Monday, May 31, 2010

Why I Do What I Do

I rarely send something to my entire list.  Today I am sending out my blog posting to my entire email list.
I have many people in my life who think that the vegan choice is just sort of my little thing I do or the equivalent of my religion or is a popular trend and nothing more.  They would not think this if it were me working each day to end violence toward humans. In most human circles, the non-violence education work I do would be considered "more important" if I were working for humans rather than non-humans.
I am sending this out because it is important to not turn our backs on needless violence.  It is not to point a finger at anyone or to say that I am a perfect example of non-violence/consistency.
I am not perfect.  I have inconsistencies in my life.  Like everyone, I do my best with what I know and with the often difficult choices I have to make. 
Most people want to help create a less violent and more caring society.  Some situations seem overwhelming.  How do I personally stop the war in the Middle East?  I have no idea.  Other situations are totally within our power.  How do I personally stop contributing to the war on innocent non-humans?  Here the choices are often within our hands and can be acted on immediately.
Some choices are easier than others.
Whether it is ethical to eat dairy or not eat dairy is not one of the more difficult choices in life.  It is quite clear that we are causing lifetimes of violence and suffering for the pleasure of a bowl of yogurt or a cheese pizza or a dish of ice cream. Most people do not realize this or do not want to make this connection.

Most people do not want to watch difficult/violent footage.  I understand....there are images that I have witnessed that have haunted me for years.  And, it is important to not turn away, especially if the industries are ones we choose to support. 

I am going over to the meditation center to volunteer today.  The center serves dairy.  It is accepted in even the most caring circles.
I know that many of my most politically and environmentally conscious friends are going to say that they only get "humane" or "organic" dairy products.  Most of them have never visited these dairies.  Caring people would not support these farms if they were witness to every step of the process.  Even the most "humane" dairy farm has to deal with the by-product of their industry: the male calves.  They are slaughtered or sent to a veal facility within a few days because the milk meant for them is destined for ice cream, yogurt, cheese and milk for humans who are beyond the nursing age.
There is no humane way around that or the fact that the mothers are slaughtered while still in the prime of their life and become part of the meat industry.
Eating dairy is a slippery slope.  You may start out saying you only support "humane" or "organic" animals products, but when you go out to eat you go ahead and order animal products in your meal without regard for the source.

Please, if you still consume dairy products and decide that you do not want to witness the extremely difficult/violent video attached to this email, there are other, gentler places to get informed. 
Buy some Daiya vegan cheese (the best..) and some coconut milk ice cream and make yourself a comfort food snack while reading through the endless vegan educational material on-line.  Simple Google: Dairy cruelty

Once you read the material you find, you will be more informed.
What you do with that information is up to you.
I hope you will choose to act on what you see.



http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/26/conklin-dairy-farms-animal-abuse-video-goes-viral/

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for the post... and keep doing what you are doing, no matter what the critics say. I have gone periods of my life when I was one of those critics. Keep setting an example and representing your cause: they'll come around eventually.

    Whatever is dairy in my house is the last I'll ever buy of it. It might be a 'hard' transition, but it will also be the easiest I have ever made.

    I was already leaning toward vegetarianism and hardly ate meat, mostly for better health. After watching that video, eggs from a local farm (purchased at our farmer's market) are the only animal products I will ever consume. No more commercial chocolate either - to anything that contains dairy, eggs or other animal products from unknown sources, I say "NO WAY". I love non-vegan chocolate. I love non-vegan cheese and ice cream. But my heart breaks for the cows and calves in that video - and what will shut my wallet to dairy and meat forever is the knowledge that Conklin dairy's horrid abuse is NOT the exception in this industry: it is the norm across the country and the globe.

    Gandhi's quotes help to focus my rage and sadness over the horrific Conklin dairy abuse:

    "I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to the protection by man from the cruelty of man."

    "I have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmitted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmitted into a power that can move the world."

    -a VERY concerned citizen with a lot of controlled anger, from small-town pennsylvania

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  2. Thank you for posting this, dear Rae.

    I appreciate your honest, heartfelt perspective and truths.

    As someone who lives about 60 miles from this dairy farm, the ripple effects are spreading, let me assure you.

    I applaud your previous commenter on his/her awakening and subsequent choices. "Shutting my wallet to dairy and meat forever"...what a great way to say it!

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  4. Yep, I agree Rose...and we all learn from each other.....and hopefully the "all kinds" on the planet will work toward co-creating the most compassionate earth home we can..causing the least harm and suffering as possible.

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  5. I realized that you, Rose, may think that I am removing comments that I don't like..actually the only ones I remove are the ones that are japanese and chinese porn sites that randomly post to blogs.

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