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Building a Library Collection on Ethical Vegetarianism

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Building a Library Collection on Ethical Vegetarianism Building a Library Collection on Ethical Vegetarianism Kerry Walters SUMMARY. This article discusses six interrelated categories of re- sources on ethical vegetarianism, and reviews titles for each of the six essential categories for libraries. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.] KEYWORDS. Vegetarianism, ethics and food, carnivorism, animals in religion There are numerous reasons to embrace a vegetarian diet. Many peo- ple who do so say that health is their primary motive. However, an in- creasing number of people abstain from using animal products for religious and moral reasons. These three motives–health, religion, and Kerry Walters is the William Bittinger Professor of Philosophy, Gettysburg Col- lege, PA. He is the author and editor of seventeen books, including Ethical Vegetarian- ism from Pythagoras to Peter Singer and Religious Vegetarianism from Hesiod to the Dalai Lama (both co-edited with Lisa Portmess). Address correspondence to: Kerry Walters, Philosophy Department, Box 404, Get- tysburg College, Gettysburg PA 17325. [Haworth co-indexing entry note]: “Building a Library Collection on Ethical Vegetarianism.” Walters, Kerry. Co-published simultaneously in The Reference Librarian (The Haworth Information Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc.) No. 86, 2004, pp. 81-91; and: Animals Are the Issue: Library Resources on Ani- mal Issues (ed: John M. Kistler) The Haworth Information Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc., 2004, pp. 81-91. Single or multiple copies of this article are available for a fee from The Haworth Document Deliv- ery Service [1-800-HAWORTH, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail address: docdelivery@haworthpress. com]. http://www.haworthpress.com/web/REF 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Digital Object Identifier: 10.1300/J120v41n86_08 81 82 ANIMALS ARE THE ISSUE: LIBRARY RESOURCES ON ANIMAL ISSUES morality–are not, of course, incompatible. But, generally speaking, one motive will be given priority over the other two by individual vegetari- ans. Those people who adopt a vegetarian diet primarily because they are persuaded that it is the moral thing to do hold a position known as “ethical vegetarianism.” Ethical vegetarianism has a lineage that stretches back to antiquity. As might be expected, it can be difficult to draw clean distinctions be- tween ethical and religious defenses of vegetarianism; this is particu- larly the case in ancient history. The ancient philosopher Pythagoras (6th century BC), for example, argued for the merits of a fleshless diet on the grounds that all life is kindred. Part of his argument for this claim is clearly based on the moral claim that one ought not to harm one’s “family.” But his underlying assertion that humans are akin to animals in turn is based on the religious conviction that human souls reincarnate in animals, so that eating an animal could literally be devouring a family member. The demarcation between ethical and religious defenses of vegetar- ianism is easier to discern today than in Pythagoras’ time (there is, however, still some ambiguity–where, for example, would Gandhi be positioned?). But another taxonomic difficulty has taken its place: where to locate vegetarianism in the expanding literature of animal rights and environmental ethics? Contemporary arguments for ethical vegetarianism are frequently embedded in wider moral concerns about animal welfare, ecological integrity, and human rights. Sometimes it is difficult to tease them out. Michael Allen Fox and Carol J. Adams, for example, draw interesting connections between the use of animals as food products and ecofeminism on the one hand and social construc- tions of gender on the other. Moreover, not all animal rights theorists or factory farm critics espouse vegetarianism, although their analyses could certainly be used as foundations for a defense of vegetarianism. The point is that literature on ethical vegetarianism is complex and multi-faceted, and frequently spills over into areas of inquiry that tradi- tional ethicists might hesitate to call “moral” and ethical vegetarians might hesitate to call “vegetarian.” The acquisitions librarian seeking to enrich holdings in ethical vegetarianism, then, should be prepared to search for titles that may not seem immediately relevant. Contrary to the old maxim, apples sometimes do fall far from the tree. Building a solid collection of ethical vegetarianism sources, then, will involve collecting works in six related categories. Kerry Walters 83 1. Reference works on vegetarianism that include ethical vegetarian- ism. 2. The history of ethical vegetarianism. 3. Comprehensive defenses of ethical vegetarianism. 4. Animal rights as it pertains to ethical vegetarianism. 5. Ethical vegetarianism and the food industry. 6. Ethical vegetarianism in relation to human and ecological con- cerns. These categories aren’t written-in-stone, but are useful for locating a good variety of materials. What titles are essential for each category? Opinions will obviously vary. I list here what I consider to be the mini- mal essential works in each. Almost all of the works referenced here have rich bibliographies that the industrious librarian may consult to help grow a collection. GENERAL REFERENCE WORKS • Two indispensable reference works for any collection are Judith C. Dyer’s Vegetarianism: An Annotated Bibliography (Scarecrow, 1982. 081081532X) and Charles R. Magel’s Keyguide to Informa- tion Resources in Animal Rights (McFarland, 1989. 0720119847). Dyer’s bibliography is conveniently sorted by year and subject, so essays on the ethical dimensions of diet are easily located. Magel’s guide to the literature of animal rights includes references to vege- tarianism. Unfortunately, both of these volumes are out of print, but it’s well worth tracking down used copies. • A bit more accessible than Dyer and Magel is the annotated bibli- ography included as an appendix to a reprint of Henry S. Salt’s An- imal Rights Considered in Relation to Human Progress (Society for Animal Rights, Inc., 1980. 0960263209). The first part of the bibliography (pp. 137-169) compiled by Salt, lists pertinent works from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. The second part (pp. 179-218), compiled by Charles R. Magel, picks up where Salt left off and runs through to the 1970s. • John M. Kistler’s Animal Rights: A Subject Guide, Bibliography, and Internet Companion (Greenwood Press, 2000. 0313312311) chronologically takes up where Magel’s bibliography leaves off. Containing over 900 well annotated entries, Kistler’s book in- 84 ANIMALS ARE THE ISSUE: LIBRARY RESOURCES ON ANIMAL ISSUES cludes dozens of references (easily accessed through the index) to literature pertinent to ethical vegetarianism. An essential resource. HISTORY OF VEGETARIANISM • There’s no doubt that the preeminent resource is Howard Wil- liams’ nineteenth-century improbably subtitled The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh Eat- ing. Williams’ book is a history of ethical vegetarianism from an- tiquity through his own lifetime, and is especially helpful in locating lesser-known figures. This book has long been unavail- able, but thankfully a reprint edition has appeared in 2003 from University of Illinois Press (0252028511). • Williams’ book offers only short quotations from the historical line of ethical vegetarians. Ethical Vegetarianism from Pythago- ras to Peter Singer, edited by Kerry S. Walters and Lisa Portmess (State University of New York Press, 1999. 0791440443) com- piles essential writings from the ancients through to contemporary writers. The book also contains an appendix that collects represen- tative voices from critics of ethical vegetarianism. • Colin Spencer’s Vegetarianism: A History (4 Wall, 8 Windows, 2nd edition, 2002. 1568582382) is the standard narrative history of vegetarianism. It contains very good discussions of various moral defenses of a meatless diet from ancient times to the present, east as well as west. This edition is a reprint of Spencer’s earlier The Heretic’s Feast. • The new edition of Spencer’s book is unfortunately titled, because it’s easily confused with Jon Gregerson’s Vegetarianism: A His- tory (Jain Publishing Co., 1995. 8075730302). Gregerson’s ac- count of vegetarianism through the ages is compact–perhaps too much so–but it still offers a decent introduction to anyone who lacks the time to plow through Spencer’s massive tome. • Daniel A. Dombrowski’s somewhat misnamed The Philosophy of Vegetarianism (University of Massachusetts Press, 1984. 0870234315) is a scholarly analysis of the ancient Greek defense of ethical vege- tarianism. A groundbreaking book, it still remains the only sus- tained treatment of ancient vegetarianism. • A popular history of human mistreatment of animals that touches on ethical vegetarianism is Gerald Carson’s Men, Beasts, and Gods: A History of Cruelty and Kindness to Animals (Scribners, Kerry Walters 85 1972. 68413716X). Especially pertinent is Chapter 13, “Going the Whole Way: Vegetarianism,” pp. 127-135. COMPREHENSIVE DEFENCES OF ETHICAL VEGETARIANISM • An extremely popular overview of vegetarianism that has much to say about its moral dimensions is Erik Marcus’s Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating, revised edition (McBooks Press, 2000. 0935526870). It may be the single best popular
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