Are YOU a Flat-Earther?

1312: 

Edited by CJ Tointon

It's sad when kind, sensitive, peace-loving people are forced to become involved with people who've excluded themselves from the culture of nonviolence to its very opposite - namely the grubby game of 'animal exploitation'.   It’s something they take part in every day of their lives, if not directly then by proxy.

In truth, these 'omnivores' are probably in agreement with those who eschew violence.  They’d probably be among the first to agree that violence is causing most of our worst interpersonal and global problems.  They would probably declare themselves conscientious objectors if conscription were ever reintroduced.  They realise that violence solves nothing.  They'd be the first to condemn capital punishment.  And yet they can't 'legitimately' support the cause of nonviolence because of the 'animal using' lives they lead and the huge animal exploitation industries they help keep in business. It's so sad.

They're rather like 'Flat-Earthers'.  They force themselves to believe what they know is not true - that the products they buy and consume each day are NOT involved in violence to animals.  And if they can’t convince themselves that farming animals is benign, then they can’t give their support to what is so obviously one of the greatest philosophies of our age – nonviolence.

They can’t be a voice against war, domestic violence or social injustice because they are active in perpetuating the cruel treatment of animals, notably those used for so much of the food they eat and the clothes they wear.  They can't avoid their complicity with the deaths of thousands of animals during their lifetimes.  Whether we describe them as omnivores,  carnivores or lacto-ovo-vegetarians, it makes little difference.  Throughout their lives, they will have spent many thousands of dollars, buying  products that come directly or indirectly from the abattoir.  They will have enriched the Animal Industry, knowing it to have inflicted untold cruelty to countless innocent animals.  

It's sad that omnivores/carnivores/lacto-ovo-vegetarians have to exclude themselves from what they otherwise might want to see thrive - the emergence and strengthening of nonviolence itself.  If they had stood up for the animals, promoted their liberation, spoken out against their enslavement, they'd have discovered for themselves an alternative to the use of force and violence.  These are the people who could be the vanguard of an Animal Rights movement, because in their hearts they know violence and cruelty is wrong.  But instead, they've become trapped by their attachment to certain commodities which they believe they can't do without. The products they use which harm animals include milk, eggs, wool, silk, leather, pet food and of course the flesh and organs of slaughtered sentient beings.  The use of them puts an end to the idealism of gentle, caring, kind people. 

The worst effect of this widespread use of animal products is that no one can openly or proudly admit to their dependency and still support Animal Rights and non-violence!  It all has to be swept under the carpet, or at least enough of the by-products anyway, in order to demonise the more obvious products of violence - like the meat that comes from the direct 'killing' of animals.  But omnivores are on dangerous grounds.  They can’t overtly support nonviolence for fear of being shot down by the 'carpet-lifters' who see what has been swept away.  Theirs would be a very fragile defence if they tried to advocate for Animal Rights whilst being unable to refrain from so many of their favourite foods and commodities.

People are so used to eating what they find tempting, and wearing anything that catches their eye, that shopping poses no ethical difficulty whatsoever. In fact, the only restriction when choosing what to buy is based on what is affordable.   Carnivores might consider the cost of lobster too high initially and once they know that the lobster is boiled alive, an ethical component does arise.  Or those cheeses (developed by the casein-culturists) which are milk-based are indisputably involved with all the cruelties of the dairy industry.


There’s an irreconcilable dilemma facing anyone using animal products. They are drawn to the product and yet repelled by the violence necessary for its production.  Most people settle for indulgence rather than avoidance.   Whether we are attracted to the delicacy of Roquefort or a Cheddar bubbling over our pizza, it's the same irreconcilability challenging us.  And it happens when we are tempted by the almost irresistible beauty of a fashionable pair of leather shoes or the softness of a Cashmere jumper, or the deliciousness of a quiche or a cream cake.  There are thousands of equally seductive products on the market making things very difficult for Flat-Earthers, when they can't admit to their complicity in the evils of the Animal Industry.