Andrew Meyer asked the audience this question during his keynote address at NOFA Vermont's 27th Annual Winter Conference: "Are you the pig or the chicken?" He was asking if people were committed (to the theme of the conference) or if they just had a passing interest, and he was analogizing to what he called the "Ham and Egg Healthy Food System Breakfast." Andrew explained that the pig was committed, while the chicken just had a passing interest. That got a good laugh.
I found myself wondering what the ancient Greeks would have thought about this question. (Surely the ancient Greeks were organic?) The ancient Greeks believed that humans occupied a specific place in the world, above the animals but below the gods. The ancient Greek maxim to "Know Thyself" is advice to remember that we are humans, neither animals nor gods. Come to think of it, only humans ask interesting questions such as: "Are you the pig or the chicken?"
