Ag in Hawai'i

In a recent unpleasant encounter with the Vegetarian Society of Hawai'i, I was able to see why the country thinks of vegetarians as impractical and uppity.  Along with the usual slogans about how it's bad to kill animals, the girl sitting behind the desk threw terms like "sustainability" and "organic" around with such flippancy, you could instantly tell she hadn't a clue what she was talking about. 

A personal choice to be vegetarian started 15 years ago, and in its current form for me means eating fish as well on choice days of the week (usually before paddling or soccer practice).  It was only after I went to school to line up my ethical side with my professional career did I realize how arbitrary, in a way, the decision is.  My professional interests led me to aquaculture, where colleagues were quick to scoff at a choice of being veggie. 

Vegetarianism can be based on religious and ethical arguments, or arguments related to industrial agriculture, or on health issues.  I argue that the health issues ones that stand on the least ground - while it is possible to be a healthy vegetarian, I'm not convinced it is a routine thing.  I spent years losing my hair and feeling tired as a result of not having the proper balance, and many friends gained a lot of weight.  It is not appropriate for a teenager, from a health perspective, in my opinion.  

The industrial agriculture arguments have some validity.  The cruelty of those facilities, and the philosophical stance that animals, too, can feel pain, have social networks, and can be "happy", means that the idea of growing food in the form of meat thousands of miles away seems horrendous.  Animals require feed that needs its own land to be produced, and ranchers need to use antibiotics to keep diseases at a minimum. 

But should an animal hunted in the wild in Alaska, and then consumed by the hunter, be put into the same category?  I don't think so.  If part of the reason I feel uncomfortable with industrial agriculture facilities is that I think that animals, too, have a soul or spirit that is individual, then a hunter or rancher who actually considers his flock as an integral part of life rather than a commodity is approaching the issue from another angle.  

Those who want to lump "sustainability", "organic" and "vegetarianism" into the same category, and,  say that their vegetarianism is an environmental decision rather than a spiritual one, are misguided.  In 2010 sustainability no longer carries any meaning at all - what kind, and for who?  for what?  How do organic practices have anything to do with choosing a non-violent path and not eating meat?  

In Hawai'i, and on O'ahu, agricultural land is quickly disappearing.  While corn is moving into our communities, people continue to eat meat raised far away.  I fully support organic agriculture, but only with the understanding that the there is too much grey area surrounding what is or is not organic.  I instead would rather put my energy towards a new local agriculture movement that doesn't discriminate based on organic, but rather on general agriculture practices.  This is a lot harder to show on paper.