Quality of Life

 Temple Grandin is a PhD of Animal Science and professor At Colorado State University. She has designed stockyards and their components to keep animals calm and safe until they can be stunned and killed. She obviously has no problem with using animals for food, but has spoken out about humane treatment up to the ends of their lives. Even if one sees no problem with using animals for food, we should be able to agree that neglect, abuse and inhumane treatment are not acceptable means to that end.

In my case what began as a quest for better health led to the realization of the damage modern day "factory" farming is doing to our planet. With that awakening the plight of  billions of animals caught in our machinery burned itself into my psyche. I still work towards health for myself and the earth, but I'll always be vegan because of the animals. I'll slip up, make mistakes. But the choice to abstain from animal products is an ethical one. I can't justify killing another sentient being for convenience or pleasure. And the sad lives of most of those beings is a black mark on our collective soul.

When choosing which animal should die for your taste buds, give consideration to the kind of life they've had. Were they dragged from their mothers after a few hours or days, stuffed in a veal crate with no room to move, never again to feel joy or comfort? Were they raised in the dark, filled with growth hormones, their beaks cut off to prevent killing each other as they go mad from the unnatural existence? Was their mother forced into a gestation crate, unable to turn around, good only as a feeding machine so her offspring can grow into the same sad world?

Everyone must make their own choice. But before you choose again, know where your food comes from. Watch the videos. Read the literature. Open your eyes. The system as it stands is not acceptable for who we are and who we strive to be.

Take a step

Do something. Try not including meat in every meal. Maybe you could be VB6. Vegan Before 6:00 is a book by Mark Bittman that promotes the idea that eating "vegan" two-thirds of the time is vastly better for your health than not eating "vegan" at all. Cutting animal products out of breakfast and lunch, and eating sensible portions of animal protein with your dinner is a great step towards improved health, and a start towards doing what's right for the planet and the animals. I would encourage you to work towards being vegan 24/7, but like I said: do something.

Another possibility for a small step in the right direction is to ditch dairy. There are several milk alternatives made from almonds, soy, coconut, etc. that taste great. There are new vegan cheeses being introduced all the time, and most folks would not believe they're not "real" cheese. By giving up dairy you would be opting out of a system that operates like this:

-females are kept pregnant all the time by artificial insemination
-calves are dragged away from their mothers shortly after birth so they don't consume the milk
-female calves are doomed to the same fate as their mothers, not for the 20 or so years they were  created to live, but for 4 or 5 years, until they are  spent and sold for cheap beef.
-male calves will live a much shorter life, either discarded as useless trash, or stuffed in a veal crate  for their entire short lives.

Opting out, saying no to dairy, is a great first step.

Where do I begin?

If you could improve your health, help decrease the damage we do to our planet, and save animals from pain and death, would you want to do that? Would you be willing to give up food derived from animals in order to accomplish those things? I know it's not easy, but it's not as hard as you might think. I'd like to help. If becoming vegan sounds like too big a step, take a smaller step. Anything you do will have an impact.

Where do I begin? If you're asking yourself that question, I will offer suggestions, give you alternatives, and promise encouragement that this is something you can do. You've got to want it, but you can do it! If you think you might like to go on this journey with me, welcome!