I hear it over and over again: “I don’t want to know.”
This is an understandable first reaction to learning about the horrors of the industrialized meat industry. It is difficult to swallow (no pun intended) the fact that something you have been doing your whole life, is fueling such unbelievable cruelty, causing massive environmental destruction, taking years off your life, and frankly, is disgusting (see What’s Really In Your hamburger – look for the bold print).
But ignoring it only fuels the problem.
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” -Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winning author
Everyone is upset by seeing animal abuse. You know it is wrong. But let’s get real: By continuing to eat conventionally processed meat, you are financing some of the worst animal abuse you can imagine. You are making a choice to support this cruelty and you are giving them your money to continue it.
Once you know the truth about our factory farms, you have a moral obligation to react. This may not mean immediately going vegan, but certainly doing nothing is wrong.
Every snowflake in an avalanche pleads ‘not guilty’ but we all are.
How you can make a difference:
Don’t ignore the problem. Be aware of it and make choices accordingly. Choose eggplant parmesan over chicken or veal parm, choose veggie pizza instead of peperoni, choose bean chalupas instead of beef tacos, and when you do choose meat, choose locally raised, free-range, organic meat. Try doing a Meatless Monday every week (or a meatless Tuesday, or meatless lunches on M,W, F). Be conscious of the issues and of the implications of your choices.
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Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Miso soup (vegetarian, of course… no sardines used in this one)
Dinner: Stuffed portobello mushrooms and potatoes with carrots.
