Jul 15 2008
A Very Good Article on Vegetarianism
The Washington Post frequently holds chats and publishes a column by veterinarian Dr. Michael Fox. He tends toward the holistic treatment of animals. If you’re like me, you just choked on your morning coffee or slim-fast. But not so quickly - his website of published musings shows how thoughtful he is. He’s a healer concerned with questioning ethics, and we all know how I feel about people who ask questions.
I was searching for his site because Inari is due for her annual veterinary check-up and there’s been quite a hullabaloo lately about animals being over-vaccinated. I wanted to educate myself on what vaccines I should be providing her so I can argue with the vet again (like I did about Feline Leukemia vaccine last year). I found his site, and plenty of others, and they all say much the same thing about vaccinations, much of which I expected. Inari-pants will be getting her Panleukopenia, Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus (all of these are listed as “core” vaccinations) and her rabies (which I wouldn’t give her if the state didn’t make me). Anyway, I saw he had written at length about animal liberation, vegetarianism, cows in India and so I started reading the rest of his site.
When I hear the word “holistic” bandied about, I expect a level of non-thinking, new-age crap. I was surprised at the level of discourse and knowledge on a variety of topics that presented itself in his writing. Here’s a particularly good quote from his article on vegetarianism:
I have no sympathy with those moralists and idealists who engage in cultural imperialism and ethical colonialism by imposing their shallow values on other peoples and cultures without regard for potentially harmful consequences and in ignorance of the reality of situational ethics. Ethical veganism may work well in one situation or context, but not in others. Since the only moral or ethical absolutes are compassion and equalitarianism, which are appropriate for all contexts and situations, we can say this: That it is ethical to humanely kill some animals, and have those humans and other animals in dire need consume them.
The distinctions he draws in this article and valid and important for a discussion on ethics in veganism and vegetarianism. I honestly have no comment to add to it. It’s well-written, it says a lot of things I wish I had the knowledge or foresight to say or think about. I admire that.
In fact, as a direct result of the intelligence, reasoning and critical thought he shows, I’m seriously considering his directive towards making your own pet food.
I like Dr. Fox, though I don’t agree with everything he says. I like the quote you quoted (heh).
Part of the reason I really like my vet is that they are OK with my “holistic” (my version of holistic is NOT new-agey-crap) treatment of the dogs/cat and my questioning of vaccinations. When I wanted a recipe for homemade pet food for Claw to help her with her struvite crystals (instead of feeding her prescription cat food), they gave me one. They don’t look at me funny when I say I feed my dogs a grain-free-plus-raw diet (which works for them but I admit that it might not for all pets).
Good luck just getting those three vaccinations — sometimes the vet clinics don’t have them separate. If they don’t and you+M are comfortable with giving Inari vaccinations yourself, you can order them online without a prescription from either Dr.Foster&Smith or Lambriar Vet Supply. It’s pretty easy to do (we usually do vaccinations ourselves, except for rabies).
I never even considered giving her a vaccination. I imagine it’s probably pretty easy if you have an obedient pet, and some pets probably would prefer to have vaccinations at home. I’m not sure how comfortable Michael or I would be doing it, though.
What is the recipe for the food you make claw, and do you use your food processor or some other fancy kitchen appliance? Most of the recipes I’ve seen entail organ meats and while I understand they’re full of vitamins, I’m not so comfortable handling them, or most meat in general. I guess I have to stop being such a pansy about it.
I for one am definitely looking forward to puréeing chicken gizzards in our shiny new food processor.
I did some checking, and Anne Arundel County law doesn’t require Inari to be vaccinated against rabies every year. The applicable county code refers to the table of currently marketed vaccines listed by the CDC here. For the most popular vaccines, this means she needs to be vaccinated this year and then again every three subsequent years.
I have seen many people complaining online about vets administering three-year vaccines every year. Our particular county law is clear enough on the subject that I don’t think anyone would do it here, but it might be worth making sure we get a 3-year certificate from the vet if she gives Inari a 3-year vaccine.
oh! and all of my pets (now) get 3-yr rabies vaccines which I have much less of an issue with vs. 1-year. It’s usually a legal issue as to who can get what. In Seattle I had an option with Claw: 3-yr or 1-yr. They explained that it was actually a different vaccine at that particular vet/area. I think most places have moved to 3-yr. Generally though, at 1-yr they have a vaccine and that one can be a 3-yr (the kitten/puppy rabies vaccination is not a 3-yr, I guess).
Giving a vaccination isn’t that difficult. With Claw, I held her and N did the injection. With the dogs it is really easy. But if you’re needle-squeamish or tentative about it, that’s probably worth having the vet do it.
As for Claw’s food — here’s the recipe. The only kitchen appliance I use for it is the rice cooker because otherwise it’s mostly canned stuff (and tofu). Note that it is one that is specifically tailored to her struvite-crystal-prone condition. I wouldn’t put my cat on it if my cat didn’t have that problem (and she’s off it now due to the question about whether she is thiamin[e] deficient or not). The dogs do get raw organ meat but the most I do with that is cut it into slightly smaller pieces.