Following a plant-based lifestyle not only means you’re likely to feel great and have more energy, it’s also a great way to be kind to animals.

Take a closer look:

It’s easy to see products like milk, cheese and steak as simply food, without a second thought for where they came from. Which animal produced that milk? What happened to her babies? Which pig was slaughtered for that bacon? Had he ever seen the sun? Each and every animal product that we eat came from an individual. One who could see, smell, breath, feel joy and pain. It’s easy and very tempting not to think too much about it all. The hard part is to take a closer look and learn exactly what it is you’re eating.

Animals:

Animals are a lot like us in many respects. They are sentient beings, which means they are able to feel subjectively and experience pain and suffering. Unfortunately in today’s world many animals are subject to abuse and cruelty throughout their entire lives. There are numerous injustices that we inflict on animals raised for food, including castration, artificial insemination, mulesing, starvation, force feeding and slaughter. Animals that are bred and raised for their skin, fur or labour or for medical research or entertainment are also made to endure many cruel practices. 

Animal rights:

‘All the arguments to prove man’s superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering the animals are our equals.’ - Peter Singer

“Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures.” - The Dalai Lama

Anyone who has had a companion animal such as a cat or a dog knows that each animal is an individual. They all have their own personalities and quirks. Of course, this is also true of cows, chickens, pigs, sheep and goats. 

All animals deserve the right to live out their natural lives without being tortured and killed. They deserve to be able too grow naturally and have access to the outdoors. Unfortunately, many don’t these days and this is where you come in.  As a consumer you can make a choice to support the way we treat animals in our society or to boycott it. Going vegetarian or vegan is a great way to vote with your dollar and signal that you won’t be part of such an industry. 

Abolition and welfare:

People who campaign for better treatment of animals generally fall into one of two camps: abolitionists or welfarists. 

Abolitionists:

Abolitionists generally want to end all exploitation of animals. They argue that animals are independent entities that exist for their own purposes. Meaning that animals don’t belong to humans and are not here for us to use. Because of this, abolitionist logic states that animals should have certain basic rights. These include:

• Freedom from intentional harm and suffering
• Respect
• Freedom to not be treated as property

Abolitionists think that these basic rights should be given to all animals no matter how intelligent they might seem to humans or how many uses we might find for them.

“All sentient beings, humans or nonhuman, have one right: the basic right not to be treated as the property of others.” - Gary Francione

Welfarists:

Welfarists seek to reduce animal suffering and improve animal farming conditions. Many welfarists believe that there is nothing wrong with using animals as long as it is done so humanely and with respect. Others think it is wrong to exploit animals, but want to do something to improve conditions for animals in the meantime. They actively try to improve conditions for animals by supporting campaigns that improve animals’ lives, such as ‘free-range egg’ and ‘humane meat’ campaigns. 

Want to learn more?

If you want to learn more about animal rights and veganism or have a question, feel free to email me at sarahATtheveganmentorDOTcom or leave a comment on the blog.