I made this Photoshop image, and then thought to myself, "If mermaids were real, would there be laws against harvesting them for food because they look half human?" ... Ridiculous thought, I know, but really, where is the line drawn? We like to think we don't eat dogs, but many places in the world do not have a qualm about it. Most of the people I know also think it's criminal to kill dolphins (after watching The Cove), but they go and eat a tuna sandwich for lunch.
So why is it that some animals are our pets and others our dinner? I talked to my friend the other day about a barBQ he went to, where 9 animals (mostly goats, a pig and something else he couldn't identify), were fire-roasted with stakes through them. Now he's a meat eater, fair enough, and a good friend, but he couldn't eat those animals because they had legs, ears, faces etc. It freaked him right out because they had to break their legs to tie them up. He instead chose to eat some chicken, without those parts showing.
I suggested to him that maybe it was a more honest way of eating because that is, in fact, what he eats every day. The only difference is that he doesn't make a connection with the animal because it looks nothing like its original form. The pig is not staring at him through the cellophane. There are no chicken claws poking out of his burger.
So if cows could speak English, French, Spanish or whatever language we speak, I'm pretty sure we would be horrified with what they had to say. I don't want to create a whole negative stream of comments, so let's keep it positive. Which brings me to a whole other thing... PREACHING TO PEOPLE NEVER EVER WORKS. Trust me, the best way to create change is to just be you. Everyone around you will notice how different your life is, and even if they don't fully adopt a vegan lifestyle, you will have planted a seed that will eventually have an effect on them.
SO the moral of this post is: know what you're eating, educate yourself, set aside your ego, and don't eat mermaids if you find any.
4 comments:
Love it! :) Great article. Love, love the photos! Beautiful!
i believe that there is a difference between preaching to people and educating people. i only wish that someone had talked to me and educated me about this subject 25 years ago. i know of many people who became vegan after they saw "earthings", "farm to fridge" or "Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - Gary Yourofsky" on you tube. they were all introduced to these by vegans who introduced the subject to them.
http://unpopularveganessays.blogspot.com/2007/09/on-imposing-beliefs-on-others.html
You are wise and quite awesome. I just stumbled upon your site. I've been a life long vegetarian but am interested in altering my diet to become vegan and consume mostly raw foods. It is frustrating to know how many uneducated people are out there who do not think you can live or be healthy without consuming meat and animal products. *sigh*
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