"Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind." - Henry James
It’s not about being perfect, but about doing the least harm possible.
It’s never too early or too late to begin again and align one’s choices with one’s values and morals.
Our choices always stem from our beliefs.
Choosing to live a vegan lifestyle is not just a diet: it’s choosing to eschew all forms of animal cruelty... it’s choosing not to participate in any forms of exploitation or abuse. This means not using animals for food or clothing, not supporting zoos or circuses, choosing make-up and other household products that have not been tested on animals. Vegans avoid participating in any form of cruelty or harm to any animal, within the scope of possibility.
Just because something has been done for years and years, or is considered a tradition, doesn’t necessarily make it right.
History shows us that there have been many injustices and atrocities that we now consider to be heinous and cruel, yet were acceptable in the past. Even today, animals are regarded as property and many abuses and ways of harm are considered perfectly legal and acceptable, with the law on the side of the perpetrators.
As children, we were fed the same stories and habits that our parents were fed, which they, in turn, had learned from their parents and so on. Our habits and beliefs are passed down through generations. Eating animals is a habit (and an invisible belief) that is considered necessary and normalized by our society and few people question these habits. We accept that the foods we are taught to eat as children are necessary for our health and survival. Yet the very opposite is true.
When we know better, we do better. It's that simple.
The reality is that we need nothing from any animal - and, in fact, our use of animals affects everything adversely. The industries thrive on our ignorance on what happens behind closed doors in dark places. None of us would knowingly harm an animal. Most children demonstrate enormous empathy to animals and grow up with their favorite stuffed animal toys and reading stories about animals and would be horrified to learn what happens to Olivia the pig in real life. Our children trust us to know and to make the right decisions in their best interest.
Do some species matter more than others?
Most all of us have never had the opportunity to spend time with a chicken, pig, turkey, cow or sheep or any other animal that has mistakenly been classified as food for our unnecessary use. We have compartmentalized animals dividing them up for our own use; for financial gain, for our appetites, for vanity, and greed: fur, fashion, research, companion animals, entertainment, sports, and breeding. We have become so accustomed to viewing animals as commodities that most people don’t even view animals as being sentient.
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