Welcome to the first in our new series of articles called Vegan Newbie! These weekly articles will be geared toward BRAND NEW VEGANS and vegetarians, and they will deal with issues and topics that will help newbies find their way through the transition from an omnivorous lifestyle to a compassionate one. If we’re going to make Vegan mainstream, we need to reach out to people at ALL stages in the transition, and that is what this series is about. We hope you find these articles thought provoking and interesting. If you do, or if you know of someone who might, please SHARE them. With the power of the internet, our voices can be heard far and wide. If you are a vegan newbie, and there’s something particular you want to read about, email us and let us know at editor@veganmainstream.com.
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The human relationship with animals is all out of whack. What do I mean by that?
Perhaps I should start with a scenario from the book, “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows” by Melanie Joy.
Imagine you are a guest at a fancy dinner party. You are sitting down at a beautiful table, enjoying the conversation, drinking fine wine and eating a delightful stew. You find the meal so delicious that you ask the host for the recipe. She says, “Well, the secret is in the meat. You use three pounds of well marinated golden retriever.” Think about your reaction to that. We consider dogs to be our companions. They are an accepted part of our society and they brighten our lives with their love and affection. Knowing that the meat you just ate was from a dog will instantly make you recognize that the meal is in fact a dead animal. An animal that could breathe, play and emote before it was killed. The same meal that tasted amazing moments ago would likely now seem disgusting. Society’s recognition of the suffering and death of one species while completely ignoring that of another can be termed as moral schizophrenia.
We are empathetic towards our pets and do not want to imagine them in pain, while we actively participate in the killing of billions of other animals so that we can eat meat and dairy. Recently, during the Beijing Olympics, there was a huge outcry about the sale of dog and cat meat at many of China’s restaurants. When the rest of the world heard about it, people were shocked at such obvious animal cruelty. It resulted in thousands of petitions being signed and the Chinese government had to stop selling the meat. All of this happened while an incredible number of farm animals were enslaved and killed right here at home.
Pigs, cows and chickens are just as sentient as dogs and cats. They have emotions, they want to be loved and have a desire to avoid pain and suffering. There is no difference between our companion animals and animals raised for food, yet we consider the suffering and death of one as barbaric and inhumane while the other is considered normal.
Another example of our moral schizophrenia is the Michael Vick incident. The famous American Football player was indicted for operating a dog fighting ring. The ring was operational for four years, causing unimaginable suffering and death to hundreds of dogs before it was stopped. This resulted in widespread condemnation of Vick and nothing he said could justify his actions. The people who condemned Vick included many who consume meat. While Vick derived pleasure from sitting around a ring watching dogs fight, a majority of people enjoy sitting around a barbecue roasting dead animals. This sense of discrimination between species is called speciesism. It’s our prejudice towards some species and our assumed superiority that allows us to exploit them for our selfish needs.
All animals deserve consideration and empathy. As a species, humans are blessed with the ability to make moral choices and judge our prejudices and habits. Animal exploitation is just as old, barbaric and unnecessary as human enslavement and the discrimination we have practiced against one another. Veganism has to be our moral baseline. It’s the obvious step that reiterates our recognition that exploitation of the innocent is wrong, human or non-human. By recognizing the
similarities between companion animals and farm animals and by altering our lifestyles, we can effectively end the worst holocaust ever.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated.’ He didn’t differentiate between animals. Neither should we.
Siddharth Iyer is 23 years old and from Bangalore, India. He is currently pursuing his Master’s in Helsinki, Finland. He has been a vegetarian all his life and became vegan 7 months ago. Siddharth volunteers at an Animal rights group in Finland called Animalia.
