Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: 1. The purpose of the first chapter was to give a short introduction to the study. Philosophy is the search for wisdom; to know what a virtuous life is and to know what the morally correct thing to do is. Our lifelong relationship with animals, our attitudes towards them and the ways we treat them are some of the issues that beg philosophers to think. An important question in this regard is if it is morally correct to eat meat or should humans become vegetarian. To answer this question the „Animal Liberation‟ argument, as presented by Peter Singer, was critically analyzed. Does this argument balance our concern for animals with human interests? 2. To understand our attitude towards animals, reviews of the Judeo-Christian and philosophical traditions were done in Chapter 2. The different views related to these traditions were also discussed. The Judeo-Christian view is based on the interpretation of Genesis and the idea of human dominion. Philosophical views on the moral status of animals and moral consideration of animals can be classified in three categories namely indirect theories, direct-but-unequal theories and equal moral status theories. 3. The nature and extent of the current beef production debate was discussed in Chapter 3. The most important issues were the environmental impact of beef production, socio-economic and human health concerns as well as ethical issues related to the inhumane treatment of animals. It was then concluded that most attacks on beef production were biased and did not take context into account. 4. The „Animal Liberation‟ argument was critically analyzed from a logical perspective in Chapter 4, 5 and 6 by using the so called FRISCO approach – with emphasis on the Focus of the argument, Reasons given for the conclusion, the quality of Inferences, the Situation or context of the argument as well as the Clarity of the argument. This argument lacks objectivity and rationality. It includes a number of fallacies, false statements and emotional language. Ideas, concepts and principles were not applied consistently. The argument was therefore found to be unsound. 5. In Chapter 7 the conclusion was stated namely that the “animal liberation” approach could not formulate a sound argument for a vegetarian diet. The „Animal Liberation‟ argument was also unable to balance our concern for animals with human interests, in the process compromising human dignity and freedom. However, human attitudes towards animals and the treatment of animals need to be improved. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 1. Die doel van die eerste hoofstuk was om ʼn kort inleiding tot die studie te gee. Filosofie is die strewe en soeke na wysheid; om te weet wat ʼn deugsame lewe is, en om te weet wat moreel korrek en aanvaarbaar is. Ons verhouding met diere, ons ingesteldheid teenoor diere, asook die manier hoe ons diere behandel, is slegs enkele van die kwessies wat filosowe dwing om daaroor na te dink. ʼn Belangrike vraag in die verband is die volgende: Is dit moreel aanvaarbaar om vleis te eet, of moet die mens ʼn vegetariese dieet volg? Om hierdie vraag te beantwoord word die “Animal Liberation”-argument, soos aangebied deur Peter Singer, krities ontleed. Is hierdie argument in staat om ons kommer oor die behandeling van diere met menslike belange te balanseer? 2. Om die mens se houding en ingesteldheid teenoor diere beter te verstaan, word ʼn oorsig van die Joods-Christelike en filosofiese tradisies in Hoofstuk 2 gedoen. Die verskillende sienings, wat verband hou met hierdie tradisies, word ook kortliks bespreek. Die Joods-Christelike siening is gebaseer op ʼn spesifieke vertolking van Genesis en die idee van menslike heerskappy. Die filosofiese sienings van die morele status, en gevolglik ook die morele inagneming van diere, kan in drie kategorieë, naamlik indirekte teorieë, direk-maar-ongelyke teorieë en die gelyke-morele-status teorieë, opgedeel word. 3. Die aard en omvang van die beesvleisproduksie-debat word in Hoofstuk 3 bespreek. Die belangrikste kwessies, onderliggend aan hierdie debat, het betrekking op die omgewingsimpak van vleisproduksie, sosio-ekonomiese en menslike gesondheidskwessies, asook etiese kwessies wat verband hou met die onaanvaarbare behandeling van diere. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die meeste aanvalle op vleisproduksie eensydig is en ook nie konteks in ag neem nie. 4. Die “Animal Liberation”-argument word in Hoofstuk 4, 5 en 6 krities ontleed vanuit „n logiese perspektief met behulp van die sogenaamde FRISCO-metode – waarin die klem val op die Fokus van die argument, Redes wat aangevoer word vir die konklusie, die gehalte van die afleidings, die Situasie of konteks van die argument, en die helderheid van die argument. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die argument nie objektief en rasioneel is nie, en gebuk gaan onder denkfoute, vals stellings en emosionele taal. Idees, konsepte en beginsel word ook nie konsekwent toegepas nie. Die argument is dus nie betroubaar nie. 5. In Hoofstuk 7 word die bevinding van die tesis gestel, naamlik dat die “animal liberation” benadering nie „n betroubare argument vir ʼn vegetariese dieet kon formuleer nie. Die argument was ook nie in staat om ons kommer oor diere met menslike belange te balanseer nie, en het in die proses menslike waardigheid en vryheid gekompromitteer. Die mens se houding en behandeling van diere, moet egter verander.

Cada vez mais pessoas estão se tornando adeptas do vegetarianismo em diversos locais do mundo, incluindo o Brasil. Justificativas de caráter ambiental figuram entre as principais motivações para a adoção desta dieta, a qual é considerada por muitos como uma forma de alimentação mais sustentável. Isso se deve ao fato de que a indústria pecuária tem sido apontada como uma das contribuintes mais significativas para muitos dos grandes problemas socioambientais modernos. Paralelamente, há um crescente debate, marcado por controvérsias, sobre o impacto da produção animal, em escalas e lógicas industriais atuais, no aquecimento global antropogênico e, além disso, sobre como uma redução no consumo de alimentos de origem animal poderia contribuir para a mitigação das mudanças climáticas. As declarações, opiniões e argumentos em torno do assunto mostram discordâncias em vários aspectos e em diversos âmbitos, inclusive acadêmico, se entrelaçando em um debate interdisciplinar que envolve estimativas de emissões da pecuária industrial, possibilidades e limitações na adoção de dietas baseadas em plantas, comparativos entre eficiências energéticas e ecológicas, implicações hipotéticas de alterações nos sistemas de criação de animais convencionais, padrões e tendências no consumo de carne, questões de segurança alimentar e nutricional, dentre outras temáticas que agregam complexidade à discussão. O estudo, que objetivou compreender se um vegetarianismo ambiental poderia auxiliar a mitigar emissões antrópicas de gases de efeito estufa, foi guiado pela metodologia da cartografia de controvérsias sociotécnicas, que possibilitou identificar e revisar os tópicos mais importantes em toda a discussão, bem como as principais subcontrovérsias e argumentos que a compõe, especialmente no que diz respeito ao conhecimento científico. / People have increasingly been becoming vegetarian all over the world, including Brazil. Environmentally-oriented justifications figure amongst the main motivations for the adoption of this diet, which is considered by many as a more sustainable eating habit. This is due to the fact that the animal industry has been pointed out as one of the most substantial contributor for many of the current large socio-environmental problems. Concurrently, there is an increasing debate, characterized by controversies, about the impact of animal production, in the current logics and dimensions, in anthropogenic global warming and, besides that, about how a decrease in the consumption of animal products could contribute for the mitigation of climate change. The declarations, opinions and arguments regarding the subject show discrepancies in many aspects and in many spheres, including the academic, intertwining in an interdisciplinary debate which involves animal farming emission estimates, possibilities and limitations in the adoption of plant based diets, comparatives between energetic and ecologic efficiencies, hypothetical implications of alterations in the conventional animal farming systems, patterns and tendencies in meat consumption, matters of food and nutritional security, among other matters which add complexity to the discussion. The research, which aimed to comprehend if an environmental vegetarianism would help mitigate greenhouse gases anthropic emissions, was guided by the methodology of sociotechnical controversies cartography, which made possible to identify and review the most important topics through the entire discussion, as well as the main subcontroversies and arguments which compose it, especially concerning the scientific knowledge.

Este trabalho analisou questões de Ética Animal nos quadrinhos de Turma da Mônica Jovem e Chico Bento Moço, revistas em estilo mangás retratando personagens de Mauricio de Sousa como adolescentes. Para isso, foi realizado um panorama sobre a relação entre Estética, Ética e cultura popular, com destaque para estudos de Jean-Marie Guyau e foi verificado o histórico do pensamento ético sobre os animais na História do Mundo, desembocando em Tom Regan, Gary Francione, Sônia Felipe e Carlos Naconecy. Também se realizou um histórico da representação dos animais na História das Artes Visuais, com destaque para Franz Marc; e o mesmo com os quadrinhos infantis de Mauricio de Sousa, com destaque para o porco Chovinista; uma história em que Chico Bento tentava degolar um peru, mas se arrependeu; o tiranossauro vegetariano Horácio; e as tentativas do personagem mudo Humberto de libertar um canário e um peixe-dourado do negro Jeremias. Entre os autores estudados para as análises, destacam-se Umberto Eco, pela metodologia de interpretação de texto; Antonio Candido, pelos estudos do personagem de ficção; e Mikhail Bakhtin, pela estética do Grotesco. Nas revistas em estilo mangá de Mauricio de Sousa, foram analisados o seu discurso extra-ficcional e princípios gerais enunciados pelos protagonistas sobre os animais; a relação entre humanos e animais selvagens perigosos, silvestres inofensivos e animais de estimação. Verificou-se elevada valorização do critério ambiental, exceto quando está em jogo o consumo de animais. Os casos anteriores foram comparados com a representação do tratamento dos animais mortos e explorados na indústria alimentícia: porcos, vacas, galinhas, peixes e abelhas. Verificou-se que discursos dos protagonistas e o extra-ficcional do autor de amor, paz e proteção generalizados pelos animais são frequentemente incoerentes com atitudes observadas nos personagens e em relação às mensagens identificadas nas histórias, com destaque para a pesca recreativa de Chico Bento. Foi verificado o fenômeno do \"afetismo letal ou coisificador\", termo cunhado nesta pesquisa para designar que, diferentemente do que ocorre na realidade, há certos animais tratados pelo mesmo protagonista com afeto e outros da mesma espécie mortos ou escravizados por seus hábitos de consumo ou atitudes diretas. Cenários idílicos no campo comunicam mensagens enganosas em relação ao que ocorre via de regra no meio rural com os animais; assim como não se valorizou e informou adequadamente sobre os alimentos mais saudáveis na dieta vegetariana. Personagens vegetarianas foram identificadas e análises sobre sua representação e associações decorrentes foram deduzidas. Elas são novidade nestes quadrinhos, porém são exclusivamente mulheres e bruxas com poderes sobrenaturais, com particular e coincidente exposição de seus corpos. Positivamente quanto aos direitos animais, destaca-se história em que a protagonista Mônica e a vegetariana Denise resgatam porcos lembrando uma ação direta de ativismo da Frente de Libertação Animal (ALF); e outra em que Mônica demonstrou aversão ao trabalho na pecuária, apesar de não ser vegetariana. Magali, a personagem de Mauricio de Sousa tradicionalmente mais associada à alimentação, demonstrou forte tendência ao vegetarianismo, além de ocorrerem muitos episódios em que expressou sua compaixão pelos animais e sensibilidade. / This work analyzed issues on Animal Ethics in the comics Turma da Mônica Jovem and Chico Bento Moço, publications in manga style picturing characters by Mauricio de Sousa as teenagers. First, we made a panorama about the relationship among Aesthetics, Ethics, and popular culture, with highlights to studies by Jean-Marie Guyau; we traced the ethical thinking on animals in the World History, arriving to Tom Regan, Gary Francione, Sônia Felipe and Carlos Naconecy. We researched the representation of animals in the History of Visual Arts, with highlights to Franz Marc. The same with the childish comics of Mauricio de Sousa, emphasizing the pig Chovinista; a story where Chico Bento tried to behead a turkey, but regretted it; the vegetarian Tyrannossaurus Horácio; and attempts of the mute Humberto of releasing a canary and a golden-fish from the black Jeremias. Among the characters studied for the analysis, there are: Umberto Eco, for the methodology of text interpretation; Antonio Candido, for studies on the character of fiction; and Mikhail Bakhtin, for the aesthetic of the Grotesc. In manga comics of Mauricio de Sousa, we analyzed his extra-fictional discourse and general principles enunciated by the main characters about the animals; the relationship between humans and savage dangerous animals, innofensive wild animals and pets. We noticed how high valued was the environmental criterium, except when the consumption of animals is at stake. The former cases were compared to the representation of the animals killed and exploited in the food industry: pigs, cows, chickens, fish and bees. We noticed that discourses of the characters and the extra-fictional discourse of generalized love, peace and protection for animals are often incoherent with attitudes observed in the characters and in relation to the messages identified in the stories, mainly noticing the recreative fishing by Chico Bento. We verified the phenomenum of \"letal or slavering affectism\", concept created in this research to designate that, differently from reality, there are certain animals treated by the same character with affection and others of the same species killed or slavered by his or her habits of consumption or direct attitudes. Idyllic scenaries in the rural area communicate deceiving messages in relation to what happens usually in the rural zone with animals; also, the healthiest vegetarian food were not valued and adequately informed. Vegetarian characters, novelties in these comics, are exclusively women and witches with supernatural powers, and with coincidental exhibition of their bodies. Positively for animal rights, there\'s importance in a story where the character Mônica and the vegetarian Denise rescue pigs, which remind us a direct action of activism by Animal Liberation Front (ALF); and other story where Mônica revealed aversion to working with cattle exploitation, although shes not vegetarian. Magali, the Mauricio de Sousa\'s character traditionally most associated to food, expressed a strong tendency to vegetarianism, and we can see also many episodes in which she showed compassion to animals and sensitivity.

A busca por um estilo de vida saudável tem motivado diversos indivíduos a mudanças em seus hábitos alimentares. O crudivorismo, também conhecido por alimentação viva ou alimentação crua (raw food) destaca-se dentre as demais dietas vegetarianas devido aos seus fundamentos, princípios e estilo de vida. Os crudívoros se abstêm de aplicação térmica, pois argumentam que as comidas cruas contem as próprias enzimas digestivas que facilitam a digestão dos alimentos no organismo. Para evitar possíveis deficiências e interferências nutricionais e manter dieta predominantemente crua, os crudívoros necessitam de planejamento adequado e seleção de alimentos apropriados. O presente estudo tem por objetivo verificar a adequação nutricional de uma dieta crudívora composta por vegetais, grãos germinados, alimentos de diferentes fontes lipídicas e submetidas a três temperaturas de processamento. O preparo das dietas crudívoras e as análises químicas foram realizados no laboratório de Nutrição Humana, do Departamento de Agroindústria, Alimentos e Nutrição da Escola Superior de Agricultura \"Luiz de Queiroz\". Para a elaboração das dietas crudívoras foi utilizado uma dieta base, constituído de batata com casca, tomate vermelho cru, couve crua com talos e suco de limão. A esta dieta base foram acrescidas lentilha germinada ou lentilha não germinada e a estas amostras, amendoim germinado ou azeite de oliva. Posteriormente foram submetidas a diferentes temperaturas de processamento, 25 ºC, 40 ºC e 80 ºC. Os grãos de lentilha e amendoim foram germinados por 24 horas sob ausência de luz. As dietas foram classificadas como D1 (dieta base; lentilha germinada; azeite de oliva), D2 (dieta base; lentilha germinada; amendoim germinado), D3 (dieta base; lentilha não germinada; azeite de oliva) e D4 (dieta base; lentilha não germinada; amendoim germinado). O processo de germinação e o tratamento térmico interferiram nos teores da maior parte dos nutrientes analisados. A inclusão de lentilha germinada nas dietas crudívoras proporcionou o incremento nos teores de umidade, cinzas, carboidrato, fibra solúvel, vitamina C, cálcio, ferro dialisável e níquel dialisável e redução nos teores de proteína, fibra insolúvel, taninos, capacidade antioxidante por DPPH e ABTS. As dietas crudívoras a 25ºC apresentaram maiores teores de cinzas, taninos e cálcio e menores concentrações de ácido fítico, em contra partida, as dietas a 80 ºC apresentaram teores superiores de fibra solúvel, ácido fítico, vitamina C, capacidade antioxidante por DPPH e ABTS, boro, manganês, ferro dialisável e cálcio dialisável. As dietas crudívoras submetidas a 80 ºC apresentaram valores de referência de Coliformes a 45 ºC, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus e Samonella de acordo com resolução vigente. No entanto, as dietas a 25 ºC e 40 ºC apresentaram quantidade superior ao limite máximo estabelecidos dos microrganismos analisados. Pode ser observado que a inclusão de grãos germinados proporcionou maiores alterações nutricionais nas dietas crudívoras que o tratamento térmico. / The search for a healthy lifestyle has motivated many individuals to change their eating habits. The crudivorism, also known as living nourishment or raw food, stands out among the other vegetarian diets due to its fundaments and principles. The adepts of a raw food diet abstain from eating heated food, arguing that raw nutriment contains digestive enzymes that facilitate food digestion in the body. To avoid nutritional deficiencies, nutritional interferences and maintain a predominantly raw diet, proper planning is required, as well as a good selection of appropriate nourishment items. The present study aims at determining the nutritional adequacy of a raw food diet consisted of vegetables, germinated grains and foods of different lipid sources, which were subjected to three processing temperatures. The preparation of the raw food diets and its consequent chemical analyzes were performed in the Human Nutrition laboratory of the Department of Agroindustry, Food and Nutrition from the School of Agriculture \"Luiz de Queiroz\". For the formulation of such raw food diets, it was used a basis diet consisting of potato with peeling, raw tomato, raw kale with stalks and lemon juice. To this diet it was added germinated or non-germinated lentils and, to these samples it was added germinated peanuts or olive oil. Subsequently, they were subjected to different processing temperatures, 25º C, 40ºC and 80ºC. The lentil grains and peanuts had been germinated for 24 hours in absence of light. The diets were classified as D1 (basis diet; germinated lentils; olive oil), D2 (basis diet; germinated lentils, germinated peanuts), D3 (basis diet, nongerminated lentils, olive oil) and D4 (basis diet; non-germinated lentils, germinated peanuts). The germination process and heat treatment interfered on most of the compositions of the analyzed nutrients. The inclusion of germinated lentils into raw food diets provided the increase in moisture, ashes, carbohydrates, soluble fiber, vitamin C, calcium, dialyzable iron, dialyzable nickel as well as reduction of proteins, insoluble fiber, tannins and antioxidant capacity by DPPH and ABTS. Raw food diets at 25°C presented higher levels of ashes, tannins and calcium and lower levels of phytic acid. On the other hand, the diets at 80°C presented higher concentration of soluble fiber, phytic acid, vitamin C, antioxidant capacity by DPPH and ABTS, boron, manganese, dialyzable iron and dialyzable calcium. Raw food diets subjected to 80°C presented remarkable levels of Coliforms at 45ºC, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella, according to the current resolution. Nevertheless, diets at 25ºC and at 40ºC presented levels that were higher than the established limits to the analyzed microorganisms. It could be observed that the inclusion of germinated grains to raw food diets yielded higher nutritional changes than did the submission to heat treatment.

by Luo Hsiang Ying. / Thesis submitted in: June 1998. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-106). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Acknowledgments / Summary / List of Abbreviations / List of Tables / List of Figures Introduction and aim of the study --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 1 --- The nutritional status of vegetarian children-a literature review --- p.6 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Vegetarianism- past and present --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1 --- Definitions and Classification of vegetarian --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Vegetarianism-past and present --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Potential benefit of vegetarian diet to health --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Nutritional considerations --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- Energy --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Protein --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Calcium --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Iron --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Vitamin --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- "Sources of ""important nutrients in vegetarian diet" --- p.17 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Growth and development of vegetarian children --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3 --- Growth of omnivorous children --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Growth of vegetarian children --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Long term effect of vegetarian diet --- p.21 / Chapter 2.4 --- A reviews of local studies on Nutritional Status of Hong Kong Chinese children --- p.23 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Nutritional intake of omnivorous children --- p.23 / Chapter 3.1 --- Calcium intake and Bone Mineral Content of Hong Kong Children --- p.24 / Chapter 3.2 --- Growth Standards for Hong Kong children --- p.25 / Chapter 3.3 --- An overview of the present nutritional status of Hong Kong children --- p.26 / Chapter 3.4 --- A reviews of the methods of dietary assessment and anthropometric evaluation --- p.27 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Dietary assessment --- p.27 / Chapter 4.1 --- Methods for collecting dietary intake data --- p.27 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Selecting an appropriate method --- p.34 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Food composition tables --- p.34 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Anthropometric assessment of growth --- p.35 / Chapter 4.2 --- Measurement of height --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Measurement of weight --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Body fatness evaluation --- p.37 / Chapter 4.3 --- Using of skinfold thickness measurement to assess body fat --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Mid-upper arm circumference ratio --- p.39 / Chapter 4.4 --- Calculation of body fat from skinfold measurement --- p.40 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Subjects and Methods --- p.44 / Chapter 5.1 --- Subjects --- p.44 / Chapter 5.2 --- Methods --- p.44 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Anthropometric Measurements --- p.45 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Weight (wt) --- p.45 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Height (ht) --- p.46 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Skinfold Thickness --- p.46 / Chapter 5.2.5 --- Obesity identification --- p.48 / Chapter 5.3 --- Evaluation of bone mass in vivo --- p.48 / Chapter 5.4 --- Dietary Assessment --- p.49 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Estimation of food quantity --- p.51 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Nutrient intake data --- p.52 / Chapter 5.5 --- Blood test --- p.53 / Chapter 5.6 --- Data analysis --- p.54 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Results --- p.55 / Chapter 6.1 --- Sample size --- p.55 / Chapter 6.2 --- Anthropometric Measurement --- p.55 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Weight and height data --- p.55 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Skinfold thickness --- p.56 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Prevalence of obesity in study children --- p.56 / Chapter 6.2.4 --- Bone mineral density (BMD) --- p.56 / Chapter 6.2.5 --- Haematological and biochemical data --- p.57 / Chapter 6.3 --- Serum lipid profiles --- p.58 / Chapter 6.4 --- Diet assessment --- p.58 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Diet --- p.58 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Food consumed --- p.59 / Chapter 6.4.3 --- Seasonal variation of food --- p.60 / Chapter 6.4.4 --- Energy and Nutrient --- p.60 / Chapter 6.4.5 --- Comparison with UK vegetarian children --- p.65 / Chapter 6.4.6 --- Relationship between body fatness and current diet --- p.66 / Chapter Chapter.7 --- Discussion --- p.67 / Chapter 7.1 --- Lacto-ovo-vegetarian children have normal growth --- p.67 / Chapter 7.2 --- Vegetarian children can be obese --- p.67 / Chapter 7. 3 --- Advantages and disadvantages of Chinese vegetarian diets --- p.68 / Chapter 7.3.1 --- Calcium --- p.68 / Chapter 7.3.2 --- Iron --- p.68 / Chapter 7.3.3 --- Vitamin B12 --- p.69 / Chapter 7.3.4 --- Folate --- p.70 / Chapter 7.3.5 --- Fibre --- p.70 / Chapter 7.4 --- Conclusion --- p.71 / Chapter Chapter.8 --- Limitation of the Study --- p.72 / Chapter 8.1 --- Dietary record method --- p.72 / Chapter 8.2 --- Sample Size --- p.72 / Tables --- p.74-86 / Figure --- p.87-95 / References --- p.96-106 / Appendix I Dietary survey food frequency questionnaire / Appendix II Daily intake of individual food items

This thesis deals with children's concepts of food, especially with a focus on meat consumption and avoidance of consumption. It is an ethnographic study based on observations and interviews with children of the 4th grade of elementary school. The results are divided into four aspects of eating. The social aspect (1) deals with the sharing of food and with the social identity, the health aspect (2) examines children's concepts of the food's healthiness, the moral aspect (3) maps children's ethical considerations of meat consumption including legitimation and the cognitive aspect (4) discusses the cognitive issues of eating. KEYWORDS Alimentery taboo, vegetarianism, consumption and avoidance of meat, ethics, legitimation

Confessions of a Forager is a chronicle of Lauren Hudgins's adventures and mistakes while searching and eating wild food, and a questioning her vegetarian morals. Readers visit organized foraging projects through the Wild Food Adventures of expert John Kallas, the Mushroom Gathering at Breitenbush hot springs, and the Portland Fruit Tree Project, which turns a wasted bounty into an opportunity for public nourishment. Memoir sections of the thesis examine how food-related habits are passed down from parent to child, exploring the family's foraging history through perspective of the author's father. It is also a consideration of the community and personal relationships formed over noncommercial, hand-harvested food.

This thesis is a work of practical philosophy situated at the intersection of bioethics, environmental ethics, and social and political thought. Broadly, its topic is the moral status of nonhuman animals. One of its pivotal aims is to encourage and foster the “sympathetic imaginative construction of another’s reality” and to determine how that construction might feed back on to understandings of ourselves and of our place in this world that we share with so many other creatures. In the three chapters that follow the introduction, I explore a concept (vulnerability), a tradition in moral philosophy (the ethic of care), and a philosopher (Wittgenstein) that are not often foregrounded in discussions of animal ethics. Taken together, these sections establish a picture of other animals (and of the kinship that humans share with them) that can stand as an alternative to the utilitarian and rights theories that have been dominant in this domain of philosophical inquiry. In my fifth and sixth chapters, I extend this conceptual framework by turning to the work of Michel Foucault. Here, I develop a two-pronged approach. The first direction – inspired by Foucault’s work on “technologies of power” – is a broad, top-down engagement that explores many of the social apparatuses that constitute the power-laden environments in which human beings and other animals interact. I focus on the slaughterhouse in particular and argue that it is a pernicious institution in which care and concern are rendered virtually impossible. The second direction – inspired by Foucault’s later work on “technologies of the self” – is a bottom-up approach that looks at the different ways that individuals care for, and fashion themselves, as ethical subjects. Here, I examine the dietary practice of vegetarianism, arguing that it is best understood as an ethical practice of self-care. One virtue of my investigation is that it enables a creative synthesis of disparate strands of philosophical thought (i.e. analytic, continental, and feminist traditions). Another is that it demonstrates the philosophical importance of attending to both the wider, institutional dimension of human-animal interactions and to the lived, embodied experiences of individuals who must orient themselves and live their lives within that broader domain. This more holistic approach enables concrete critical reflection that can be the impetus for social, and self-, transformation.

The city of Palitana, India, has become the first region known to legally install de facto meat bans, essentially making Palitana a vegetarian city by law. These legal steps seem to be the direct result of social pressure put on local legislators in the form of a mass hunger strike performed by local Jain monks. This thesis is aimed at discussing the background of this case, its connections to a broader general discussion of moral and ethical vegetarianism, and arguments in favor of and against the legal installment of a meat ban in the Palitana case. It is concluded that although the meat ban is ideologically and theoretically speaking ethically justifiable and defensible it is in practice, at least in its current form, not ethically desirable.

Animal slaughter has recently become highly visible in popular food media. This thesis interrogates the myths, assumptions and ideologies underlying this so-called New Carnivore movement, through critical analysis of a range of popular gastronomic texts. Socially-constructed ideas about ‘reality’, ‘sentimentality’, ‘sacrifice’, and ‘redemption’ are intimately implicated in the process of animal slaughter, as are the notions of ‘good taste’ and social distinction. The domination of animals, demonstrated through the slaughter, butchery, and consumption of nonhuman bodies, is held to be an integral component in the performance of gender, as well as a means of reconnecting, via a kind of secular epiphany, with ‘Nature’ at its most authentic. As a hostile backlash against the social progress made by the animal advocacy and vegetarian movements, New Carnivorism denigrates vegetarianism and veganism as outdated, unfashionable, unnatural, puritanical and rude. Although these texts’ potential to inspire farmed animal welfare reform should not be ignored, New Carnivorism ultimately serves to naturalize, justify and promote the continued consumption of meat, and the continued exploitation of nonhuman animals, in Western societies.