kleptitarianism // volume 2
stealing ; destroying ; eating ; burying

stealing ; destroying ; eating ; burying

a kleptitarian is someone who steals all their food. which might include meat.

our first zine describing the philosophy and practice of kleptitarianism; steal meat // be a kleptitarian; was originally published by filler distro then republished by the anarchist federation and the anarchist library.

we express our great gratitude.

since the publication of the zine and extensive kleptitarian practice we have come across some interesting questions and ideas that we would like to share.

in conversations we have found no pushback about stealing. it is a good thing for the reasons described in the first zine. stealing attacks all the things that attack us; capitalism; climate change; animal exploitation.

one omission from the original zine was an additional tactic of instore destruction of food. for example a small knife up the sleeve can be used to quickly slice open hundreds of packages of meat in the store without anyone noticing. or a cart can be progressively layered with meat and other groceries to be inconspicuous and then left out unrefrigerated.

for the rest of the text we will lump stealing/destroying together and separate them from the choice of what to eat. which has unsurprisingly raised objections from some vegans.

some new species

the two important questions we seek to elaborate upon are what to steal/destroy and what to eat.

answers to these two questions produce three new species of kleptitarians that we hope work together to attack the meat industry wherever and whenever possible.

meat kleptitarians or kleptivores who steal meat and eat it if they want

vegan kleptitarians who neither steal meat nor eat it

bury kleptitarians who steal meat and bury it and do not eat meat

or kleptitarians without adjectives who mix and match and do what they want

our preference is to be kleptitarians or meat kleptitarians or kleptivores because we see it as the method that does the most damage to the meat industry and causes the least waste and the most freedom. the arguments and our justifications are provided below.

what to steal/destroy

there is one important objection to stealing/destroying meat. depending on how concerning this is for the kleptitarian they might decide to be a vegan kleptitarian which is someone who steals/destroys only vegan food. the objection is that stealing/destroying meat although it hurts profits it increases the production of meat. this can occur for two reasons.

first grocers may not differentiate theft spoilage and sales but simply stock a fixed amount of meat such that they can reliably provide meat to their paying customers. stealing/destroying meat would then either have no effect on meat production or could increase it as grocers require more meat due to theft.

the second is similar in that the theft is not large enough to increase the price of meat. because the stolen meat doesn’t change the price of meat the grocer must order more meat but there will still be the same number of people who want to buy meat at the unchanged price.

these both are related to the restocking effect discussed in the first zine.

we do not think that these are a problem. in the first case if a fixed amount of meat is ordered then stealing/destroying cannot increase the grocers meat requirement. a stolen or destroyed steak will not cause the grocer to order another steak; they are bought in bulk. if however the grocer did make such detailed decisions about what to buy then it is hard to see how the grocer would not immediately also make detailed price increase decisions to make up for lost profits. it seems implausible for the grocer to be both highly sensitive to the quantities of meat stolen thus leading to increased meat purchasing but also not sensitive at all to the lost profits and price. the reasoning against the second case is identical to the first.

finally stealing only vegan food will increase the price of vegan food which has the potential to push vegans who pay for their food toward animal products.

we believe that stealing/destroying meat will either have no effect on meat production because the quantities are small. or lead to an increase in the price of meat which will reduce purchasing of meat because people dont want to or cant pay. if you disagree then maybe being a vegan kleptitarian who steals only vegan food is right for you.

what to eat

the second question is what to eat. here we differentiate meat kleptitarians or aptly put by one commenter kleptivores and bury kleptitarians who steal meat but do not eat it and prefer to bury it.

there are four arguments for meat kleptitarianism.

first the stolen meat is used for human energy and additional food is not needed to provide that energy. this avoids harmful waste. we consider this point uncontroversial although maybe not very consequential.

second eating stolen meat is an exciting introduction to animal liberation for those who typically oppose animal liberation in practice and consider themselves carnivores or omnivores. our personal experience is that many meat eaters embrace meat kleptitarianism because it is both cheaper for them to get what they want and also allows them to explore their desire to oppose the meat industry. this opportunity to attack the meat industry can both raise consciousness about its harm and have lasting effects on behavior.

third eating stolen meat tastes good and provides pleasure to those who enjoy meat. yes it is the result of horrible production including torture and rape and murder. yet the meat kleptitarian has not only not contributed to the production of the meat but instead attacked that production. this perspective sees eating stolen meat as not disrespectful to the dead animal carcass but honors it. if me and my friends and family were ritualistically murdered and tortured and raped for food and some kleptitarians liberated our carcasses and attacked the oppressors i would be delighted for them to enjoy eating us.

fourth eating stolen meat can add healthy variety to a diet. we consider this also to be uncontroversial. there is a counter to this too where eating stolen meat can lead to a very unhealthy diet. say hello to colon cancer kleptivores.

there are several strong arguments against eating stolen meat and in favor of burying it.

first it is possible for the enjoyment of meat consumption by the meat kleptitarian to increase the desire for meat. this person when presented the opportunity to purchase fast food for example will buy that fast food especially if it includes meat. there is a lot of validity to this argument. it is however hard to tell how prevalent this is because meat kleptitarians are typically ex carnivores or ex omnivores who would never have become vegans. telling them that kleptitarianism is about stealing and burying meat would never have been attractive nor would any amount of emotional appeal or moralizing.

the second issue is the social culture of meat consumption that is supported by consuming stolen meat in public. if someone sees you eating a sandwich with meat in it or cooking stolen meat at a barbecue they dont know that the meat is stolen. instead they see these acts as a celebration of meat culture and a reinforcement that people should murder torture rape animals for food. this counter argument is one hundred percent valid in our opinion. public displays and sharing of meat eating among nonkleptitarians is harmful. however cooking stolen meat with nonkleptitarian friends and telling them that the meat is stolen and sharing the zine and having a discussion can be a beneficial method of social consumption.

a third issue is the psychological and emotional impact of meat consumption on the meat kleptitarian beyond their actions to further pursue meat. the argument is that the meat kleptitarian steals and eats meat that person enjoys the taste and experience of meat consumption but does not have an emotional connection with the harm done to the animal nor does not experience the righteous disgust when considering eating the meat itself. we think this is an important point. the disconnection between people in modern civilization and all the harm and oppression done around them on their behalf with their consent and complicity is staggering. stronger connections can only increase solidarity, empathy, and action. a feeling of disgust can condition humans to no longer desire meat and in turn feel no regret about attacking the meat industry beyond stealing/destroying for example by attacking meat production facilities. these both have significant validity. yet first we think it is possible for people to both enjoy eating stolen meat and feel emotionally connected to animals and their liberation and second we do not consider these emotional connections and feelings of disgust to be prerequisites for action. humans can take a variety of actions and risks without needing an emotional connection or disgust feeling. in fact basing actions purely on emotions and disgust is not something that we advocate as this misses opportunities for significant attack which requires cold calculation.

these three issues are important but not enough for us to be bury kleptitarians. yet if they are important to you we invite you to be a bury kleptitarian and write about it.

critiques of kleptitarianism and more detailed responses

here we provide more detailed responses to some of the critiques provided by some of our anarchist vegan comrades. we think you should be stealing meat and eating it or burying it.

critique. one should not eat the stolen meat carcass but instead bury it

response. why would you not eat the carcass. we understand if someone does not like to eat meat but rejecting eating it on moral grounds has no standing. it is impossible to contribute to the murder of the animal by stealing the carcass. as the text explains you are doing the exact opposite more than a vegan who buys food alternatives and more than a vegan who steals nonmeat alternatives. stealing meat harms the meat industry more than any other approach. also why do you bury your dead rather than consume them. we believe that is quite wasteful. there seems to be some repulsion to eating dead flesh that i cannot understand unless it is purely a matter of taste. it is the murder and support of that murder that is repulsive not death or eating dead things. every living thing dies and almost everything humans eat is dead. the mystical connection between eating and murder when one has neither contributed to the murder but even further has attacked that murder directly is incomprehensible to us. if you actually cared about destroying the meat industry you would steal meat and eat it or bury it or destroy meat in the store by slicing the packaging or attack part of the meat production chain. buying vegan food is not enough.

critique. if you eat stolen animal meat you should also eat stolen human meat

response. we would absolutely eat dead humans and feel neither moral compunction nor disgust when saying this. in certain circumstances we think it would be unethical not to. it is quite sanitary and tasty to eat a human if prepared correctly. people feel disgust at eating things that they are conditioned to feel disgust at and that they are unfamiliar with. look at the variation in perceptions of disgust across cultures and even within cultures across different subcultures and families.

critique. it is respect for other sentient beings that keeps me from eating them

response. we dont see the respect argument. first it is not clear what respect means in this context. but put that aside. what is disrespectful about eating things. is it disrespectful to eat plants. it seems like eating them particularly risking your freedom by stealing and attacking the industry that caused their death is instead an honor. if we were killed for food by an alien species or other humans we would feel honored if someone stole our corpses and ate them to fight that species. this exactly the honor that we get from having our corpse be used to provide organs or medical knowledge to humanity. people can be food. it is simply a fact whether you consider it to be true or not.

critique. stealing meat and eating it is like watching pirated child abuse videos

response. this comparison is inaccurate. videos are infinitely replicable and easily distributable. stolen meat on the other hand cannot be replicated and distributed but is instead singular and exclusive. the stolen meat prevents its sale and distribution while the stolen video does not. there is an argument to be made that the act of consuming the video creates a psychological state in yourself and others that increases legal and profitable demand for the video but we dont see that. what we have seen is that people who dont buy meat who become kleptitarians continue not buying meat and people who do buy meat otherwise buy less or no meat because they steal it and their consciousness is raised and if they were to buy food would be more likely to consider meat alternatives. we believe that this second effect occurs because the reasons for attacking the meat industry become internalized to some degree and a conflict arises whenever the individual decides to buy things.

critique. enjoying stolen meat is enjoying in the suffering of the animal

response. we do not pearl clutch at the idea of someone enjoying cruelty and suffering of others. we dont find it consequential. but that does not matter in this case because if one has not caused the suffering but has instead attacked it the enjoyment is unrelated to the suffering.

critique. not consuming meat is better than stealing meat

response. this is confusing the stealing vs buying decision with the eating vs not eating decision. one can steal and bury but we think stealing and eating is better. it is simply wasteful to not eat or distribute what youve stolen. it requires more resources to get additional food. we agree that if you dont like the taste or feel disgusted by meat then do not eat it. but we argue that it honors rather than denigrates the animal that was murdered to consume it after attacking the murderers rather than asking for other things to be grown and murdered in its place. we think that is highly unethical.

critique. eating meat produces an emotional detachment from the horrors done to animals to produce that meat

response. we think this is a valid critique but do not think it is impossible to have an emotional connection to animals and also eat stolen meat. but more importantly we care about the material consequences which are the consequences that matter to the animals. we could cry our hearts out over slaughtered cows and do nothing about it or coldly see the slaughter and do something. both are possible. emotional response is neither a prerequisite nor substitute for material action.

critique. when normie friends and family are cooking with bought meat do you eat it or eat vegan

response. we fight them at every step and do not eat bought meat or other animal products

critique. kleptitarians who eat stolen meat only attack the financial motive for murdering animals. but it does not challenge the ideology of animal use and abuse. and for this reason kleptitarians wont do other acts of sabotage against the meat industry.

response. we agree that eating stolen meat without a philosophical perspective and attack that is essentially vegan would be harmful. we agree that attacking the ideological and cultural aspects of meat eating are important and encourage kleptitarians to also do that. the vegan literature would be very useful here. we also strongly emphasize that kleptitarians should join with all animal liberation comrades and attack the meat industry supply chain directly with sabotage. the point of the kleptitarian zine is to bring that attack into the every day and not just the rare and dangerous clandestine attack.

effects

if you do an internet search you will see that retail theft has led to a raise in prices and loss of profits across the retail spectrum. meat is a common target for retail theft. we conscious kleptitarians are working in common with all thieves and scoundrels; the unconscious kleptitarians; to destroy the meat industry.

join them. spread the zine. join us.

be a kleptitarian. keep stealing meat. keep attacking. keep out of jail.