Over the next few weeks, I will be answering a question that I am often asked, “Why are you vegan?” I am not here to change anyone, but if you are curious as to why I make the choices I make, read on.
Eating animal products in and of itself, is neither bad nor good. [ctt template=”4″ link=”JKg2z” via=”no” ]I have no moral standing on whether people should eat meat or eggs or drink milk. None at all. So why am I vegan?[/ctt]
Humans have subsisted on animal products for almost as long as we have been upright. We don’t need meat but we eat it nonetheless. In fact, some cultures have meat as a dietary mainstay, notably in the northern regions of the planet where plant matter is hard to come by many months each year.
However, I believe that all animals are sentient beings and that they have the right to live a life that comes naturally to them, without pain or abnormal stressors. Not in cages, not jammed together, not eating unnatural food items, not shackled, shredded, kicked, beaten, diseased, pumped with hormones and antibiotics.
I could show you pictures but I do not look at them myself and if you really want to see suffering, you can find that yourself. Just open your eyes, suffering is everywhere.
In the United States, factory farms account for 99% of meat chickens, 97% laying hens, 99% of turkeys, 95% of pigs, and 78% of cattle. I will not participate in this willingly. Are you?