As I’m sure most of you know, I’m vegan. And yes, I wish the world was more vegan. But that’s not what I’m trying to tell you today.
We live in a society today (especially if you’re in the USA) where we don’t know what’s in our food or consumable goods. We don’t know where it comes from, we don’t know the impact of it, and we don’t know how much work is put into getting us things that we so often take for granted.
There are a lot of outgrowths of this problem. We end up overconsuming, holding onto things we don’t need. We buy stuff for convenience because we’re tired but don’t think about their impact. And on the rare times that we do think about their impact or learn about it involuntarily, we still don’t change.
The same goes for animal products. We don’t consider all of the stuff behind them, but instead think of them as an abstraction, like the steak on a plate.
Why I went vegan
Now if you’re interested in hearing the long version of my veganism story, you’re in luck, because I’ve written a three part story which you can start on by clicking here. But the basic principle is simple.
I didn’t know what kind of processes were necessary to bring me the pork chops and leather diaries I craved. We’re not born knowing this and the bulk of us aren’t raised hearing it either, because it’s not a fun subject to talk about. Most of us would rather ignore it, and largely, we’re able to do that. Nobody is forcing us to consider the plight of the farm animal on a regular basis.
When I dug into the information about the impact of my animal consumption, I was shocked. Not only did I more fully realize what killing an animal for my meal entailed, but I was made aware of the fact that that wasn’t the only suffering involved in this system. When I really educated myself, I was horrified. Although I loved the taste of ribs, I knew that I couldn’t continue to eat meat (or eggs or dairy) without being a hypocrite whenever I sat down at the table. And that’s why I stopped.
Bottom line
I don’t intellectually or personally expect everyone (or anyone) to go vegan, try vegan, or “be vegan”. You’re not me, and you make your own decisions. But there’s a real problem with our system. The way animals are treated all their lives, the way we only breed them to use them, and then in the future, kill most of them as well, it’s messed up.
Most of us, if we really educated ourselves on the practices surrounding the animal agriculture industry, would be appalled. It’s uncomfortable and honestly horrifying to see the truth of what we continuously pay for to adorn our homes, put in our mouths and cover our feet. But the problem doesn’t go away if we stick our heads in the sand.
I challenge you to educate yourself on the realities of the animal agriculture business and the daily lives and deaths of the animals on your plate, lining your bags and coats. These animals are being used and killed on our behalf, if we pay for them, so we have a right to know what it is we are paying for.
You may choose to go vegan after articles and documentaries exposing these facts, or you may not. You may just make more responsible choices. But we owe it to the animals to learn about what they go through, instead of ignoring their pain because it makes us uncomfortable. That’s the only way to make a truly informed decision.
