As a vegan, I’ve come to accept that it is a choice that I will defend or explain quite regularly; be it at work, at school, at family gatherings, or at restaurants where I realise “shit, there’s nothing to eat”. Occasionally there will be the bigot who is eager to belittle my decision- “but one person isn’t going to make a difference“… But most of the time, it’s people who are genuinely curious about the lifestyle, and in my opinion, education is the first step toward change.
So why am I vegan?
In short, I believe all living creatures serve their own purpose. Animals were my primary reason for becoming vegan, however since then I have also come to learn that a meat eating, dairy drinking diet is not only destructive to the animal kingdom, but also destructive to the entire planet.
“The global livestock industry is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the planes, trains and automobiles in the world combined. Most of these emissions are in the form of methane from livestock—a gas that is 21 times more harmful than CO2.” -Why Veg
But it doesn’t stop there. Did you know that almost half of the world’s edible harvests are fed to livestock? But, aren’t there millions of starving people in the world? Yup! And we can save them by adapting a vegan diet.
“Conservative estimates predict that a 50% reduction in meat consumption in developed countries could save 3.6 million children from malnutrition per year.”
Still not satisfied? Well how about this- meat and milk and eggs are making you fat and you are more prone to life threatening illnesses! Eat meat, and you’re much more likely to develop heart disease, diabetes and cancers.
Vegetarian vs vegan
“So I understand vegetarian, but vegan? Milk and eggs don’t kill anyone.” Ahh, but they do. I was a vegetarian who for years didn’t understand that my egg eating and milk drinking ways were causing suffering to animals. But a day of reading Gene Bauer’s Farm Sanctuary left an uneasy feeling in my stomach- I am contributing, too, I realised. I had to make the change.
Eggs: The egg industry sees millions of newborn male chickens ground up or gassed alive since they pose no economic gain to the industry. Now I don’t know about you, but that sure didn’t sit well with me. Not only that, but as Animals Australia put it, “Caged eggs are a life sentence”. And while consumers are becoming more conscious to the plight of hens in Australia, there is still little to no regulation in the labelling of eggs. Did you know that “farm fresh” eggs can come from a battery farms? Well how about “free range” or “barn laid”? There is no legally enforceable definition for these terms. We need to remember, too, that once these hens are no longer profitable, they are sent to death just like meat chickens.
Being vegan, I choose not to eat eggs, however I am very supportive of people who follow a strict vegetarian diet and eat eggs from their happy, free roaming backyard chooks. In fact, when I rescue hens, I plan to give those eggs to my egg loving vegetarian mama so she doesn’t need to buy them off corrupt companies.
Milk: Think about this- almost every milk producing cow has gone through the pain and anguish of losing a child. Like humans, cows must give birth in order to lactate. Like something from a horror movie, dairy cows have their calves taken off them shortly after birth. Over 700,000 of these babies will be sent straight to slaughter at less than a week of age every year. Of the remainders, some females will follow in the sad footsteps of their mother, and become imprisoned by the dairy industry, being subjected to mechanical rape year after year, until their udders dry up and they too are sent to slaughter. Some male calves will be reared for veal production, but their life is short too, as they will be sent to slaughter at less than a year of age. What makes this most upsetting is knowing that like humans, cows are capable of developing emotional relationships. Cows have strong maternal instincts, can hold a grudge for months or years against a rival, and form friendship groups within herds.
We bring these animals into being, with all their capacity to feel and their complex subjectivity, and then kill them pitilessly.
“What about fish?” There’s plenty of fish in the sea, right? Not anymore. Overfishing means that we are capturing fish at a faster rate than they can reproduce. With 4 million fishing fleets across the world, it’s easy to see how we are doing just that. Species like Cod are facing extinction- and the well known Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is predicted to be extinct in 2012. Yes, 2012. This year. Scary huh?
And it doesn’t help their cause when self proclaimed “animal lovers” neglect the idea that fish have feelings too. You see, fish are the most misunderstood animals in the world- and yes, they are animals. They are cold blooded, so we don’t look at them the same as we would a cat or a dog- but this doesn’t mean that they don’t feel. In fact, it’s been proven that they have a nervous system and can feel pain. Our ignorance is no justification to their suffering.
Of course, this doesn’t address the cruelty associated with other forms of exploitation- animal testing, fashion (fur, leather, wool, silk etc) and entertainment. But let’s save that for another time, shall we?
masonicfatcat 