The True Genesis of His Award Remains Uncertain

Having written columns in defense of bats, coyotes and frogs, I found myself the other day among 27 recipients of the Genesis Award at a luncheon given by the Fund for Animals in the Beverly Hilton.

Although the menu was vegetarian, in keeping with the spirit of the awards, the audience was enthusiastic--almost boisterous--greeting the winners with heavy applause, whistles and hoots of approval. There were many celebrities present.

The award itself was a plaque bearing a bronze replica of the fund’s logo--Noah’s ark, whose story in Genesis was cited in the program as the first “news report” of an animal rescue operation.

By pure luck I sat next to Karen Caesar, an intense, articulate young woman who exemplifies the principles of the animal protectionists. Ms. Caesar not only does not eat meat in any form, she told me, but also avoids eggs and dairy products, and does not wear fur or leather.

“You don’t even have leather shoes?” I asked.

She said no; it is quite possible to buy shoes made of vinyl and other non-animal products.

Chastened by this litany of self-denial, I was happy with my luncheon of vegetable crepes on a bed of fresh spinach, with baby carrots, asparagus and carmelized onion.

Most of the winners were from radio, television and the movies, and with a few exceptions, they were present. Video clips of various winning shows were shown on a screen.

Especially entertaining were clips from “General Hospital,” about the ivory trade, “L.A. Law,” about the trapping of fur animals, “Born Free,” about the liberation of a lion, and “Gorillas in the Mist,” about the life and death of Dian Fossey among the gorillas.

I was first on the list to receive my award. Foreseeing that it was going to be a long afternoon, I tried to set a good example by being brief. I said I didn’t know why I was being honored, but I thought it might be for something I had written about frogs.

What I had written about frogs, actually, was a column applauding Jenifer Graham, who, as a high school girl, had defied the authorities by refusing to dissect a frog in biology class. I recalled that I had had to dissect a frog in my biology class, and that I had not enjoyed it.

Some time later I was upstaged by the appearance of Ms. Graham herself. CBS had received an award for a dramatization of her story. A video showed a scene in which an actress playing Graham explained her feelings before a board.

Afterward I fought my way through the crowds to Graham and asked her if she had read my column. She didn’t remember it. Oh, well, maybe I got the award for the ones about bats and coyotes.

Actually, my consciousness was raised. I was horrified by video clips on the poaching of elephants for ivory, the cruel trapping of animals for fur, and the imprisonment of calves for veal.

I asked Ms. Caesar if it was all right to eat eggs. She said it was all right if the hens were range-fed, “so they have room to run around in.”

I didn’t ask about bacon. I felt sure I knew what the answer would be.

I am an animal lover, and I don’t like to see them exploited or mistreated. But I’m afraid my commitment is not quite pure. I have virtually given up red meat (except for an occasional hamburger), but I eat chicken and fish. I do not wear fur or buy fur. I shun ivory. I do take insulin, which I suppose was developed through laboratory experiments on animals. But I don’t use cosmetics.

A pretty spotty record, actually, for a Genesis Award winner.

But I discovered that Ms. Caesar has a chink in her armor, too. “Twice a year,” she said, “I eat a turkey sandwich. I love it.”

However, she went on to say, she does not eat turkey at Thanksgiving. “I feel that at Thanksgiving I have to make a stand.”

I have decided not to eat turkey at Thanksgiving, and I am going to give up turkey sandwiches altogether. But I don’t think I can give up leather shoes.

Meanwhile, be nice to a coyote and make room in your heart for a bat.