Animals Agaisnt Abhorrent Humanity

Mind you, I do not hate vegans. Not even a little. I detest the fundie vegans – they remind me too much of the fundie “Christians” I grew up around – but I don’t have a problem with vegans in general.

But if you’re a vegan who’s going to claim that it makes the world better, then you’re not terribly educated about your chosen lifestyle. You’re not educated about things like quinoa – one of the uber popular staples of the vegan lifestyle – or the fact that it’s an import from countries where it’s part of their primary diet and the fact that people there not only do the farmwork for shite pay but also end up with less of their food so snotty snobs in other countries can act like they’re the big shit because they don’t eat animals.

Next: Do y'all even have the slightest idea as to how much more farmland there has to be in order to supply the vegan demand? Where do you think those farmlands are built? More wildlife losing their natural habitats and food for more croplands. More wildlife getting killed in various ways to keep them out of the crops expected to support the vegan demand.

And, feckin’ seriously, quit acting like people don’t care about animals or animal welfare just because we eat meat. You know nothing, Jon Snow. And have the sense to recognize that humans are OMNIVORES. MOST people NEED meat. Literally. And if you’re so goddamned uneducated that you think all proteins are the same, then YOU ARE NOT FIT to be telling people what they should eat because YOU ARE NOT EDUCATED PROPERLY IN DIETARY SCIENCE. If you were, you would know that human bodies are still very unique in what they need. Some people’s bodies truly do better on a vegetarian or vegan diet and others who have tried such were told to start eating meat again because even with things like soy protein, they were essentially starving themselves.

I know several vegans and vegetarians (who aren’t assholes about it) who are so because they were advised to be such because their systems couldn’t process meat.

And meat-eaters like myself recognize the hats and cruelty of industrial farms, so guess the fuck what? I do my damnedest to acquire my meat from cruelty-free farms, my eggs from places that are free-range and natural-fed.

If meat eaters like me can recognize such, then it stands to reason that vegans should be expected to also recognize the harms and pitfalls of their dietary religion and recognize that just because they may do awesome in such a lifestyle doesn’t mean that it’s for everyone. If a vegan refused to acknowledge such and educate themselves, then the “morality” behind their choosing the vegan lifestyle is a bunch of bullshit and they only did so so that they can feel like they’re somehow better than someone else.

Period.

 Even if this wasn’t obviously true, if you’re given the choice of two actions, where one is paying someone to slit a cow’s throat and the other is to eat broccoli, are you genuinely going to contest that the latter doesn’t represent significantly less suffering than the former?  Of course we as vegans are not solving the problems of the meat industry any time soon and we aren’t single-highhandedly changing the world, but if I changed the life of even one sentient being for the better as a result of my veganism, then I’d be very happy and you’d be very wrong. 

As for this idea of “it’s about time vegans recognised the problems with their diet,” we do. I don’t know a single vegan advocate who is not fully aware that veganism is not perfect either, I myself have written about it on multiple occasions. It is impossible to live a lifestyle which is completely free of causing any suffering, that’s why we always talk about causing less harm and less suffering, which is actually the way this very post phrases it. If that isn’t an acknowledgement in and of itself that we understand there are of course problems with veganism, then what is?

You mention quinoa specifically, as almost everyone always does when they want to criticise vegans, but we make up less than 1% of the population, and an even smaller number than that actually eat quinoa. So why exactly is this minuscule number of people being held responsible for the demand for quinoa of the entire western world? Are we suddenly the only ones eating it? The idea that quinoa is mainly vegans is just plainly false. Look on any seafood menu and you’ll see that quinoa is served as often with lobster as it is with beans. Don’t get me wrong, there are huge issues with Quinoa, as there are with all staple foods, which are all increasing in price due to a variety of factors including western demand and global warming. Singling out quinoa just because vegans eat it (alongside a great many meat eaters) and using it as a criticism against an entire movement, while conveniently ignoring the massive issues caused by the mono-crops grown to feed farmed animals, is transparently self interested.

Similarly, while you’re happy to acknowledge that land clearence for vegetables is a problem, you fail to mention the fact that animal products involves far more land clearance and usage than crops grown for human consumption do, in fact, more than literally any other industry does. The animals you eat also require land to grow the crops to feed them, at present a full 1/3 of the planet’s land surface and 2/3 of available agricultural land is used for farming animals. We can feed significantly more people per acre of land if the land is used to grow crops for humans, rather than as feed for farmed animals or grazing land.

 Just as an example, if we take a 2.5 acre piece of farmland the number of people whose food energy needs can be met by this land would be 23 people if producing cabbage, 22 for potatoes, 19 for rice, 17 for corn, 15 for wheat, 2 for chicken, and just 1 for eggs and beef. It is undeniable that by any reasonable measurement we could feed far more people using far less land if the world moved towards a vegan diet. This is why even the United Nations is advocating a global shift towards plant based eating. When we consider the massive deforestation required to create grazing land for farmed animals and to grow the crops to feed them, that 91% of formerly forested amazon cleared since 1971 has been used for cattle grazing, and that 60% of biodiversity loss is a result of meat based diets, the impact that this would have not only on humans but the environment and endangered species cannot be overstated.

The fact is that you are criticising vegans for pretending our diet is cruelty free, and then in the very next paragraph you are pretending that the farms you get your animal products from are cruelty free. You’re claiming you only buy from free range, natural feed farms (as everyone does, despite the fact that 99% of meat sold is factory farmed), but no matter how small the farm, how nice the farmers, slitting an animal’s throat is always cruel. Shooting them in the head with a captive bolt pistol is always cruel. Electrocuting them, gassing them, castrating them without anasthetic- always cruel, and all standard practices. Free range animals end up in exactly the same slaughterhouses as factory farmed animals do, labelling any product which came from a slaughtered animal who did not want to die as “cruelty free” is quite frankly ridiculous.

As for the idea that most people “literally” need meat, the National Health Service and the American Dietetic Association, both world health authorities, tell us that vegan diets are nutritionally adequate and healthy. A growing body of research also suggests that a vegan diet appears to be useful for increasing the intake of protective nutrients and phytochemicals and for minimizing the intake of dietary factors implicated in several chronic diseases. Vegans also have lower serum cholesterol and blood pressure, have reduced rates of cardiovascular disease and a substantially lower risk of cancer. If eating animals is necessary, it is curious indeed that we gain quite so many benefits when we stop doing it. Some people can’t go vegan, and we know that, but most people absolutely can, and that fact is undeniable.

Animal Conservation & Welfare Society

Trump just legalized the trade of elephant parts in America.

People of America. You must fight this

Gary Yourofsky is an American animal rights activist. In 2010 a speech he gave at Georgia Institute of Technology was released on YouTube titled “The Best Speech You Will Ever Hear”. 

The video gained millions of views and has been translated into dozens of languages.

It may be found here:

I will never see the sun rise, I will never see it set, I will never feel a kind touch, I will never be a pet.   I will never feel love, for I will not be loved, As I’m led to my murder, being prodded, poked and shoved.   As they cut my tender skin, I wondered who would care, If anybody out there, would consider my despair.   For you did not see me die, and you did not see me bleed, You did not hear me cry, for the meat that you don’t need.   You did not watch them kill me, you could not feel my pain, You will try not to think of me, as you blindly eat again.   I was the cow you ate on Monday, the pig you had midweek, I was the turkey for your Christmas, I was the calf you liked to eat.   I was the chicken in your sandwich, the duck you had for tea, I felt pain beyond belief, but you never thought of me.   Because thinking can be painful, and you refuse to see, That for every time you eat meat, those animals must bleed.   The cow was killed for Monday, the pig was scalded too, The turkey lived for 16 weeks, and the calf had died for you.   The chicken lived inside a cage, the duck could hardly move, And all of this suffering, occurred for so-called food.   I fail to see a reason, as there is no need, When humans eat my meat, it is purely for their greed.   You may think you’re above me, that you have advantage, But a kind, innocent creature, is better than a savage.   So next time you’re out shopping, try to feel some guilt, For those animals have died, for your eggs, your meat and milk.   My heroes are those people, who will not bite into me, So I ask a simple favor, and please stop eating meat.   I’m asking for the cows, the pigs and all the sheep, I’m asking for the birds, who are more than just some meat.   They can’t speak themselves, so please lets be their voice, Every one born into this, for them there was no choice.   For you did not see me die, and you did not see me bleed, You did not hear me cry, for the meat that you don’t need.

The reality the meat and dairy industry doesn’t want you to know.

by free from harm.

Have you found yourself in a situation where you’re faced with someone justifying their non - vegan diet? Or asking you endless probing questions about your vegan convictions? Then this article is for you!

Here you will find many common justifications people give for eating meat, and responses to them:

http://freefromharm.org/eating-animals-addressing-our-most-common-justifications/

1. Turkeys enjoy hearing music, and sometimes chirp along.

 2. Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour.

 3. Flying comes in handy because wild turkeys roost in trees at night. 

 4. Highly social and very affectionate, turkeys create lasting friendships with each other.

 5. Turkeys have unique voices, which is how they recognize each other.

 6. Only males gobble. The turkey’s distinct noise is only produced by males (gobblers) and is a way for them to announce themselves to potential mates (hens) while scaring off other males.

 7. The noises birds of both sexes make include clucks, purrs and yelps. 

 8. Turkeys have great geography skills and can learn the precise details of an area up to 1,000 acres.

 9. Like peacocks, male turkeys puff up their bodies and spread their feathers to attract a mate.

 10. Hens lay 10 to 12 eggs - one per day, over a period of around two weeks. The eggs will incubate for about 28 days before hatching.

 11. Baby turkeys are called poults.

While turkeys have demonstrated that they are intelligent, sensitive creatures deserving of protection, factory farmers treat them as meat-producing machines. 

The best thing you can do to protect turkeys and all farmed animals is to leave meat and other animal products off your plate.

 Here are some great resources to make going vegan easy:

 -  Vegankit

http://vegankit.com/

 -  Vegetarian Resource Group (Vegan)

In spite of its unassuming site, VRG has a huge variety of very useful resources)

https://www.vrg.org/

 -  I Love Vegan 

http://www.ilovevegan.com/start-here/  

 -  Acti – Veg 

https://acti-veg.com/

 -  Veganuary 

https://veganuary.com/starter-kit/

Well, we have yet to Evolve to being an Intelligent Species Onerall!

There is Great Intelligence among us, but it is not what the human race values.

Are the days of the Big Lick Walkers numbered? — EQUINE Ink

Via Animal Justice Project

HORROR AWAITS: The infamous Aintree Grand National meeting starts today, with the main race taking place on Saturday.

This is an event at which the racing industry parades in all its finery and receives uncritical, flattering coverage from sections of the media. In reality, it is a graveyard for horses - The fact that many horses die is seen as a minor side effect.

Test your knowledge - did YOU know the following about the horse racing industry? 🐎

• Only 5-40% of the hundreds of thousands of racehorses bred to race will go on to race. The remainder are either sent to slaughter for human consumption, pet food, re-entered into the breeding industry, or sold for lower-tier racing. 🐎

• Race horses typically undergo training when they are 1.5 years old, long before their bodies have developed and their skeletons mature - Complete growth of cartilage does not occur until they are 6 - 9 years old. The training demands subsequently leads to tragic injuries, leaving them ‘finished’ by the age of 4-6.

• The demands of racing cause a large proportion of horses to bleed into their lungs and windpipe (exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage).

• Injured horses are pushed to keep racing with the aid of pain masking drugs - as many as 90% of horses that break down have pre-existing injuries. 🏇

If you care about horses or simply think needless exploitation and slaughter is wrong - BOYCOTT horse races 🐴

We urge ITV to stop supporting this 'sport’!

#GrandNational #Aintree #YouBetTheyDie

Check out Animal Aid’s racehorse death watch: bit.ly/2FFKqTH

An albino moose in the forest.

 You can show footage from the smallest, best regulated slaughterhouse you can find, and people will still get upset viewing it, because it is the act of slaughter itself which most people find upsetting, not just the way it is done. Slaughter procedures are set out by organisations like the USDA, and the awful things in these videos like animals suspended upside down with their throats slit, or having the beaks/tails cut off are not isolated cases, they’re standard industry procedures and they’re perfectly legal. It’s not even just the sight people can’t stand, an awful lot of people will literally plug their ears or refuse to listen when you try to tell them how their food was made and what those animals went through to make it, and will sometimes even react very aggressively to anyone who tries to tell them.