I periodically have to do that recheck to get back in touch with the core reasons I became vegan in the first place. I figured I write up a little post to sum up some of my thoughts going around in my head right now...
To be honest, I never even considered "animal rights" as a reason for getting into all this. I actually went vegetarian originally for health reasons and then got stricter for environmental concerns. Once I realized what was actually going on with the animals, that's when I decided I could no longer take part in any of it and had to become vegan and ever since I feel like it's my job to tell people about the myths and lies that we are all accustomed to.
Working with Vegetarian Resource Group has given me so much scientific insight into the situation and being that there is no biological reason that we need to eat animal products, I don't understand why will still do. Yes, maybe we used to do it to evolve just as animals do to survive, but in our modern world it's no loner necessary to cause unnecessary harm and suffering, yet we still do. We can get all of our nutrients from plant sources with minimal effort and quite frankly, most of our "dietary recommendations" are really based on propaganda from the lobbyists working with the Dairy Council and Cattlemens' Beef Association. It's so disturbing.
The big thing that got me was when I realized that cows don't just "give" milk. It should be obvious, but I didn't understand that a cow had to be pregnant to give milk. In order the collect the amounts of milk they do, of course the cows need to be artificially inseminated. Once they give birth, the calves' are removed from their mothers within hours and the females are subject to the same cycle as their mothers', whereas the males are sold to the veal industry. They do this to reduce waster and increase profits and ALL dairy facilities must operate this way. That's why I don't understand when people say, "well, milk is just so natural", does any of this sound natural to you on any level? No, of course not, would you drink milk from your dog, or an elephant, or a baboon? Just remember, in other countries they eat dogs and horses and while we may find that appalling, it's no different from what we do here in this country, but we love our dogs, right?
Ugh, I could go on and on, but I just needed to go on this rant and I'll wrap it up here for now.
I am sure I'll have more to say about this soon. Stay updated for more blog entries, videos, and podcasts :)
To be continued....
Hi Ed,
ReplyDeleteThanks for you thoughts on this. I think I had a similar experience as you because after deciding to change my diet, I learned so much more about the cruelty to animals. But now I'm learning that it's fun experimenting with new foods - and trying things that otherwise I would have never considered. What's even better is meeting ppl like yourself who really make an effort to energize the community. Thanks again for your insight.