The Gist: Good afternoon VegNews Book Clubbers! We have entered the third week of reading Animal Camp by Kathy Stevens, with whom we will be having a Q+A with next week, so be sure to send your questions to lorwig@vegnews.com before next Monday.This week's section are mainly stories from Catskill Animal Sanctuary, and how they have touched Stevens life. As mentioned before, Stevens' wrote this book to show readers how each and every animal—even within their own species—are individuals. Her stories help to convey this point—not all of them being happy. Also, she delves deeper into her thoughts of anthropomorphism, believing it is a false term.
The Discussion: I hope you're enjoying the book so far! Here are two discussion points, and I look forward to your thoughts.
1. We find out in this section that Stevens still feeds her dog and cat meat, and explains why she does. What are your thoughts on this?
2. What do you think about the term anthropomorphism? Do you agree with Stevens' opinion that it is a myth?
The Assignment: Please read the rest of Animal Camp for our discussion on Monday, October 25.
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
New to the bookclub, but am loving Animal Camp! For the discussion, I did think it was odd at first to find out that Stevens feeds her dog and cat meat. I haven't researched animal diets at all, but I feel that if dogs and cats can live healthfully without meat, that's what I would choose.
ReplyDeleteAs for anthropomorphism, I do think its a myth. I think its extremely egotistical of humans to say we are the only species who possess emotions. Anyone who says otherwise has probably not spent much time with animals!
Good to hear from you Jennifer! I personally don't own any pets, so I haven't had to make the decision to feed them meat or not. I believe I would most likely feed a dog a vegetarian diet, but due to the fact that cats are much more carnivorous, there's a possibility that I would feed them meat—it's hard to say at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about how anthropomorphism doesn't really pertain to animals, but it is also a term used for other non-living things, such as plants and forces of nature. I realize though that Stevens was just relating it to animals.
~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig
"We find out in this section that Stevens still feeds her dog and cat meat, and explains why she does. What are your thoughts on this?"
ReplyDeleteI feed my dogs vegan dogfood and they thrive. I see no reason to give them animal products.
She says she wants her dogs to eat a diet that "replicates the one his wild relatives have consumed throughout time." Well, she should look at some coyote scat. In my neck of the woods, coyote poop is full of legumes: mesquite tree pods. That's one source of protein that my dogs' "wild relatives" consume. Certainly, she'd be hard-pressed to argue that her dog's wild relatives at kale, pumpkin, and fish supplements along with dead birds.
We should get real about dogs. They're not eating anything remotely similar to what their wild relatives eat. They eat kibble or they eat home-made food. Either way, they can be vegan NO PROBLEM.
"What do you think about the term anthropomorphism? Do you agree with Stevens' opinion that it is a myth?"
No, I do not think it is "a myth."
I prefer JSF's explanation in Eating Animals, found here:http://eatinganimals.com/site/book/
Scroll down and read the first 5 definitions.
And I liked Jeffrey Masson's take on it in When Elephants Weep.
I thought that Stevens' explanation is a little too simplistic and it misses the larger point:
Anthropomorphism is the way humans _should_ see the natural world. It make sense to use our own experiences to understand the lives of others. That's natural, normal, healthy, and useful! Darwin knew that.
Anthropomorphism is only a mistake when it's inappropriately applied, as in the case of rocks or plants.