How about becoming a mostly vegetarian? Avoid eating meat… unless it would be really inconvenient to do so.
I think that would pretty much do away with the ‘it’s a minor inconvenience’ objections. However, I suspect it would also diminish most of the social and psychological benefits of vegetarianism—as willpower training, proof to yourself of your own virtue, proof to others of your virtue, etc. Still, this might be a good option for EAists to consider.
It’s worth keeping in mind that different people following this rule will end up committing to vegetarianism to very different extents, because both the level of inconvenience incurred, and the level of inconvenience that seems justifiable, will vary from person to person.
suspect it would also diminish most of the social and psychological benefits of vegetarianism—as willpower training, proof to yourself of your own virtue, proof to others of your virtue, etc. Still, this might be a good option for EAists to consider.
I can train my willpower on many other situations, so that’s not an issue. So it’s about the virtue, or more precisely, signalling. Well, depending on one’s mindset, one can find a “feeling of virtue” even in this. Whether the partial vegetarianism is easier to spread than full vegetarianism, I don’t know—and that is probably the most important part. But some people spreading full vegetarianism, and other people spreading partial vegetarianism where the former fail, feels like a good solution.
I think that would pretty much do away with the ‘it’s a minor inconvenience’ objections. However, I suspect it would also diminish most of the social and psychological benefits of vegetarianism—as willpower training, proof to yourself of your own virtue, proof to others of your virtue, etc. Still, this might be a good option for EAists to consider.
It’s worth keeping in mind that different people following this rule will end up committing to vegetarianism to very different extents, because both the level of inconvenience incurred, and the level of inconvenience that seems justifiable, will vary from person to person.
I can train my willpower on many other situations, so that’s not an issue. So it’s about the virtue, or more precisely, signalling. Well, depending on one’s mindset, one can find a “feeling of virtue” even in this. Whether the partial vegetarianism is easier to spread than full vegetarianism, I don’t know—and that is probably the most important part. But some people spreading full vegetarianism, and other people spreading partial vegetarianism where the former fail, feels like a good solution.