I’ve always figured vegetarianism simply wasn’t part of wizarding culture, just like TV and cigarettes apparently aren’t. If I had to venture a guess as to why, I’d say that vegetarianism is pretty rare in cultures that aren’t either 1) accustomed to food shortages; or 2) so insulated from the realities of food production that people are shocked when they encounter their first slaughterhouse. Wizard society is neither.
What really intrigues me is that in five years, Harry hasn’t run across a single piece of wizarding fiction, unless you count Gilderoy Lockhart’s works and Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Is Flourish & Blotts stocked with nothing but reference books?
They do that in class? :eek:
Hehehe…someone should ask Rowling about this. Perhaps though, there’s more going on than we thought-remember Dumbledore saying that in the Mirror of Erised, he’d see himself with socks? And what is Dobby obsessed with? Socks.
So, perhaps there’s something going on that we’ll find out about later.
As for food conjured uh…maybe it only disappears after it’s digested and well, “disposed of?” That would certainly be a plus!
BTW, further down in that interview that Hamis so thoughtfully posted:
Hmmm…but we didn’t. Unless there’s something said when they visit the kitchen!
But not all students at Hogwarts come from a wizard society background. Harry Potter and Colin Creevey are examples of kids who seemed to have next to no exposure to wizard society before they arrived at Hogwarts. And the muggle society they came from does include vegetarians.
It does, technologically as well as socially. I thought I was the only one who thought this.
Some modern conveniences they don’t seem to have that you’d think might come in handy:
Computers, email, internet, etc
Telephones, including cell phones
Pencils and ballpoint pens
Paper in sheets rather than scrolls
Any form of money other than coins- no paper money, no credit cards, no checks, it seems
Safety goggles or other safety equipment for Potions class
Security cameras (would be really handy to see who’s getting past Fluffy or what’s slithering around petrifying students)
Socially, they seem backwards, too. The points-to-houses system is open to abuse, because at least two of the professors who award the points have a vested interest in giving points to their own houses. Worse, there doesn’t seem to be any set number of points awarded for various accomplishments or deducted for transgressions.
And Snape gets away with treating Neville and (to a lesser degree) Harry horribly, just because he doesn’t like them or thinks they are poor students. I thought his feeding the potion to Trevor was way over the line, as was what he said to Lupin about Neville’s abilities when all the kids (including Neville) could hear. That was just blatant bullying, and I was disappointed that Dumbledore didn’t at least warn Snape that such behavior toward students wasn’t acceptable.
'Aren’t you two ever goint to read Hogwarts: A History?.. ‘All those substitutes for magic Muggles use – electricity, and computers and radar, and all those things – they all go haywire around Hogwarts, there’s too much magic in the air.’
I’m guessing what we found out was that Hogwarts House-Elves would basically do anything you asked them to – they loaded down the trio without even being asked.
They probably make it a point of pride to know which students are vegetarian, and where they’re sitting from meal to meal.
Also, she’s said on her website that when they come across a Muggle technology (like cameras or watches or radio) that they can use, they steal the idea and use a magical substitute for batteries. So, in spite of what Hermione thinks, you can adapt electrical devices to work at Hogwarts.
She’s also said they didn’t have much use for the Internet, because they “have their own methods” of communicating they liked better. In a later book, she introduced communication by floo network – and later still, communication by painting – which I guess was what she was talking about.
As far as Mrs. Weasley and the potatoes, what I remember is, early in book 2, she pointed her wand at some raw potatoes and they started peeling themselves. The impression I got is that wizard domesticity is much less labor-intensive than Muggle, but the goods still have to be bought. So that leaves the Weasleys heavily dependent on potatoes and other cheap comestibles, the same as Muggles in a similiar financial situation.
