Animal Rights

Read the following blog at your own discretion. It contains images unpleasing to the compassionate soul. (Photo from PhotoBucket: Asparges' La Boquería market in Barcelona)

When I was in Jr. High, I remember my mom and neighbors flocking to the little restaurant down the road which was the designated site of an animal cruelty protest. It was the first time I found out about it, the first time I'd seen the awful pictures of rabbits with pieces of them missing. Entire pieces of skin from their backs gone, scalped, in the name of improving consumer products. Dogs and cats and so forth held in cages too small for them to move around in.
These memories come around now and then, but I've never put my put my foot down. Until now. I've decided to become a vegetarian.

Last night I watched part of an episode of 30 Days with Morgan Spurlock. If you ever watched "Super Size Me", he's the guy who endured 30 days of eating only at McDonald's and only super-sized meals. His show now puts people in similar situations, basically dropping them into the life of someone else who has completely opposite ideas. They live with them for the duration of 30 days in hopes that somehow they will come away educated (changed?) by their experience. Last night George, who has hunted his whole life and believes animals are here to serve humans, went to live with a vegan woman who works for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). http://http//www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/30days/gallery.php# In those 4 weeks he was accosted by images of tortured animals both by video, photo, and real life.

Ultimately, he did walk away a changed man. Although he said he'll still hunt, he also went home with new understanding and with a new friend ~ a calf who's life he had saved from becoming a plate of Veal through a very slow death at a factory farm. When he saw how calves are kept in a cage with their heads chained to the ground, completely unable to move, so that they can be slaughtered for man's consumption, he was moved to rescue this one calf from a torturous death. He hand-fed it and worked with him in physical therapy until the calf could walk and run on his own. Although I missed a large chunk of the show, I was, of course, bawling while watching the end. George had gone through the visuals of the cruelty of factory farms and even actively protested in front of Burberry, a company who continues to use real fur in their clothing line. George, through maintaining his relationship with nature and hunting, was able to see that informed decisions can make a big difference. He is exemplary of the the fact that people who have entirely different views of the world can come together to see each other's sides.

This isn't just about being vegetarian or "omnivorous". This is about the torture of animals and the cruelty weaved into their harvesting. Humans have been built to be omnivorous, but it is in our decision making, educated morals and decisions, that set us even further apart from animals, and sometimes each other. I'll be honest about being a hypocrite. Just last night I ate ate at Outback Steakhouse, my meal was complete with medium-well chunks of beef. It sounds good, and it is good, paired with a fully-loaded baked potato. But if I had made a more conscientious decision, I would have stuck to the scallops and veggies. When faced with the reality of how cattle are harvested and killed, I would not morally be able to eat another piece of meat again. I'll never eat veal, or red mean in general again, unless someone in my family or friends killed it themselves, but only because I wouldn't want that life to go to waste.

So this is me, asking you to educate yourself on where your food comes from and to purchase only cruelty-free products. PETA puts out an up-to-date list of companies that do and do not test on animals. I always look here before I buy beauty products or household items. http://caringconsumer.com/resources_companies.asp The products sold by these companies are no less effective or beautifying than companies who subject animals to senseless torture. It really is easy to live cruelty-free. Here is the Cruelty-Free Pocket Shopping Guide: http://www.petaliterature.com/VIV236.pdf

My decision is recent, my thoughts scattered, and I'm still evaluating my decisions. I think I'll still continue to eat seafood, especially because I'm here in N'awlins. But maybe my active change in eating habits will spur others to do so too. I hope our journeys are fruitful!