Why be vegan?
This is an interesting question, which when answered, can cause a variety of reactions depending on the reasoning and the level to which one is vegan.
I started off as being vegan in terms of diet. I stopped consuming all animal products. However, if honey was an ingredient in another food item, I didn’t avoid it.
As time went on and I researched further I decided that I didn’t want any animals to suffer to provide me with items to consume or wear.
It became a lifestyle choice, rather than, being limited to diet.
Why? I read a lot about the effect of the dairy industry on the environment and the health benefits of going plant based but the reason that resonated with me through and through was animal suffering.
I am a visual person so when I watched a video about the dairy industry in April 2009, I pretty much stopped eating dairy overnight. Whenever I was tempted I’d remember the images I saw in the video and the tears that I shed whilst watching it.
After watching this video I stopped consuming dairy products because I couldn’t live with myself if other Souls were imprisoned, enslaved, artificially inseminated soon after giving birth so their body didn’t heal/rest & then separated from their babies; for me to have dairy products. I had no idea that dairy resulted in death for some. Unfortunately if the calf is a boy he’s usually taken to be culled. If it’s a girl, she’s forced into the same life that her mother’s leading. Oh and the milk, which is brought about because of the pregnancy i.e. is for the calf, but it’s is stolen from the mother and sold to humans. This is why I don’;t consume dairy.
I had already stopped eating things made directly from eggs e.g. fried eggs, omelettes etc. I dug a bit deeper and learned about what happens in the egg industry so I stopped consuming ‘invisible’ eggs too i.e. eggs within other food items. I often think of how intolerant many of us are to sharing ‘our spaces’ but the chickens are kept in such an inhumane way. They may have a ‘whole’ cage to themselves but they are so tiny that they can’t turn around or move in any way. Others are kept in an ‘open’ space but there are so many chickens, that you can’t see the floor. Of course, there’s the fact that if fertilised, I’d be eating what could have become a chick. This is very rare but nevertheless, I’d rather avoid that chance of it occurring. For those that hatch, there’s contradictory information. Some sources say that the males aren’t needed as chickens don’t need a male to lay an egg. Thus they are thrown in the bin and left for dead or they are ground up alive. There’s no time or money to sedate them first or do something to make it a little more humane. Other sources say the opposite i.e. that they are in demand! These articles suggest that they’re possibly gassed and fed whole to snakes and other animals who depend on meat for survival. Either way, it;s not something that I want to be part of, so I don’t eat eggs any more.
