As part of my ongoing series on eating and ethics, I decided to explore the herbivore’s dilemma next.  While many people are aware of the complex issues raised by meat consumption, most folks don’t think nearly so hard about their salad.  In truth, vegetables are pretty complicated too.

For instance, even organic agriculture displaces and directly or indirectly kills wildlife.  Farmers confront numerous threats to their crops, including woodchucks (groundhogs), deer, rabbits, squirrels, and so on.  These animals have to be kept away from the growing vegetables using methods ranging from noise and smell to extermination.  That doesn’t even cover the insects and mollusks, which are often subjected to mass extermination, if not by poison, then by means of germ warfare, introduced predators, and mechanical and crystalline traps.

If you’ve ever put Diatomaceous Earth around your tomatoes, you’ve participated in the same wholesale warfare on insects.  I’m not objecting to it, nor suggesting that it’s morally or ethically wrong- I just want you to understand and accept what you’re doing.  For the record, diatomaceous earth consists of the tiny crystalline skeletons of ancient microscopic water organisms.  These dried-out skeletons suck the moisture out of insects.  They are also quite sharp and act like giant caltrops or razor wire on insects and mollusks, potentially wounding or killing them.  If you imagine trying to pick your way through a salty desert covered in shards of glass, that’s pretty much what diatomaceous earth is like for insects.

As I said, I don’t fault anyone for using the stuff, I just feel that it’s important to acknowledge the true nature of our tools and to accept responsibility for how and why we use them.  After all, those insects are trying to steal your food- robbing you, literally, of the fruits of your labor.  Since we can’t reason with them, deterrence and extermination are the only major tools left to farmers and gardeners who want to keep pests off of their crops.  That’s reasonable, but only when we do it with our eyes open.

It’s also important to recognize that plants do feel pain- not with nerves like we do, but with biochemical signals that trigger behavioral changes in various tissues.  It’s not pain as we know it, but the alienness of their sensations doesn’t invalidate them.  Heck, it wasn’t long ago that some people used the “logic” that *insert group of people* didn’t “feel the same emotions we do” as an excuse for persecution, genocide, or worse.

So, do we stop eating plants?

Not on your life.  Until scientists develop a nanotechnological process for converting raw elements like carbon and oxygen into things like amino acids, carbohydrates, and vitamins, we are faced with a stark choice- eat other organisms or die.

The key here, just as with eating meat, is to recognize the reality of the situation and work on the parts that rightfully make you uncomfortable.  Let’s make a quick list of some of the issues inherent in eating fruits and vegetables:

Global Grocery Grid issues-  The worldwide marketplace for agricultural products has created some dilemmas for the ethical eater:

• Biodiversity – Many plants are grown as a limited number of cultivars (breeds of plants), which increases susceptibility to disease and insect infestation.
• Transportation – Many plants can only be grown year-round in places far from where we live.  You can’t grow oranges outdoors in Minnesota, nor winter tomatoes in Virginia.
• Water Use – Intensive farming for the worldwide market requires a lot of water, and many of the areas that are good for growing year-round (like southern California) don’t have a lot of water.
• Invasive Species – Transportation of food, especially raw foods, from one region to another is a major way that nonnative species become a hazard to the natural plant and animal life in an area.

Ecological Impact issues- Aside from those problems mentioned above, even local farming can have negative impacts:

• Habitat Loss – While farming can actually create habitat for species like deer and woodchucks, it also brings those species into more direct conflict with Man.  This can encourage farmers to clear land more aggressively or to step up their pest control, which then drives these animals out of their current territories and leads to overcrowding.
• Energy Use – Many types of farming, especially for staple crops like grains, require enormous expenditures of fossil fuel in the process of production.
• Chemical Use – Many farmers use huge amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, often at levels where even natural (“organic”) alternatives could be harmful.  This is tied to limited biodiversity and soil depletion and can cause water and air pollution.
• Soil Depletion – Numerous factors encourage overuse of arable land, leading to lower soil fertility and reduced bioavailability of helpful minerals.

Wow, that’s a bit of a giant list!  I’m sure that if you put your mind to it, you could find some things that I missed.  Holy cow!  How can we possibly eat ethically, given the shear volume of issues involved in a purely vegan diet, let alone eating meat and dairy?

The answer is simple:  We identify the things we can and cannot change, change what we can, and resolve to do better.  This is the same basic approach that I suggested in my meat-eating article.

Let’s start with supper tonight- maybe you are planning to pick up potatoes and corn.  While you are at the grocery store, take a moment to actually read the bags that the potatoes are in.  Which potatoes came from closest to you?  If you can afford those potatoes and they will work in your recipe, buy them.

Why not buy the “organic” potatoes from Idaho instead of the spuds from Maine, even if you live in New England?  First of all, the USDA gutted the meaning of “organic” and replaced it with something that was attractive to factory farmers.  Second, you should buy more locally because three or four times as much fuel was likely used to move the Idaho potatoes (of course, if you live in Oregon, it’s the other way around).  Third, because if you live closer to the farm, you are more likely to be able to connect with the farmer.

Why would you want to connect with the farmer?  Well, let’s say that truly organic food (not “organic” “food”) is important to you.  Or, maybe you’re worried about habitat loss or water pollution.  If you can actually pile into the car and drive to the farm, you might find out about those things.  For instance, maybe the nearby farm doesn’t use artificial fertilizers or pesticides but can’t legally use the term “organic” because of some legal hurdle.  You might also have the opportunity to influence the farmer if you don’t like the way they are doing something.  Let’s say that you drove by the farm and saw a big manure pile right next to a stream.  As a loyal customer, you have more clout than some random jerk from the big city simply because you can withdraw your financial support.

Think about that for a second- does Walmart really care that a bunch of earthy-crunchy hippies are boycotting its stores?  No.  The hippies weren’t shopping there to begin with.  Walmart does care, though, when a bunch of blue-collar working stiffs decide that they want pesticide-free spuds instead of the usual poisoned potatoes.  Use your influence where you have it- close to home in the places you are already spending your time and money.

This article is getting long-winded, so I’ll wrap up very simply.  We all have the power to eat ethically, be it animal, vegetable, or mineral (salt, for example).  To do so, we have to really think through our decisions and their consequences.  We need to accept what we cannot change (for now), work on the things we can, and resolve to do better.  We also need to stop beating ourselves up over things that are perfectly natural.  It is unethical to deny who we are because that clouds the understanding we require to do anything with clarity and honesty.