Why
Lions Don't Justify You Eating Meat
by Laura Maria Grierson
For some reason, the apex predator of the African savannah has become a role model for those who believe that humans eating meat is – and should remain – the natural order of things. But why do meateaters turn to lions to justify their eating habits, and is there any relevance to it?
Why is the Lion the Poster Child of Eating Meat?
Why the lion? For starters, there aren't really any predators larger than a fox in the UK, and a fox doesn’t have quite the same connotations: the British fox may prey on “vermin” such as rats and rabbits, but it’s also a scavenger, occasionally spied creeping through cities or going through bins. It’s hard to convey any gravitas with a fox, particularly when they are also considered “prey” in foxhunting. A lion, however, garners a lot more respect, not only in its hunting of six hundredpound zebras but also in how we perceive its very movements: the fox slinks, the lion strides. Even in their prey role as the victims of trophy hunting, they have the dignity of being stalked and shot by a human, a stark contrast to how the fox is harried over long distances and torn apart by other non human animals. Despite the trophy hunting, humans prefer to see themselves as the predator rather than the prey – to kill is preferable to
being killed, after all. But the lion is even more appealing to associate with due to its moniker “king of the jungle” and its regal connotations. More than that, the lion represents a gender dynamic that proponents of traditionalism are nostalgic for: the female prepares the food and rears the young, while the male struts around his harem, occasionally engaging in territorial violence. The lion is a reminder of a bygone age, the antimillennial standard.
Modelling a Lion’s Behaviour
The lion may seem a model of stately elegance and masculinity, perhaps in the style of a nineteenthcentury country gentleman, but it engages in behaviour that most of us – hopefully – would consider immoral. When a male lion takes control of a pride by killing or driving off the ruling male, he will also kill the young: this is to bring the females back into heat so that his own genetic line can be furthered. If we could consider any animal worth emulating, it’s unlikely that the lion would rank as a worthy role model – but why would we look to the animal kingdom for examples of morality? Animals exist in a situation where to kill is to survive, and to not kill is to starve to death. A lioness does not have the option of choosing a veggie burger, and it’s debatable whether she can comprehend a moral argument as humans can.
seedling magazine | 36
