co worker's turkey hunting
ok, this is what happened...
i am a teacher and i was escorting my upper grade level students to resource when a coworker ( and friend) told me that he was going 'turkey hunting' next weekend. i glared at him and said, that is horrible! i told him a was a new vegan (7 months) and disapproved of hunting. he said, 'we gotta control the population!' i wanted to say more, :-X but i had to be professional so i let it go. my students know i am vegan and later asked me about killing animals for food. i want to educate them, but i do not want to cross any cultural, familial, professional, or religious grounds. what do i say to;
1. hunters who i ONCE dated ???
2. my students who see my lunches and can read my bumper stickers.
thanks in advance
veronica
Wow, that's a toughie. Seeing turkeys in the wild was the thing that made my partner and I quit eating meat... they're lovely, and there is NO WAY that the population is out of control.
My father is a hunter. I find that the only thing I can really say to him is that it's not for me, and, if pressed for details, that I find it to be overly expensive, dangerous (not the guns-- the camping/hiking in strenuous circumstances and poor weather only once or twice a year, with no prep), and frivolous. Or if you have social concerns (i.e. cruelty to animals can lead to cruelty to people), you can raise them. If you're very concerned, do research into the social behavior and population level of the animal being discussed, and be prepared to assert your opinion that the population is fine without a bunch of yahoos with guns "controlling" it-- if you have the facts to back it up.
Personally, I find it better not to get into this argument. Chances are that the hunter thinks his/her lifestyle choice is "natural" and pro-environment, and s/he may have religious "evidence" to back it up (i.e. Adam's stewardship over the animals, etc.) This conversation will only upset you and your opponent, not convince either of you, 99 times out of a hundred.
Humans make a huge impact on all animal populations, of course. Pro-hunting organizations (such as Ducks Unlimited) are some of the most influential environmentalist lobby groups we've got, too. As bad as they seem, they may be less awful than the factory farms that slip under the radar of the gentlest omnivore.
As for discussing it with your students... well, I think it's a wonderful opportunity to present them with the notion that there are multiple ways to choose your diet. It might be fun to research how animals and plants are cultivated cross culturally, and to present them with a quick and inviting look at horticulture and hunting in small-scale societies, household-level farming, truck farming and agribusiness on the large scale we see today, and subcultural lifestyle choices like vegetarianism, veganism, and (yes) modern meat/sport hunting.
Expect parents to come after you if Johnny uses your example to declare himself to be vegetarian... my parents went through the roof when I was a kid and went through many veg "phases," and wanted very much to know "where got it." Lucky me, it was all my own idea. :) So if you don't want to discuss it with Mom & Dad (and possibly the school board), try to be informative rather than proselytic.
Best of luck, and my full sympathies and warmest thoughts are with you-- that's a hard, hard situation and I am often in your shoes.
I think we should remember that you don't have to be veg*n to disapprove of hunting.
Ducky is right, be informative. I would say give your students a carefully thought out website or two abut being veg*n. That way the information is coming from someone other than you.
Or maybe you could do something in a lesson plan about all different kinds of diets people eat around the world...? World education and not focusing on the veg*n part so much still provides an oppertunity to talk about it.
Age of the students is a big factor here... I'd be offended if someone talk to my less than teenage child about HIS eating habits being incorrect/unhealthy/bad... I mean imagine how many of us are told, "You can't get enough protein that way.." or the like... if someone (in a position of authority) was telling my child that and undermining what I've tried to teach him about how we eat, I'd be livid. (Just playing the devil's advocate here!)
Definitely-- and I can't help but think that moms & dads struggling to put ANY food on the table would be unhappy to see their older-than-toddler kids go through another food rejection phase, regardless of how moral or health-conscious it might be.
Oh, so true! I'm just warning, from my perspective as a hunter's child, that hunting might have religious/moral grounding that's very tough to reason with, and that to those who practice it, it feels very pro-active.
By the way, Veronica66, I think you did right to speak your piece and then hold your tongue rather than wrangling; the kids asking you questions shows that your initial reaction made an impression.
Baypuppy, that sounds like a great way to talk to kids that age about it... not by telling them what they eat is bad... but why what you eat is good! :)
Kids today are too isolated from the natural state of what they eat. They think that milk comes from cartons, as do eggs. The reality of how a KFC meal is produced is not in their experience.
We see wild turkeys when we visit family. They are wonderful. We were up to Wyoming recently and saw the wild deer. Every doe had at least 2 fawn this year, some even had 3! Natural forces predict the numbers of young each year. They had a really wet spring up there with lots of food and so there are a lot of new fawn. A year ago, we were lucky to see one fawn per doe, many didn't seem to have any. Turkeys are the same way. This year there were lots of baby turkeys and it just hurts our feelings to think that they could be shot.
I agree, focus on why what you eat is good and be careful with the politics of your choices. My kids are vegan AT HOME and I pack lunches I am not sure are even eaten. What they do outside of my house, I can't control. I have 3 teenagers still living at home and that is a tenuous time. The youngest is a tofu addict and I have to keep her from eating a full pound of it everyday, such is her love and addiction of this food. My thing is that I really do not want to eat an animal's fear and since I get to hear animals on the way to "processing" and it turns my stomach, I feel a little better knowing that I am making soy for supper and not creating a demand for more animals to be "produced" and "processed." (really big ewww here...and these words were chosen with care)
We when visit Wyoming, the family is full of ranchers and they can't see the choices we make as valid. It is a different culture. I did notice that the Safeway carries tofu which is good because I have to feed us separately when we visit.
i would like to thank those of you have responded with some very insightful answers! ;D ;D i think once all of the 'teaching to test well' drama is all over, i will definitely plan on teaching a unit about dietary habits from around the world. as was mentioned, a lot of children nowadays have no idea that people eat differently, live differently, are different from their current social circles. especially where i teach, if you are even the least bit different, you are shunned. :'( i will no doubt be careful about 'preaching' the joys of veganism to them- their parents are not to be 'messed with.' thanks so much for the oppurtunity to express myself, to be myself, and to come to a forum with such tolerant, accepting, and wise people. you guys ROCK!!!
veronica