Opposing Views: Sarah Silverman Explains Why She Does Not Eat Meat

Sarah Silverman Explains Why She Does Not Eat Meat

Opinion by PETA
(October 15, 2009) in Health / Vegetarian

Wherever Sarah Silverman goes, she seems to leave a stream of puzzled people in her wake. Are she and longtime beau, Jimmy Kimmel, on or off today? Is she really getting it on with Matt Damon? Is she Tom Selleck's long-lost sister?

But there is one thing that Sarah makes very clear: She doesn't eat meat. In the November 2009 issue of Marie Claire, the comedian/actress said the following:

"When I was 9 or 10 years old, my dad took me over to a neighboring farm to help get stuff for the meal. The farmer, Vic, told me to look at all the turkeys and pick one out. I saw a cute one with a silly walk and cried, 'Him!' Before my pointing finger had even dropped to my side, Vic had grabbed the turkey by the neck and slit [the animal's] throat. Blood and feathers went flying. I had sentenced that turkey to death! Up until then, I didn't know where meat came from—and I've been a vegetarian ever since."

Consider that the sight of one turkey being killed for Thanksgiving Day dinner years ago was enough to convince Sarah to go vegetarian. Then imagine how you can help lower the body count this Thanksgiving by sharing information about Butterball's cruelty to millions of turkeys with each and every meat-eater you know.

Regarding Opinion

Good for her

When I made the connection between the beautiful animals I saw and the meat on my plate, I wanted to become a vegetarian , too. But my mother was morally (or immorally, as the case may be) opposed and would not allow it. I didn't have the strength to stand up to her, so it wasn't until I graduated from college that I became a vegetarian and later a vegan. I'm raising my children on a vegan diet , and making sure they are aware of the suffering that our culture's addiction to meat and dairy products inflicts on millions of animals.

- Babaroni October 15, 2009 11:53AM

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That settles it.

If Sarah Silverman is a vegetarian , that settles it for me. I'm having a big, juicy, steak for dinner. Tasty, tasty murder .

- LagerHead October 15, 2009 12:45PM

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- Thanks
  
  Somebody needed to explain the crux of the argument for eating meat .
  
  - jordon October 15, 2009 12:53PM
  
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  - It's what I do.
    
    And I don't even charge for it. Call me a humanitarian.
    
    - LagerHead October 15, 2009 12:54PM
    
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    - You are
      
      Like a Public Service Announcement.
      
      - SolarSanitizer October 15, 2009 5:25PM
      
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  - Really?
    
    Do you suffer from amnesia then?
    
    - SolarSanitizer October 15, 2009 5:27PM
    
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    - Me?
      
      I don't think so...what was the question again?
      
      - jordon October 15, 2009 9:50PM
      
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      - lol.
        
        Good one.
        
        - SolarSanitizer October 15, 2009 10:13PM
        
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- You joke, but...
  
  This one' going to be tough, because there is so much to say. The first is that Silverman and PETA 's argument is purely an emotional one. While this may convince a few people, and there is no reason I should tell them not to make the argument, it is not the argument I would make, and certainly not to you (LagerHead).
  
  Having said that, your sentiment, which is not unlike that I've heard from many others, including some friends, is actually rather disturbing. Either you are making light and just having some fun, in which case you fail to consider the seriousness of the issue, or you really like to make digs at people (i.e. you are a troll), or you actually enjoy the idea of killing or causing pain to animals . Given the prevalence, I will assume your statement is based on the first motivation. If you are a troll then there's nothing I can say to change your mind, since you're just an ass, and if you enjoy the idea of killing or hurting animals, then you are even worse and there is nothing I can say to change your mind.
  
  So I will make the argument to you and to my friends that making light of the issue, while seemingly innocuous, in fact undermines this real issue in our society . Would you say, "you think child abuse is bad because you see kids being hurt, so I guess I'll go beat up some kid"? You wouldn't, because you would see that as a horrible thing to even say (in most contexts at least). Maybe you would say it because it would seem so absurd. Killing and eating animals is by no means absurd in our society, so you can't really make that statement in jest. So why do you not see the pain of animals as horrible as well? Here are a couple of reasons I've heard, and my counterarguments:
  
  1) Nature is cruel and many wild animals suffer. True, but that is not at our hands. We are explicitly creating animals for our own use, therefore we have some responsibility for how they live and die. Some suggest that the logical extension of preventing animals from coming to harm is to change the natural world as well, but we well know that we can do much more harm by altering ecosystems in unpredictable ways.
  
  2) We evolved to eat animals. True, but we have since evolved further both genetically, culturally, and technologically to the point where we don't need to eat them anymore. I would argue against those who say that animal-free diets are necessarily healthier, but one can have a healthy diet without meat .
  
  3) They just taste too good. Again true. However there are so many cuisines and dishes that are meatless and enjoyable that if you were to truly explore you would wonder why our society eat so much meat in the first place. There are even combinations that aren't common in restaurants that are rather simple to make at home. I make stir-fry or chili often, and I get plenty of good reviews from my non- vegetarian friends.
  
  My personal view is that animals are in fact better off if we raise them and kill them humanely for food and whatever other byproducts result. In fact up until the rise of factory farms that generally was common practice. While people have made claims over whether it is right or not to eat meat for ages, only recently have some of these new issues arisen. I personally don't each much meat, but the meat I eat is all free-range/organic.
  
  If by chance you've managed to read all the way to this point, I thank you and hope that you can at the very least respect the issue even if you choose to continue to eat meat.
  
  - ToddG October 15, 2009 1:12PM
  
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  - I did get to that point.
    
    I really don't care if someone chooses not to eat meat . I once went without eating meat for 6 months, and I will confess I felt great and I lost 12 pounds that I needed to lose doing it. But like you said, it just tastes so darn good.
    
    My dig was more at Sarah Silverman than anyone. It never ceases to amuse me how people take celebrities so seriously just because they're on TV/movies, no matter how brainless they are (Michael Moore, anyone?). No disrespect to vegans /vegetarians intended.
    
    - LagerHead October 15, 2009 1:21PM
    
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    - I hear you
      
      The celebrity culture is pretty bothersome to me too, though given the environment if I were a celebrity I'd probably use the media for issues that I thought were worth my time to promote. It shouldn't matter who you are, but it does :-/
      
      In terms of respect or disrespect, while some people might be personally insulted, that sort of stuff never bothers me personally. I just get concerned sometimes that certain comments will set the tone that the issue isn't serious. If I were with friends who I knew were familiar with the issue, I'd probably laugh if someone made that sort of comment. Given the way I know some people think about meat and "bleeding heart liberals" or whatever, in public forums I respond a bit differently.
      
      As for Silverman, her reason is a perfectly valid personal reason not to eat meat, but frankly I'd be embarrassed to put it out on the public stage.
      
      - ToddG October 15, 2009 1:43PM
      
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      - embarrassing
        
        What is embarrassing about her story? She saw where that the meat that gets to her table was once a living creature and found that her desire to eat meat did not trump her desire not to kill another living creature.
        
        - MrBook October 16, 2009 7:08AM
        
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        Re: Embarrassing
        
        It's not the story that is in and of itself embarrassing, and when I reread the story I realized that she told the story in a magazine interview , so I retract the statement that I'd find it embarrassing. I would however be embarrassed to present such a story as an argument for becoming vegetarian if I were explicitly promoting vegetarianism because it is a good personal story and not a good convincing argument. So that's why I said what I said, but given the circumstances under which she related the story, I've got no issue.
        
        - ToddG October 16, 2009 7:56AM
        
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  - Respect the issue
    
    The problem with this is that the PETA folks are off the chart extreme. It is literally nonsense to restrict hiring at hospitals to those who are vegetarians, for example.
    
    I tried to be a vegetarian . It was not too bad. My wife complained all the time, because she just liked to eat meat . I literally fell off the wagon to appease her. However, I restrict the meat that I eat. I definitely do not approve of hunting , because it really is inhumane. Paradoxically, however, I enjoy fishing . Yes, PETA fans, I know that fish feel pain. I still eat them. I do not like farmed fish because of where fish are farmed. Just give a fishing rod and reel, line and hooks, bait or artificial lures, and I am a very happy person.
    
    When push comes to shove, animals taste good. They have nutritional value.
    
    - Rashi18 February 4, 2010 2:55PM
    
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Sarah Silverman

Who the heck is Sarah Silverman and why would I care what she has to say? I have been eating Butterball turkeys for 50 years and hope to for another 50.

- Jda999fine October 16, 2009 3:55AM

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