I Am a Strange Non-Mammalian

A couple of months ago I stopped eating mammals. I'd dabbled in vegetarianism before for health reasons, but this time it's different. Lately I've been getting a lot of questions from friends—usually at a meal, where discussing the topic can be awkward—so I'm writing up my thoughts here. I'm not trying to persuade anyone to think differently or change their behavior. Just explaining myself.

It started while I was reading I Am a Strange Loop, in which Douglas Hofstadter attempts to identify the crux of self, or I-ness. In one part, he notes that the species on Earth form a continuum from little or no consciousness (e.g. an amoeba) up to us humans. Language was a huge step forward for us, but despite that advantage, some other animals are surprisingly close to us. Consider: bonobos, dogs, dolphins, and crows. Many non-human species are clearly capable of experiencing emotions, meaningful relationships, and logical reasoning.

To get to the heart of the matter, we all draw the will-eat/won't-eat line somewhere. For many people it falls along our species boundary. For exocannibalists it falls along the tribe boundary. Sometimes the line subdivides a species, like when a child on a farm names a piglet. She won't eat it, but she won't necessarily pass up a ham sandwich either.

It's easy to look down from our vantage point at the top of the food chain and feel entitled to eat whatever we please. To me, though, abstaining from eating our nearest neighbors on the consciousness continuum is like rooting for the little guy or tipping my hat to the unpopular kid. Pick your favorite metaphor. And it's also about respecting the incredible phenomenon that we call life.

"Are turkeys mammals?" "What about fish?" "Why stop at mammals?" These are some of the questions I've gotten. Answers: "No," "Yum," and "Well, this is the right place for me right now." I don't feel too bad about fish. They don't seem to have much going on between their earholes. Birds are a little less robotic. I rationalize by reminding myself that their ancestors ate mine for millions of years.