I’d do it for nothing. In fact for a hundred grand, I’d become a vegetarian for a year, then quit and go to eating meat only for a year.
I’m generally omnivorous and I would have trouble doing this, not for any moral reasons, but because that’s a hell of a lot of meat and I’m sure it’d get old really fast. Plus, eating that much meat would do some serious damage to my intestines.
<i>On the last day of each month, you must undergo medical testing to verify that you are not cheating by running to a hippee commune during your lunch break or whatever. You may also be subject to random tests during the month.</i>
What exactly are they testing here? Are they making sure you don’t eat EXTRA food bringing your proportion down? I don’t really see where that’s against the spirit of the question – if I eat meat 3 times a day[1], and then have an extra vegetarian meal as well for some reason that brings my proportion temporarily too low, I’m still doing all the things I don’t want to do, I don’t feel I’m really gaining anything! There’s no vegetarian food that I’d really, really miss: it’s eating meat that’s the problem. Surely the tests should be to certify that I am eating meat (eg. that I’m not skipping meals), but that I’m not eating vegetables as well?
That said, I would go for it. I’m sufficiently curious to try it. Even if I donate the entirety of the proceeds to a (non-extemist) animal welfare charity, the chef probably means I and the animal welfare probably come out ahead. I would probably have to ramp up beforehand, but OTOH, I can always quit.
It’s probably at the lower end of what I’d do it for – I’m well off enough that $100,000 wouldn’t dramtically change my life (especially if I donated >half of it), and the negative social effects of going back on what I believe would be significant. But I’m sufficiently curious I’d maybe like to try it, and this is a good opportunity.
(Although, be careful of the “it’s a net benefit” argument. It sounds plausible when it’s animals, but I hope most people would refuse to eat non-natural-causes human meat however much they were paid, which suggests the “take the money and donate it” – even if correct in this case – is not a complete argument.)
[1] Ugh! I’d definitely like meat for breakfast <i>on holiday</i>, but what do meat-eaters normally have for breakfast that constitutes a “portion”? Does pate spread count? If I have a late-night scotch egg, does that count as a meal for the purposes of having three? Am I disqualified if I’m jetlagged and end up eating two big meals instead of three or more small ones? Can I persuade the billionaire to just pro-rate the proprotion of meals and be done with it?
*Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol’ steer.
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it’s a mighty good food.
It’s a grade A meal when I’m in the mood.
Eat a cow, eat a cow 'cause it’s good for you.
Eat a cow, eat a cow it’s a thing that goes “Mooooo”. *
- Reverend Horton Heat
I will not only take up the challenge, I will bring my own knives, forks, and a year’s supply of dental floss. Plus a big gingham napkin tied around my neck, cartoon style. Bring it!
Yeah, the billionaire only cares that you follow the spirit of the rules. Go right ahead.