Carson Sperry
Philosophy of Food
12/12/16
Real Men Eat Beets
Whether it’s a commercial with a daisy dukes wearing Kate Upton straddling a bail of hay provocatively shoveling a burger into her face or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posing on a magazine cover under the headline “Body by Beef” gender-targeted advertisements are everywhere. In very few industries is this gender-targeted approach as obvious as it is in the meat industry. The meat industry has made it a point to unrelentingly push the narrative that real men eat meat, a lot of meat, and a lot of very bloody meat. In the paragraphs that follow I will argue that, gender targeted advertisements, specifically in relation to the meat industry, are harmful in the way that they prevent the advancement of society in social, economic, and agricultural capacities. To supplement my argument I will be making references throughout my essay to the book chapter, Meat Eating and Masculinity, by Nancy M. Williams. In her chapterWilliams argues that eating meat is not the action of a defiant man. The choice to consume meat is the choice of a docile man. It is a choice that is informed by societal norms and our fears of breaking those norms. Williams argues that the failure of our society, specifically within the male population, to critique the “real men eat meat” narrative will result in issues with both health and self-expression within the male population. I will also refer to some facts and figures from the documentaryCowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014), which covers the many falsehoods and the extensive corruption within and around the meat industry.
One of the most problematic byproducts of these gender-targeted advertisements is that they reaffirm harmful and illogical gender roles. Williams uses philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s design for the Panopticon prison to help define the context in which we make our food choices. The Panopticon is a prison that is designed to encourage its inmates to self-police. Due to the central location of the guard tower the inmates are always possibly in view. With this in their minds the inmates are constantly self-policing and staying on the straight and narrow to avoid any conflict with the guards. It is in that same paranoid state, Williams argues, that human beings make their food choices, “All of us constitute our identities through what we eat and men who do not eat meat in our culture are often described as effeminate, abnormal, or homosexual” (153).In this excerpt Williams is making the point that men order meat because of societal norms and expectations. These norms and expectations, pushed by the media and advertisements, say that a man who orders a vegetable heavy meal is not a man at all, but instead—in classic high school bully fashion—a sissy. This narrative is not only harmful to all men for sheer health reasons, but it is also totally illogical. The notion that an entirely or primarily plant-based diet can make a man abnormal or less masculine is bizarre, beyond that, the idea that food choices have any relation whatsoever to sexuality is just illogical. I think it is safe to bet that there are some carnivorous homosexuals out there just as there are some vegan ultra-masculine men as well.
Another major issue with the heavy meat diet narrative is that it promotes an unhealthy lifestyle. As I mentioned above it is not uncommon to see articles in magazines like Men’s Health that promote the consumption of meat above all other foods for the purpose of building muscle. Much of this muscle-building hype is centered on beef. This sentiment has leaked into our language even; bigger boys are often described as “beefy” and large in-shape men can be described as “beefcakes”. This is a dangerous narrative to push especially when considering the startling number of health issues that are associated with the (over)consumption of red meat. Issues like, increase risk of cancer and heart disease, as well as high cholesterol. This narrative also works against balancing diets. A diet that calls for red meat all the time has less room for some of the essential nutrients that can only be provided by fruits and vegetables. As Williams puts it, “to eat like a man is to subject oneself to chronic illness and early mortality” (153). One important point that Williams doesn’t mention in this chapter is the impact that the meat industry plays in obesity in this country. According to a 2009 study in the International Journal of Obesity, red meat, with its high energy and fat contents, plays a large role in the obesity crisis in the US today (Wang). Thus, the meat industry’s impact on obesity in America puts a massive and unnecessary burden on the health care system and the taxpayers that support it.
My third issue with meat industry’s force-feeding of the American people with gender-biased advertisements is that these ads that promote a way of eating that our earth simply cannot sustain. The fact is that that environmental impacts of raising the massive amount of livestock that we need to sustain our current eating habits are severe. According to the Cowspiracy documentary, “Livestock and their byproducts account for at least thirty-two million tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions”. This excerpt raises the question, if livestock is currently producing roughly half of all worldwide gas emissions, how can we, as constantly growing world population, continue to eat as much meat as we currently are? The answer is that we cannot. A meat-centric diet simply is not a sustainable way to eat. Livestock emits too much greenhouse gas through their feces and flatulence and it requires too much space for grazing, space that could be used for growing more sustainable food sources like fruits, vegetables, and grains. So when Carl’s Jr. airs that commercial with three gorgeous women asking you “wanna have a three-way” releasing a new triple stacked cheeseburger for just $2.49 what they’re really doing is peddling an outdated agenda rooted in a nonsensical belief in the efficiency of factory farming and the illogical connection between meat and masculinity.
There are many people, however, who object to the idea of switching to a primarily plant-based diet for a number of reasons. One common reason some people believe we shouldn’t taper back on our meat intake is that the meat industry is an essential aspect of our economy. Some argue that if Americans were to drastically cut back on their meat intake then the meat industry would collapse causing catastrophic issues within our economy. People who argue on this side make a good point, however, there are things our government could do in order curb the negative economic effects of cutting back on meat consumption. Farmers working in the meat industry currently receives billions more dollars in subsidies from the government than farmers primarily producing fruits and vegetables. I argue that if the government began a slow separation from all of its ties to the meat industry, a new infrastructure could then be created that supports a more sustainable agricultural profile and a healthier dietary makeup.
In a world where everyone is always connected to one media outlet or another it is nearly impossible to avoid advertisements. That being said, it is more important than ever to become an informed consumer. While societal constructs, norms, and expectations may pressure and influence the food choices we make it is key to remember that food is a socio-political-ethical aspect of daily life, and thus has wide ranging impacts on ourselves and those around us. With that in mind, we need to make the most of our choices when it comes to food by supporting sustainable diets and demanding the reworking of the currently outdated infrastructure that the meat industry operates within. The power here is in numbers, if the people demand that meat play a lesser role in the makeup of our daily diets then the industries, and the advertisements that accompany those industries, will change as well.
Works Cited
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret. Dir. Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. N.p., n.d. Web.
Wang, Y., and M. A. Beydoun. “Meat Consumption Is Associated with Obesity and Central Obesity among US Adults.” International Journal of Obesity 33.6 (2009): 621-28. Web.
Williams, Nancy, M. “Meat Eating and Masculinity: A Foucauldian Analysis.”Just Food: Philosophy, Justice, and Food. By Jill Marie Dieterle. London: Rowman & Littlefield International, 2015. 141-56. Print.