Body

Sticking to plants

Eating an animal that is very close to the end of its natural life seems less uncaring than slaughtering one before it has had any chance of experiencing the world fully. People have proposed that we have both the mental capacity to show compassion to animals and refrain from killing them for food. There is a thought that we can manage quite well with a diet that leaves them out. Lions and tigers, whales and sharks don’t have this luxury.

Some people keep their meat consumption down to a minimum, as they see it as doing their bit. Others avoid all animal products most commonly for ethical reasons. There are potential health benefits so long as your diet includes all the things that animal products provide. I personally prefer to pay more for meat if the welfare of the animals is improved, even if it means paying double and having less. Animals wish to live an enthralling life just as we do. Some pay no attention to this or come to terms with it in some way. People like the taste so much that they reason that the protein it provides outweighs the suffering. There is a definitive primal bout of satisfaction when chewing meat. It is a contentious issue with emotions running high, for and against.

In practice it is near impossible to omit animal by-products from your diet completely. Milk production causes significant harm and misery towards animals. It is in all kinds of things such as bread, cakes, sweets, and chocolate. It is difficult to avoid. Imagine giving birth and having your offspring taken away from you after three short days. Cows get distressed by this as any parent would.

We can be equally disrespectful and uncaring in the way we cause misery to pets. Some are stored in tiny boxes that get way too hot in the summer and ice cold in the winter. We forget that dogs are pack animals and isolated for our pleasure not theirs. The causal nature in which we interfere with the bodies of animals for our convenience upsets real animal lovers. We neuter, dock, geld at our leisure as it makes it easier for us. We treasure our curiosity and rewards in life and prefer it if our pets stop roaming, exploring, and enjoying life. Hence the third drive applies as always, selfishness. A pet cat will probably eat something like a thousand chickens or equivalent in its lifetime. The ratio of death to sustain life is even greater for its adopted provider and if it keeps you happy then that is all that matters.

I saw a youngster depicted in a cartoon that was being vocal about the rights and wrongs of eating animals. They met an elder who spoke eloquently about leading by example rather than being too great an activist. Activism can put an end to torturous practices that have been kept hidden. Activism is most hypocritical when those voicing an opinion have not got their own house in order. Are you squeaky clean yourself? Can we justify complaining about others when parts of our own life shows ambivalence. I doubt anyone’s life is lived without it being to the detriment of some animals somewhere. This doing your bit is insufficient to come across as so magnanimous. Each item of meat we eat is another bite of hurt. Thus, each item we decline is a move in the other direction.