One of the annoyances that accompany reading both the pro and anti-vegetarian literature is that many of its authors have pathetic analytical skills. Take Lierre Keith from the anti-vegetarian side as one example. She’s got a new article in the Mother Earth News which is apparently a rehash of the points made in her book, The Vegetarian Myth.
Keith’s article is full of pompous non-sequitors, of which this is my favorite:
The vegetarian Pied Pipers have the best of intentions.
Since when does a Pied Piper ever have the best of intentions? Perhaps I’m missing something, but isn’t the whole point of being a Pied Piper to murder every child in the village?
Her entire article is stuffed with sloppy analysis interwoven with New Agey babble. There’s a market for this sort of crap, of course. Just as your less savvy spiritual seekers adore Deepak Chopra, somebody like Lierre Keith will tell your less discerning conscientious omnivores exactly what they want to hear.
I could point out some of the failings of Keith’s arguments, but that work has already been done for me—and done remarkably well in very little space. Check out this well-informed, scathing review of Keith’s book from a Ph.D. archeology student. Really, you must read the review; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a book so authoritatively discredited. (Thanks, Lindsey.) Link.
