Vegans/Vegetarians: would you work around meat?

Where do you draw the line with your "interaction" with meat/animal products?





Would you work in say, a department store that sells a line of perfume tested on animals?





Would you work in a store that sells fur coats, leather purses and shoes, and perfumes and makeups?





What about working in a restaurant? Would you be a door-person or a greeter and never go to tables? Would you be a server? Dishwasher? Cook??





A "grocery supply" stocker - someone who stocks groceries (including milk, eggs, meats, etc) for delivery in boxes in big warehouses, preparing them for delivery to Wal Marts and AFFES's around the world?





Would you drive a truck to deliver meat? Would you unload it from the trucks?





Could you ring people's food up at a grocery store? Including raw meats, cosmetics etc?





What job would you ideally have as a vegetarian/vegan?





I've never flipped burgers but I've been close to them. I can't handle it myself, but have had to work in industries that handle it.

Vegans/Vegetarians: would you work around meat?
What a luxury it must be to be able to pick and choose where you work. Most people don't have this luxury.





I am a vegan but there have been times in the past few years when I would willingly have taken a job at McDonalds.





I reckon people saying 'oh no, I never could' must have very secure jobs or - more likely - are still being supported by their parents or someone else whose financial support they can fall back on.





Mr Meat describes it as a compromise of commitment 'just to make money'. Yes, money that you need 'just' to pay the rent and the bills.





Losing my livelihood (I was self-employed) because of a life-threatening illness and long term treatment, and having trouble finding regular employment since has perhaps made me less picky about where I would work than some people are apparently fortunate enough to be. But not, I think, less principled or committed. .
Reply:I'll answer these one by one :)





Department store: Yes, I would work there. You said "a" line of perfumes -- not too bad to only have one





Fur Coats/Leather Purses/Cosmetics: NO! Fur and leather gross me out





Restaurant: Hostess, yes. Server, dishwasher, busser, cook, no.





Grocery store: No to being a stocker as you describe





Meat Truck Driver: No.





Grocery store cashier: No.





Flipping burgers: NO!








It might be fun to work with other vegetarians and vegans at a natural foods, veg*n store or veg*n restaurant.
Reply:My answer may sounds sort of hypocticical but I'll give it a shot.





I would never work in a deli of a short, chopping up meat and such. However I would work in a restruant as long as I did not prepare the meat. I would greet people at the door and serve them there meal.





It is very hard to find a place that does not at all sell products tested on animals. I wouldnt like it but would work at a store that had some tested on animal products if I really had to. Since probably 99% of stuff is.





No I would not be a truck drive that delivers meat. Anything where I have to come that close in contact I would not. Delivering it with a truck would also involve working for some kind of butcher of sorts wich I am completly against and would some how ending up seeing things I don't need to. Therefor I would not work in that sort of enviroment.





I would work as a cashier selling the product, but deep down it would be bothering me. It would be somthing I had to just try to ignore since I would need the money to live.
Reply:I suppose if one is true to their commitments and to avoid the hypocritcal and sanctimonious labels, one has to go all the way and sacrifice a bit.





Certainly, supporting an industry that one abhors .... i.e. contributing to the feeding, slaughtering and sale of meat and factory farming . . . indicates a "commitment of convenience" and a relativity of values just to obtain money is really no commitment at all.





There is a sacrificial quality to ethical commitments not to be satisfied by secondary or puny efforts to be faithful to those commitments.





In the case of being gung-ho for the ethical treatment of animals, not buying leather is of non-consequential importance if one is selling feed to people for the fattening and slaughtering of animals.





It's like being against the death penalty but supplying last meals for those who are to be executed.
Reply:When I first became veg at 16, I worked in a deli as a cashier. Now that would probably be too close for comfort. If I was to work in food service again (not that I intend to) it would have to be in a veg restaurant. I also wouldn't work in any capacity that directly supported factory farming (like driving the truck that delivered meat.) Something like a department store or grocery store checker would be tolerable. I can handle the fact that the whole world hasn't gone veg (yet!)





My own job in the mortgage industry is pretty veg-neutral. No meaty issues to tackle on a daily basis. It's deadly boring and we go through a LOT of paper so it's not the greenest line of work I could be in, but your examples have me thinking it's a pretty good place to be.
Reply:You cannot completely disconnect your self from the meat indfustry,its built into society.





For example, should you post question on this site which gets revenue from traffic by selling adverts to meat companies ( like Sainsbury's in the UK ) ?





Should you shop in any supermarket that sells meat as you are giving them profit ?





You have to do your best, thats all you can do.





Examples of things that would be out for me:


working directly with meat


owning a mixed food resturant


shares in a slaughter house


buying stuff from MCDonalds etc


buying leather


buy meat products for other people


selling animals for slaughter





....but i do produce hay, straw, beets etc as by-products of my cereals and pasture. So what do i do with them ?? Just burn them, or put them up for sale ?? Would it really be right to burn 3,000 bales of hay just so beef farmers can't buy it ?





I agree with Mr Meat, who incidently has copied my profile - I'm quite flattered, my attempt at vegetarinism is of non-consequential importance. In fact, why don't i just close down the farm and re-open as a beef farm. Picking at people who are at least making some effort is the easiest thing to do, there is always something more we can do. I could point out how much I actually do, how much money i actually loose on giving up land to animals, or the lengths i go to to bale up as "8" bales that are more suitable to horse owners and small holders who have house cows and sheep. but what would be the point ? this forum is full of perfect meat-eaters just waiting to knock you down. Criticism of others is a great distraction technique to stop you looking at your own morals.





Actually...being against the death penalty and providing the condemed person with thier last meal might actually be considered a good thing to do. You would not be supporting his death, would you ? You would be showing him respect by making his life as confortable as you could within your power.
Reply:I'm vegiatarian and I work in a cafe. As long as I have my gloves on while making sandwichs, its okay. I don't think I'd like to be the one cutting the meat though.
Reply:There is almost no job you can have that doesn't, if you follow the money, contribute profit to the meat and/or dairy industries.





I am a vegan and I worked for a corporate coffee shop which used an incredible amount of milk every day. I didn't like that fact, but I had no real crisis of conscience working there. I was broke and it was a job. As many have said, I would not be a butcher or have similar contact with meat, but only because I find it personally disgusting, not because I feel it goes against my vegan ideals.





I am currently working as a paralegal, so I'm safe, but if I had to work with milk again, I would.
Reply:too early to read all that but no i wouldn't!
Reply:i dont think i oul be able to, it makes me feel slightly ill when i see my family eating it. i would never work for people like mcdonalds or KFC no-metter what the job was
Reply:I'm a vegetarian and I work at taco bell. I feel that it's okay because it's my personal choice to not eat meat and that all I'm doing is preparing it for others...
Reply:You've got to pay the bills. That said, I wouldn't take such a job unless I was unable to find anything else. I would quit as soon as I did find a good alternative.



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