Today, 2/5/17, I came back from my Garden Route adventure...and
once again all I can say is "wow." I experienced indescribable
feelings and sights. But that's not what I want to focus on. Actually, what I
want this blog entry to be about is my journey as a transitioning
vegetarian/vegan.
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| Ashley & Karen |
She never forced this lifestyle on me...instead I'd
ask her questions to provoke conversation and to pick her mind. Conversations
turned into Karen sending me videos and articles about animal cruelty and
becoming vegan while I had my knowledge in WGSS to offer her. It's always nice
to find a friend who can educate you as much as you can educate them. Karen and
I are always teaching each other new things...that's one of the best qualities
to our friendship.
On our way home from the Garden Route today we
stopped at a milkshake shack. I'm still transitioning from a vegetarian to a
vegan, so I decided to buy a shake...even though I've been avoiding dairy since
the second week here in Cape Town. Anyway, my point of this post is to express
the how I felt after finishing that shake.
I bought a delicious Belgian chocolate milkshake...it
was rich, thick, and creamy. It was by far the best milkshake I've ever had. I
savored every moment of it. It probably took me less than 10 minutes to finish,
and once I was done I started thinking "was 10 minutes of pleasure for me
worth another living being's pain and suffering?"---definitely not.
I don't think people (who are not vegan or
transitioning/who are consciously aware) realize that the meat and dairy industry
is down right cruel to millions of animals. I constantly question why humans
think it's okay to be kind to certain animals and slaughter others for THEIR
meat. For instance, in America we slaughter cows, chickens, pigs, and other
animals for their bodies. But no one would ever think about doing that to
a dog or a cat...in fact we find it repulsive that in some cultures cats and
dogs are consumed on the daily basis.
I've watched horrifying videos about slaughter houses
and dairy farms. Did you know that infected puss from cow utters is in the
dairy we consume? Did you know that not eating meat saves an animal's life
every day? Did you know by consuming animal products you're actually
contributing to climate change? Did you know that if everyone in the world
became vegan then world hunger would no longer exist? Did you know that by
consuming animal products you're participating in the mass murder of millions
of lives per day?
Though animals are not humans they are still living
beings who FEEL. They feel scared, they feel love for their offspring, they
feel joy...they feel pain. What makes humans better than animals...aren't
humans animals too? Despite the fact that we are different species, we are all
animals...
Animal rights remind me of human rights and the topic
of race...after taking a number of WGSS courses I've learned that race is a
social construction. Humans are genetically all the same...thus proving that
race is a social construct. This isn't to say that humans are the same as
animals, but we are all living beings and in fact we do share similar genes.
Just like white people/aka European people declared superiority over black
people/aka people from Africa and other "non-white" people, we
declared superiority over animals. At least when hunters and gatherers were
alive (and the ones who live in small villages today) they only killed animals
when they absolutely needed the food...and they did not consume meat at
ridiculously unnecessary amounts the way we do today. Hunting was sacred because
animals were believed to be sacred.
If humans can exploit the most innocent and
vulnerable living beings (animals), how can anyone ever expect for humans to be
kind to one another?
I'll post links to articles that support the
"Did you know" questions I asked...or simply take the time to do your
own research (:
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