This is a very interesting conversation to me b/c dd14 and I are embarking on some research in this very area. We recently joined a local meetup group of vegans and, in speaking with someone we met at one of their get togethers, she expressed the opinion that she didn't understand how I could be married to someone who lacked empathy (dh is not vegetarian). I talked with dds about it later and said that I do believe that early vegans/vegetarians tend to be more black and white and judgmental (this lady was a fairly recent "convert"), but that I really reject the notion that people who understand the atrocities in factory farming (dh has certainly been exposed to that through watching videos like Food, Inc.) yet are willing to continue to eat meat obtained from such sources (dh is) are insensitive, evil, amoral, or innately cruel.
Despite whatever problems we have, I can honestly say that dh is not insensitive or uncaring about suffering of others including animals. Perhaps some of it is my belief system (Buddhism is big on many path to enlightenment), but I also don't necessarily think that others need to follow my same path.
What dd and I are undertaking to figure out, though, is what it is that makes one person be exposed to documentaries, books, or other knowledge about animal suffering, factory farming, or simply animals being killed for human consumption and decide to stop eating them and others to make a different decision. We're wondering about social and cultural factors as well as innate differences. The only studies that I have found about potential innate factors, though, are related to IQ and found that higher IQ kids were more likely to become vegetarian. As you all point out, though, some of these kids take the info and make choices more in line with Michael Pollan's arguments for farming differently, but not ceasing to consume other living beings and I do think that is a valid choice as well.
If anyone has any other ideas other than intelligence as to innate differences in an individual that might impact his/her choice to become veg*n (vegan or vegetarian), let me know. I may be bugging you all at some point to take an online survey too as dd wants to put one together and statistically analyze the data
. She's taking AP Stats next year.
