I was having trouble deciding what to blog about today, when i looked down at my veggie chili for dinner and figured why not, i'll talk about being a non-meat eater.
About 5 years ago i was surfing the net and came across the PETA (People for the Ethical Treamtment of Animals) website. I clicked on a video that would change my life forever. It was called Meet your Meat and of course was extremely graphic and heartwrenching to watch. I then proceeded to sit for hours and watch every video i could find behind tears.
I don't preach to others what they should or should not be eating. I have suggested to some people to watch the video and draw their own conclusions, but at the very least just watch it. Jennifer and I went to a few vegan potlucks with a group called TARS which is an animal rights activist group in her city. They had various speakers, videos and great food. A good place to network with like minded people. Not everyone there was a vegan, we certainly were not and there was a couple who owned a farm but killed their animals in a humane way.
I am however in constant turmoil with myself because i still eat dairy and eggs as well as shrimp. I saw a horrible video regarding leather and did stop purchasing it for a few years but i've since started again. Apparently i only have so much compassion to go around which is bothersome for me because I do not want to be a hypocrite. It's a bit difficult always having to ask about ingredients when i'm out or travelling where i don't speak the language. In Japan I had a local man order my lunch Okonomiyaki with no meat for me, sure enough they slapped on some bacon anyway. When i told the friend i was staying with he declared "but it's bacon, everyone loves bacon." I used to in all it's crispy goodness, but not anymore.
I'll leave you with a letter i wrote to the Editor of a local newspaper a few years ago:
This is in response to the article titled "Anti-Meat Commercial Too Graphic for Canada." Every year billions of animals are raised to endure lives of absolute confinement and unspeakable pain and suffering in factory farms. There is no justification for our society's refusal to take this suffering seriously, yet attempts to raise people's awareness about these shameful practices are considered by most to be outrageous and extreme.
Case in point the TV Bureau of Canada has deemed a 30 second commercial by PETA "too graphic" and would anger Canadian viewers. It says the spot depicts "brutality against animals", would spark "major complaints" and has been banned in Canada.
I invite you to increase your knowledge of the conditions within factory farms, the premeditated methods of imprisoning, torturing and the slaughtering of animals.
Perhaps then you will view your dinner in a different light.
16 comments:
It is incredibly hard to be a veggie overseas, especially in a culture that doesn’t understand it combined with the barrier of language. In Mongolia, I ate porridge for the entire time I was there – it was the only non meat dish they knew.
After being a veggie for 17 years now, I sometimes forget why I made the choice way back then. Videos such as ‘Meet you Meat’ help to remind me.
Well, I have often said that if I ended up with a vegetarian I would be able to convert, but not because of gory vides but simply because vegetables are healthier.
I did not click on the video link as I am not making this conversion now. I dont eat a lot of meat. I eat chicken and fish mostly.
If humans did stop eating chickens, I think chickens will become extinct. I saw on video a while ago targeting KFC and how they raise chicken. It was bloody.
Anyway, I will not think about this much because it will make me not eat meat.
BTW, how do you get proteins from vegetable sources? Is there some vegetable out there that I can eat in equal proportion to the chicken I eat now and get the same quantity and quality of protein?
Good topic!
I still eat meat, but I'm not proud of it at all. I didn't click on the video either, I don't think I can handle it.
I guess the eating meat thing is similar to trying to be green. One person can make a difference even if it doesn't feel like we can. hmmm...I will have to think about this. Did you ween off slowly? Like maybe....beef first, then pork or whatnot?
I prefer to remain ignorant and enjoy steak. Sorry.
p.s. I worked in a slaughterhouse, but I never went to the kill floor.
Very Sad!
I try to limit meat to like once a week for health purposes. I prefer seafood, fruits, and vegetables.
I actually started the veggie cookbook to cut back on meat.
Good post Ash!
That's a terrible picture & I realize the argument has its merits, but to quote Travolta in Pulp Fiction - "Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good . . . "
Aussie Pom, why did you become a veggie to begin with, i forget?
Yrautca, you can watch the video without converting. As for protein Tofu has a lot, Lentils, Beans (black, kidney and lima) and chickpeas. I was always really concerned about ingesting enough protein but i don't bother with that anymore. I drink 2 protein shakes a day and figure if i eat a veggie burger or tofu dog or veggies, i'm getting enough.
Rawbean, i didn't wean myself off, once i saw the video that was it for me. We even went out for pizza and my family had wings (they were my fav) and i didn't touch them. If you were thinking about it though, that would be a good way to start.
BB, eek, where did you work in the slaughterhouse then? Were you not curious to see what they were doing down there?
Sharbel, i miss the veggie cookbook. You had some great recipes and ideas on that blog.
2DP, i was going to put the pic of the cow hanging upsidedown with it's throat sliced and blood pouring out but i refrained. I agree they do taste good....
Slopmaster, At least you watched the video. It's true you can buy free range chickens or meat from a local farmer that may practice more humane killing rather than factory farms.
I am a little on the Anti PETA side. I think that they do not respect the fact that we are in fact omnivours by biology and that people earn their livings through the meat industry. I think that humane treatment is things that they should do, and try and make it as painless as possible, but I do love me my bacon.
Scott
Scott - You do have a point, the problem is the people making money off the meat industry are also killing the industry!! The meat these days is not as pure as it used to be. They feed animals a whole bunch of un-natural shit to make them grow faster.
If I buy meat now I try to buy it from a local farmer or I look for grass fed.
Ash – My new site will be ready in less then a month, I am learning how to edit video now. I promise you will be the first to know, again good topic!
God, that was already 5 years ago??? I remember sending you that card!! "congrats on being a vegetarian" or something like that....
I cant believe I gave up mammals 15 years ago already!!
I dont know how you could have watched those videos...i would have been so upset about them (as were you, but you actually watched them all...i never could have).
Let us now find you a video that shows how they kill crab and shrimp, and you're set completely against eating all living creatures. :)
And frankly, I dont know how you EVER could have given up chicken wings, and chicken fingers...You've got more discipline than most.
Congrats on 5 years!!
nah, i still look at my dinner the same way. I know the stuff from PETA is horrific and shocking, but in a way they are just highlighting and sensationalising the worst cases that they find. which isn't a bad thing, but it can lead to a miseducation of those willing to believe that all animals are treated this way. that's not the case, pure and simple.
i like eating meat, there's no other way of putting it, although i am conscious that there are bad farming methods used (primarily in other countries these day, i seem to remember continental europe isn't that great) and i do try to buy meat from reputable places where i am assured that the animals have been treated appropriately
I was on a cruise ship once and I ordered veal pasta without even thinking about it. I guess I just thought "Oh, I've never had veal before, I should try that." When it came I took one bite and then I remembered WHY I had never had veal before. I got really upset.
It's hard. On one hand, we are meat eaters by nature. On the other hand, I could never kill an animal myself. I have pretty much given up red meat but I don't know if I can kick chicken and turkey from my diet. I am soooo super proud of you for doing it though!!
Scott and PX, I agree that PETA has some rather shocking campaigns and are an In your Face organization, but that's what i like about them, people take note of what they say whether good or distastful. Of course they want to show the worst clips they can find and even if these things happen not in the majority, they are still happening.
PP yes i remember that veggie e card you sent years ago. It was cartoon animals eating carrots in a garden, very cute.
SS giving up red meat is still good for you though. It's something right. I agree that veal is really awful, even when i ate meat i wouldn't eat veal after i saw a commercial with the calf chained by the neck to a small box.
yes, they are still happening, but it is sensationalising it out of proportion
worse than that, it's propaganda, and propaganda is blind and one-sided...
adverts like this give a biased view which is unfair
You will probably delete this because you don't believe in freedom of speech. but anyways you are a hypocrite you talk about cruelty to animals and how it is wrong to eat them yet you eat sushi. Is a fish any less an animal, does a fish not feel? It must be great to be hooked in the mouth and get dragged onto shore where you are left to suffocate for hours (have you ever choked on somthing? Not a nice feeling. Or for that matter must be real fun to get snared in a net and dragged for hours with more and more fish (and Dolphins) piling up around you in the net slowly crushing you to death. The eating of any type of animal is cruel just because it is not cute and fuzzy doesn't make it any less of a living creature.
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