Be normal, eat animals

1689: 

It’s an irrefutable fact that almost every human on the planet eats meat and/or uses animal products! The idea that animals may be used for food, is universally accepted. The habit of using animals for food and many other services is deeply embedded in the human psyche. This Goliath seems unconquerable, and yet the idea of Animal Rights has reached a considerable number of people and inspired them to advocate for these animals; they’ve decided for themselves that they’ll no longer be party to animal exploitation. A recent survey by the Vegetarian Resources Group in USA, shows that 1% are practising vegans, and so it seems that, against all odds, the ‘Rights’ movement is gaining ground. But to reach the majority, who are not as sensitive, who are less empathetic or more animal-food addicted, we ‘advocates’ might need to revise our persuasion-approach. Our near-impossible task is to persuade the majority of practising omnivores, comprising 99% of the population, to think for themselves.

Let’s put it this way, when it comes to food, almost no one is in full control of their own choices. We seem to have a primal urge to conform to majority behaviour. More than anything, people want to be seen as ‘normal’, and don’t want to stand out as being fussy about food or to be thought of as food-wowsers. To underline our ‘regular guy’ image, people believe that what is normal just has to be ethically okay, otherwise everyone would surely reject it. From that belief comes a blind acceptance of a few dangerous beliefs. Firstly, that animals bred for food are NOT like our companion animals at home; they are too dumb to feel things that our dogs and cats feel. Secondly, that since unloved pigs and cows and chickens are brought into this world solely for the use of humans, that they will respect their destiny and humans will deem it  okay to enslave them and brutally kill them. The common belief is that these ‘farm’ animals wouldn’t appreciate having a normal animal life. And, if we believe this then it’s not difficult to build a case for accepting any level of atrocity which might help to keep prices low for their products. All we need to do is treat them like inanimate objects and forget they are in any way sentient. Like us.