A glimpse into the ethical reasons for changing ones eating habits

Even though I'm planning on keeping my blog mostly positive with all my mini-vegan/vegetarian-ephiphanies and updates and such, I think it's important to mention a big reason I decided to make a change... ethical reasons.  While the action of watching "Forks Over Knives" made me realize how healthy it is to adopt a plant-based diet, watching the film "Earthlings" opened up my eyes to the types of regular practices used by big businesses to bring various meats to our tables.  I was shocked and surprised and outraged at what was (and IS) happening in our world. And I was even more surprised that I had been "in the dark" for so long!  It's amazing to have a veil lifted and realize what are the realities of factory farming.  I was shocked to find out that the following things are "industry standards of practice" for raising and killing animals.

----VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED----

Did you know that...

• Breeder pigs spend years in pens so narrow and small that they can't even turn around.  I've read and also been told that pigs have a mental capacity that is smarter and more aware than dogs.  Can you imagine your pet dog in these conditions for years on end?  Can you imagine being in these conditions for years on end?  Can you imagine constantly being in a state of breeding, then having your babies torn from you too soon whilst being cooped up in a cage where you can't move for years?  This to me seems like torture.  Boo! I don't like it!

Did you know that...

• Pate is created by shoving a foot long tube down a duck's throat and forcing food into it's stomache until it develops a fatty liver.
• Baby pigs (that will be raised to be eaten) typically are castrated and have their tails clipped without any anesthetic or painkiller.
• Factory farmhouse workers and factory slaughterhouses employees, whose jobs are to "process" thousands of animals per hour, typically develop an insensitivity to "the product".  There are a plethora of undercover videos/reports showing workers beating the animals, tossing piglets and chickens through the air as a game, stomping on the animals' heads until they die, jabbing them in the eyes amongst other atrocities. Baby pigs that are gassed improperly are often still alive, and die slowly and painfully. And there are so many other brutal acts which occur in these factory farming conditions done by the workers to the animals. Whew, so upsetting!  And sadly/unbelievably, this is the norm in factory farming (and is considered a standard of practice), not an abnormality.
• Because of the speed of factory farming, there are animals that are not stunned or killed properly;  and end up being either boiled or skinned alive while still cognicent.
• Dairy cows are impregnated repeatedly; and their calves are taken from them soon after birth (causing extreme anguish to the newborn and the mother cow).  The dairy cows often are so stressed by the hyper-production that they can't even walk to the slaughterhouse.
• Veal calves are taken from their mothers right after birth and are tethered in stalls where they can't turn around.  They live their short lives in these conditions.  I've read undercover investigations in which it was discovered that workers would electrically prod newborn calves as they walked to slaughter (and even sometimes throw water on the calves to make the electric shock more severe).  The sad thing is that this isn't an abnormality.  This is typical!

And so much more goes on...  I could go on ad infinitum.  But I think it's best to do one's own research and to see it firsthand for oneself.

I submit a challenge to you to have the courage to really research where the food on your table is coming from.  And I submit an additional challenge to have the courage to watch "Earthlings".  Though it's difficult to watch, I think it's really a compassionate choice to "know" what these animals go through.  You honor animals by watching this and then making choices which benefit them and benefit yourself.  I feel with my heart that really "seeing" the reality makes all the difference.

I think it's important to really know where our food comes from so that we can make more compassionate choices.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you've read it all the way through... Oh, and if you're checking out my blog for the first time, please read the other posts thus far for May 2012.  They are much more lighthearted and capture an additional essence of the change I'm making for myself.

Thank you for your time. ~With love and peace, Sylvia