Opening our mouths is not yet a crime

1211: 

If major issues in our world are being trivialised or ignored, the issue of animal exploitation is a prime example.  We are encouraged, as if we were gullible idiots, to see a benign picture of a happy farm with animals living contented lives, in picturesque farm yards.  We’re tempted by the dishes cooked by TV chefs on cooking shows.  We’re impressed by supermarket promotions that let us believe that they are “caring-for-quality”. But we’ve been bombarded with the same tired message so often that we know it’s all phoney.

Some of us see through this and boycott animal produce by becoming vegan.  We don’t expect to win any battles by taking on the whole world - righting such a huge variety of wrongs is almost impossible, but boycotting is a start.  Vegans have a hard enough time of it just on a personal level, but when we question the efficacy of so much popular food and point an accusing finger at food producers, it must seem as though we’re trying to knock away the very cornerstone of our society.  That being said, if we weren’t completely ‘abolitionist’ then we wouldn’t be really saying very much at all.

Abolitionism might make the Animal Industry angry (which mightn’t be such a bad thing!) but as yet it doesn’t press any buttons with consumers.  Vegans aren’t considered a threat, so in Australia it isn’t yet a crime to ‘disparage food’, but in certain parts of America, disparaging certain foods in public IS a crime (and you can guess which foods they are!).  If what goes on behind the scenes were to be made public, or if science professors spoke about the health problems associated with meat-eating, then customers might withdraw their support of the Animal Industry.  But can you imagine such things happening?  Can you imagine what damage that would do to all the allied industries and the ripple effect that would have on the whole economy?

But this could be Industry paranoia.  The food habits of too many people are too deeply set.  Maybe people, if they knew what was happening to animals or what was in their food, would worry for five minutes, but I doubt if they would be touched sufficiently touched to change their eating habits.  If animal activists want to make an impact then at the very least we have to be abolitionist - completely clean.  And explain to those who are reluctant to accept what we are saying, that there is no prettier way of presenting our reasoning, for being abolitionists.