat should be excluded from the American diet. Bringing in Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr., both prominent figures in the workers and civil rights movements, Foer compares the fight against animal cruelty to the fight for equality among humans, implying that supporting factory farming is akin to supporting discrimination or exploitation.

In reviewing workers’ testimony, Foer concludes his argument while expanding it, discussing the psychological and physical trauma endured by workers in factory farms. Though these are the same workers that commit the abuses Foer describes elsewhere in the book, he acknowledges that the workers are, like the animals, confined in the sheds and slaughterhouses with little support and harsh hours. As a result, Foer makes it almost understandable that these workers would vent their frustration on the animals they control, though the need for such venting is called into question. With proper supervision, healthy working conditions, and emotional support, farm work would not be so challenging. Again, Foer is pointing out how minor improvements can be made within the existing system, even though these comparisons would be less effective than abandoning the factory farming system altogether. These farmers, Foer claims, have been deprived of “a direct, human relationship with their work” (256), which implies that there can still be something human in farming animals. Under ethical conditions, in which, like at Frank Reese’s farm, farmers have an intimate knowledge of their animals’ welfare and needs, farming is no longer inhuman, even if it is still inhumane. 

Though Foer has largely framed the decision on whether or not to eat meat as a personal one, he makes an argument in the end for a kind of social consciousness in regard to eating. In his words: “When we lift our forks, we hang our hat somewhere” (261), meaning that each food choice is also a political, ideological, or philosophical choice. When a person chooses to eat factory farmed meat, whether or not they understand the implications of that choice is irrelevant to the social support they have given that industry. People around them will see that choice and feel comfortable making it themselves. On the other hand, just as Foer notes that a vegetarian in a group of friends can be the determining factor in where the group eats, that same friend can influence their group to eat a vegetarian option, as well. The mere act of eating a vegetarian meal gives exposure to options outside of meat, and even the selective omnivore can call attention to ethically sourced meat options. Following Foer’s logic, each person who eats vegetarian meals may be able to convince, intentionally or by exposure, another person to make the same choice. This practice is a form of social osmosis, a process in which people absorb information about social trends and content through exposure over time, and when a person chooses to abstain from meat in front of friends and family, they inevitably absorb the possibility for meatless meals and alternatives.