As I was going shopping recently, outside the mall was a small group of people wearing Guy Fawkes masks and holding laptops depicting images of suffering animals. They labelled themselves as “Anonymous for the Voiceless.” I guess all my life I have pushed this important issue to one side and carried on being carnivorous.
On this occasion, however, a particular phrase caught my attention: “Why are my taste-buds more important than the suffering and death of another living creature?”
Since then I have watched two of the videos recommended by the group, one by Ed Winters (UK) and one by Gary Yourofsky (USA), and I have felt obliged to review my standpoint. Apart from the horrendous suffering inflicted upon the animals that are slaughtered for meat, I also discovered some things I never knew about the dairy industry.
I had never thought about how, in order to produce milk, cows have to be artificially inseminated and then have their calves taken away from them very soon after birth so that the cows can produce milk for human consumption. Nor did I realise that these young calves soon had their insides ripped out as a by-product of selling veal so that the rennet can be obtained from their fourth stomach in order to curdle the milk used to make cheese. As for the condition of even the chickens that lay eggs for us … best not even go there. So now I understand why, for vegans, the dairy industry is pretty much on the same level of the meat industry. There is no such thing humane suffering or a humane death.
In the same week as I watched these videos, I read an article about Air New Zealand serving up a vegan burger on its flights to the USA. This received an angry reaction from the country’s carnivores. NZ MP Nathan Guy wrote on Twitter: “Disappointing to see Air NZ promoting a GE substitute meat burger on its flights to the USA. We produce the most delicious steaks and lamb on the planet – GMO and hormone free. The national carrier should be pushing our premium products and helping sell NZ to the world.”
Jingoism used to justify insane human cruelty?
A few years ago, when I was so unenlightened that I believed in God, some vegetarian friends asked me why I ate meat. I had no real answer. Now, however, I understand it has a lot to do with the fact animals and the environment are unimportant to the great Christian myth. The Bible tells us that God was more pleased with Abel’s fat-laden animal sacrifice than with Abel’s vegetable sacrifice (Genesis 4:2-7). It tells us that God gave humans permission to eat meat and that all animals would forever live in fear of humans (Genesis 9:1-3). It tells us that animals do not have a soul (Genesis 1:26-27) and so do not require salvation. It tells us that humans are to rule over the animals and nature (Genesis 1:26-27). It tells us that animals were sacrificed to cover human sin (Hebrews 9:22). And it tells us that this world will one day be destroyed and a new, beautiful, sinless world will be created to replace it (2 Peter 3:10-13).
When such narratives can be used to justify your cultural behaviour, you don’t need to give any thought to the suffering of animals or our willful destruction of the environment. When was the last time you heard a sermon in church encouraging you to become a vegan?
Conversely, many Hindus are vegetarian. In Hinduism, animals are treated with greater respect (perhaps shaped by reincarnation?) and there is no notion of this world being destroyed and a new one created to replace it.
In conclusion, I challenge you to watch the video below. I can assure you that once you do, you will have no excuses left to remain a carnivore.
In case you are wondering, should non-believers tell Christians to become vegans? No. Have I become a vegan? Yes.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of humankind.” Mahatma Gandhi
