Is it easy to become a vegan?

1395:

Up in the clouds, we vegans can easily forget how we got up here; we end up thinking the change we made (going vegan) was all quite easy, and we go around telling everyone that it will be just as easy for them.  "Going vegan is simple and quick", but it’s not for everyone.  For some of us it’s more like an alcoholic giving up the drink.  For some of us it means making a massive decision about ourselves, perhaps triggered by a realisation which might have been brewing for some time.  Our own journey, stage by stage, might have been sparked by compassion, and that is what we try to hold onto, while we’re mixing with the day-to-day world.  But it’s easy to slip back into our old ways.

It’s rather like coming out of a movie, feeling pumped by the whole emotional impact of what we’ve just been through, and then later on, as we walk home, the details fade.  And we can’t remember quite why, only a half-hour ago, we got so carried away.  It’s much the same with making such a bold decision, to become vegan.

         

With new ideas, attitudes and opinions, if we don’t examine and digest them thoroughly at the time, then the power of them fades too quickly, and nothing consolidates deeply enough.  And then we don’t get around to making the big changes suggested by the big idea.  We revert back to our safe-old, lifestyle habits and attitudes.

Open Letter

1394:

Dear Omnivore,

We hope you don’t resent us for not eating as you do and for campaigning for animals.  We only want to do the right thing by them and earn enough respect from you so that you’ll trust us with our ideas.  Sometimes we do some tub-thumping and admittedly, that’s a bad habit.  You see, we’re used to thinking up-ahead and we want to warn you of the ethical dangers you might not have thought about before.  Hopefully we don’t play the prophet or come across as being judgemental.

Some of us have a lot to learn - we’re not selling soap powder after all.  We’re attempting to sell an idea, and make it inspiring enough to interest you.  What we don’t want to appear to be is preachy.  No one likes being told what to do.  It makes people want to dig their heels in. It reminds people of the phoney Bible-bashers, and once that image sticks, it turns people off.

Having a conversation about why not to use animals will always sound a bit accusatory.  If we happen to press that particular button we shouldn’t be surprised if you accuse us of fanaticism.  And then you'll probably find yourself so opposed to our arguments, and we to yours, that it’s a long climb back uphill, to get back to where we started.

If we vegans are going to instigate discussion of this subject, we must shoulder the responsibility of conducting matters in a civilised way.  And it can only lead somewhere worthwhile if we don’t blow it, by pushing things too hard, or cornering you into saying something stupid.

A robust debate is all well and good, but it’s up to us to watch for subtle signs both in ourselves and in our adversaries.  We mustn’t get into value-judging knowing just how sensitive people are about the food they eat and how vulnerable they are to having their ethics attacked.

         

How I feel will show on my face – perhaps it’s just a matter of smiling at you when I speak, in such a way that you’ll be convinced how friendly I’m trying to be. I’d be wanting you to think I am friendly and non-judgemental, but it won’t work if my smile is masking any disapproval of you.

We vegans, who think we know a lot about food, should realise that some omnivores know about food too, in as much as they know what they like and what seems to be good for them.  We must try not to underestimate you.  And at the same time go easy on the ethics - we need to bend over backwards, to show we realise how difficult animal issues are and be willing, no, enthusiastic to have our arguments critically assessed by you.  We aren’t asking you to agree with us, we just want you to think about issues and arrive at your own conclusions. 

Animal Rights via Non-Violence

1393: 

Vegans accuse omnivores of having double standards - “You say you love animals but you eat them”.  Obviously this sort of statement isn't a crowd-pleaser; it doesn’t go down too well at the dinner table.  In fact you might as well say “You eat meat?  Wow!  That’s so uncool”.  An obviously hostile statement.

         

Personally, I wouldn’t be so up front.  I’d rather say, “It’s your choice”, implying that it's none of my business.  But what a cowardly response! It's better to be hostile than slimy with just enough judgement in my voice to show disapproval.

           

With the animal-eater, we can go two ways: if we speak too softly we’re not heard.  If we speak more loudly we offend people.  But if we ever get into conversation on this subject, whatever we might say, it is almost certainly going to offend, shock or irritate.  Unless it's completely ignored.  If it is taken up, our comments will be counterattacked, and then both sides have been offended, and it all potentially developing into an unwinnable fight.  There are no winners or losers in this sort of fight, so if we want to be constructive, it depends on how carefully we put things.

How do we say something strongly without inviting overreaction, which then makes further discussion impossible?  I find it’s best to use understatement – “you might consider this: eat predominantly plant-based foods for a week and see how it feels”, or “imagine a world without abattoirs, where you’d have to do your own killing”.  And if we do want to point out some horrible fact, it’s best to deliver our ‘shocking message’ without hammering it home too hard.

         

The whole process of changing a person’s mind over animal-use isn’t simple, quick or easy.  Inevitably, ego rises up to defend a position which one has always held.  When it comes to an omnivore's diet, it has formed over perhaps decades.  So, our attempts to effect a mind-change won’t be achieved by using any kind of force.  Persuading is a delicate art.  Sensitive animal issues should be packaged as non-judgementally as possible (easier said than done!) and delivered so as NOT to corner people.

By becoming vegan, we must avoid becoming the ‘vegan Nazi’, who might have a reputation to live down.  Others might have given ‘vegan’ that sort of image, and we have to undo that image in some way, before we deliver any message.  A good start is to de-anger our voice.  Perhaps all we need to do at first is to state our regard for animals – “They are our friends and we don’t eat our friends”.  And see how that goes down.  A sense of humour helps.  It shows we don't take ourselves too seriously and want to interact with our so called ‘adversaries’ in a completely non-violent way. 

Shopping

1392: 

Humans are by nature kind people.  Most of us would be completely incapable of deliberately making an animal suffer.  But we’re duplicitous enough to let a proxy imprison them and kill them, for us, and we still come out smelling like roses.

This is the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ syndrome - ‘what our eyes don’t see our heart won’t grieve over’.  The mind of most people cooperates with their own interests, so ethical decisions are rarely made when shopping.  We shop without there being any ‘heart or mind’ factor involved.  We find food, we buy it, we eat it; we see familiar packaging on the shelf, we reach for it (as we’ve done a thousand times before), drop it in the basket, and take ownership of it at the check-out.  Then, it’s as good as eaten, and once used, once eaten, we needn’t worry that it’s gone, because there's plenty more where that came from.

If we buy a hen’s egg or a lamb’s leg, we buy it because we want it.  We don't need to know about how it was produced.  We buy it because the thought of eating it is irresistible.  No one is in favour of cruelty to animals but keeping things the way they are is to our advantage; whenever animal welfare reforms are made, prices go up.  Economics supersede ethics.  When we want something, we’ll buy it despite ethical reasons not to.

Animals must not matter

1391:

Everyone says they want a peaceful world but few link peace with food choices.  Even amongst the most educated, very few believe Animal Rights represents a start to the end of violence in our world.

         

To vegans, however, it seems obvious that the only way to bring about lasting peace is to admit food comforts are linked to human violence.  It’s a tough call for meat eaters who’ve accepted that “animals must not matter” - their brutal killing (done by proxy) underlines this belief.  And if animals don’t matter, and killing them doesn’t matter then we ourselves are enslaved by this single belief.  That’s all it needs to weaken our ability to change ourselves and rescue our world we live in.

You’d think if there were even a slim chance to save our world by reducing such a routine violence, that we’d do whatever was necessary.  If it took bravery or a strong-will, we’d surely rise to the occasion.  But we are convinced we’ve gone too far, that we are too hooked on our favourite foods and the daily routines of our lifestyle.  By considering animals, by going vegan, that would seem to be beyond our strength to carry off.  It would mean too much of a personal sacrifice, dropping so many items of food from our shopping list.

         

Humans could be the planet’s greatest asset, but to date we’re its greatest curse.  We are softened by our little comforts and unwilling to forgo them.  Indeed, we’re not willing to question our role in the routine animal violence which carries across to our attitudes to almost everything and everyone we are in contact with.  Our obstinacy dooms us to inevitable self-destruction.  All the time we see animals as property, all the time we keep slaughter houses open, we debase life and can’t find peace.  Humans will never find ways to repair the damage we’ve caused, until we drop our casual attitude to violence. 

Unlike any other predator, whose food supplies are limited, for us there’s abundant choice, but only because we entertain violence, by imprisoning animals, breeding them and killing them.

“We tell ourselves that we are good, just, upright, kind and gentle people.  We just happen to enjoy eating animals, which is okay because they were put here for us to use and we need the protein.  Yet the extreme cruelty and violence underlying our meals is undeniable, and so our collective shadow looms larger and more menacing the more we deny its existence, sabotaging our efforts to grow spiritually and to collectively evolve a more awakened culture”.

“We will always be violent toward each other as long as we are violent toward animals – how could we not be?”

Will Tuttle The World Peace Diet

Holding out till it's too late

1390: 

Animals are getting killed in their billions whilst the consumer is misinformed into believing that animal products are somehow good for health.  Advertising and product promotion still work to make things as easy as possible for the consumer - but consumers aren’t completely blind.  There’s a sense that the tide is turning.  It’s clear that meat-eating is becoming unfashionable.  And the rich by-products are making people fat.  Perhaps this indicates a beginning of the end of the speciesist-era.

To date, most consumers haven’t seriously considered this.  Most people haven’t even thought about radically changing their eating habits.  Maybe they’ll hold out till the eleventh hour, until they’re personally so afraid of death or afraid for their kids’ health, or even for the future of the planet, that change is the only option left to them.  And if it’s not from fear of ill health then they’ll feel it when their conscience pricks too painfully.  To switch away from conventional foods is hard for young people, but it’s even harder for older omnivores, who have spent most of their lives eating animals and are still nowhere near being vegetarian let alone vegan. 

First cracks appearing

1389: 

Compassion-philosophy has seeped in through the cracks and made us think twice about eating murdered animals.  Imagine if this view caught on.  The damage it would do to businesses which use animals would be incalculable.  The authorities will always do everything possible to suppress this view, denounce it, ridicule it, but mainly sideline it, by giving it no oxygen.  Society will always encourage people to ignore it.

Animal groups have worked hard these past few years showing the media the horror of what’s happening on farms.  The media are caught between a rock and a hard place.  They want to tell the stories but they are governed by the network of animal industry-related advertisers, who don’t like these stories.  So the media is reluctant to publish.

However, media is changing.  Thankfully everything that's being discovered about animal exploitation is now finding its way onto the Internet, making conventional media somewhat redundant.  However, ‘On-line’ has no headlines.  If you want to know what's happening you have to go looking for it.

         

Without there being any need to consider advertising revenues, the on-line information-providers are entirely free to publish their findings.  This spells danger to those with a vested interest in businesses using animals.  With an increasingly toothless media, the Animal Industries now see how a vegetarian culture could spread.  (It’s more evident in Europe and USA but less so here in Australia).  Animals have been being brutalised on a mass scale for a long time.  And with so much more information coming to light these days, there’s a change in the cultural consciousness, especially amongst young people.  They’re beginning to find out that their world is extremely unfriendly towards certain animals.  In fact for farm animals especially, things have become so bad that it’s impossible to keep it all under wraps.  Not only are the ghetto conditions on farms a cause for concern but too often animal products are being linked with the big killer-diseases of the day.  And as it worsens for the victims, be they animals or farmers, it seems that shareholders are getting nervous - the Animal Industries can now see the writing on the wall.