Just going to write a quick post today because I am feeling rather lazy (as usual).
Today I am going to have a bit of a rant, so if my writing seems to be especially aggressive or extreme, I apologise, but I HAVE to get this off my chest……
Last night I saw an advertisement on TV promoting the benefits of red meat being narrated by Sam Neil. I am starting to get increasingly tired of the meat and dairy industry constantly hawking their sh*t! NEWSFLASH! One does not need to eat red meat, or meat of any kind for that matter in order to stay fit and healthy! Nor do we need to drink milk created for the consumption of infant bovines!
As a vegan I am used to my tastes and views being excluded from mainstream media, and I have learned to turn a blind eye to the constant advertisements of flesh filled foods by various food chains. I decided to ignore popular TV shows – such as Master Chef – due to the constant frying, stuffing, roasting and grilling of animal flesh. I have learned to ignore the cooking sections in newspapers/magazines, which generally contain various instructions on how cook a slab of meat or animal product of some description. I am also not phased by the fact that nearly every cafe/resturant/cafeteria/school/hospital or anywhere else that serves food will have limited or no options for someone like me. I can live with the fact that vegans are pretty much never considered when it comes to anything regarding food/food preparation in mainstream society. I don’t mind.
I am however, sick and tired of the beef and dairy industry trying to force their fruits of cruelty down my throat at every given opportunity. Just stop it! Are these industries so pathetic that they have to resort to shameless self promotion in order to sell some of their sh*t? Are their sales slumping? Perhaps it is because more and more people are slowly beginning to realise that they can live a healthy and happy existence WITHOUT consuming products derived from the exploitation or slaughter of innocent creatures. Not to mention the benefits to one’s health and environment that come with this choice.
The above is just speculation, I have no idea why these stupid ad’s are suddenly appearing, but I do know that I do NOT want to see them. I get bombarded with enough pro-meat and anti-vegan garbage via the mainstream media, friends and family every single day. I do not need to feel any more excluded from this society than I already am. So to the a**holes that decided to run these stupid advertisements: F**K YOU!!!
have a great day 
1azylizzie xo
Refrence: Blogroll:Random[oid]
Hi, I am for the time being a omnivore. What do I do wrong by deriving my energy and nutrient requirements from animal tissue? What am I guily of ? And what if I aquired my animal tissue only through scavenging? Would that make a difference?
You can eat whatever you wish to. I however do not like the idea of eating the flesh of another creature. The meat industry is cruel, many of the animals suffer on their way to feed lots, during their stay at feed lots and during the killing process. Even ‘free range’ hens are crammed by the thousands into giant sheds, where they suffer diseases and don’t receive adequate veterinary care. In Australia, many of these animals are sent overseas, (ie. Live transport). Thousands of these animals die from thirst and sickness on overcrowded ships. I don’t think I need to spend hours outlining the cruelty that these animals suffer. I know that I can derive all my nutritional requirements from other sources, so I do this instead. I don’t wish to support animal cruelty, so I choose not to eat or use products derived from such methods..
This article was directed at the meat industry, not at omnivores as a whole. You can eat what you want, it is your life and only you can decide what you want to eat. As the title suggests, I was ranting. I was sick of seeing advertisements for red meat constantly being flashed on the TV. I was tired of being told by misinformed people (my mother being one of them) that I can’t live a healthy life without meat or animal products, when in fact I have never been healthier.
Hi, and thank you for your reply.
I totaly agree with you. I must however admit that I hoped for a more in-deepth answer into the reasons why you are a vegetarian (for my benefit). I have since I was young had problems with eating animals, the reason is that I really do not see them as different from humans (I belive that most mammals are conscious (but not self-conscious)). This is the reason that I cannot eat animals that look like animals in any way (strange right?). I do however still eat animals, and I cannot really shake it (I do not feel satisfied when not having any meat). So I would be interested your experience, what made you take the final step from meat.
I’ve been thinking long and hard what to add to this discussion, but from experience I know I shouldn’t.
I do know that a picture speaks a thousand words.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/
@1azylizzie: Don’t feed the trolls.
lolz!
@Xen: I assume, from the derogatory cartoon, that you did not think so mutch of my discussion on your blog. I can understand that. In retrospect I see that it was writen in a inflammatory way and was kinda fruitless as my point got lost and it did not really motivate any discussion. I will leave my bias out of our future (if any) discussions.
Infousious
@Infousious: I thought about replying to your comment, but I’m releasing an official statement later on on my blog that will explain a lot.
I have many reasons for being vegan, I’ll try my best to list them for you so that it doesn’t take too long
1. Ever since I was very young I have always had a sense of guilt when eating animals. In fact, whenever I swatted a fly or mosquito I felt terrible. In my late teens I decided that I would not kill anything, not even a fly or an ant. Many people would think this is crazy, but I believe that we only get one shot at life, and these creatures can’t help being what they are, so it is wrong to take this life away from them… It was at this stage that I also decided to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, as I couldn’t live with myself when I ate meat.
2. I have always loved animals, and I grew up in the country with a variety of different animals. I realised that I could never EVER kill my horses, birds or dogs, so why should a cow or chicken be any different? Also, like what you mention in your comment, I realise that humans are just animals too, and I don’t see any real difference between us and other creatures.. They still feel pain and fear and have their own relationships with each other. The argument from intelligence never held any water with me (ie, humans are smarter than animals, therefore we can kill them…), because if you use this argument, then what about mentally disabled people? Should we kill them and eat them? Of course not! So I couldn’t justify the killing of other creatures when it wasn’t necessary…
3. Animals that are bred for food endure years of unspeakable cruelty. This includes laying hens and dairy cattle. When I discovered the horrific conditions in which many of these animals live, I decided to go fully vegan. I just cannot condone cruelty to other creatures in any way shape and form, and by eating eggs and drinking milk or wearing wool, I was condoning such horror. I wish to eliminate or avoid harm to other creatures to the best of my ability, and being vegan helps me achieve this.
4. Since becoming vegan I realised that my diet was much better and I was living a much healthier life. So I also enjoy being vegan for the health benefits.
5. It takes a lot more water and resources to breed cattle/chicken/sheep for food, so by deriving my nutrients from plant sources I am also minimising my impact on the environment.
I hope these reasons help you, and that they made sense. When I first went vegetarian I too had trouble saying ‘no’ to meat. I think the attachment to it is mainly psychological though, because we are generally raised with the idea that we need to eat meat to stay healthy.. Whenever I became tempted by the smell of bacon or something I would just think of the cruelty these animals suffer and remember where the food was coming from. The temptation quickly disappeared when I did this. Now that I have been vegan for quite a while, I actually hate the smell of meat cooking and the whole idea of eating the flesh of another creature disgusts me.. When I think of a steak, I actually feel quite revolted. The same goes for milk. I used to love it, and it was the hardest food for me to actually give up.. Now the thought of drinking it disgusts me and when I once accidentally took a sip of a ’soy’ latte (that obviously turned out to not be soy) I felt sick by the taste of it.. I ended up washing my mouth out I was so disgusted.
Anyhoo, that’s enough rambling from me. I hope this helps shed some light on my veganism.