Thinking Critically About Animal Rights: Part 3

Most people who begin considering why and how we use animals say the same things:
*I never thought of it that way!
*It seems so all-encompassing and overwhelming!
*We’ll never live in a society where animals aren’t treated heinously!
*Abolition will never become a reality!
*What can one person possibly do?

Those are all understandable reactions. Fortunately, there’s plenty that you can do . . .

W H A T  Y O U  C A N  D O
It may indeed be true that we will never stop using nonhuman animals. However, that doesn’t mean nothing can be done to decrease the number of animals we use (and whom we pay someone else to kill for us). Think about it in terms of supply and demand: The lower the demand for products made from animals or tested on animals, the lower the supply (i.e., fewer animals will be bred to be used, and ultimately killed). Likewise, the lower the participation levels in activities that use animals, such as: rodeos, zoos, circuses, and horse and dog racing, the fewer the animals that will be bred for them, suffer for them, and die for them. Here’s what you can do in your own life to decrease the number of animals brought into the world just so they can be used by us and killed by us.

Go vegan!
If you believe animals aren’t ours to use, you ought to align your actions with that belief, right? Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to go vegan, as there are many meat and dairy alternatives available in grocery stores and over the Internet; and shoes and clothing not made from the hair, fur or skin of other creatures (or their entire bodies, as in the case of silk), are inexpensive and accessible in most areas of the country, as well as over the Internet. Vegan cosmetics and household products are increasingly common also, as manufacturers listen to their customers, who are demanding that they stop using animal-derived ingredients, and stop experimenting on animals, particularly where there’s no law that says they must, or when the ingredients have previously been tested. Online stores include: the Vegan Store, at www.vegan store.com; Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe, at www. cosmosvegan shoppe.com; and Vegan Essentials, at www.vegan essentials.com. Vegan restauraunts all over the world can be found at www.happycow.net

Though being a healthy vegan is easy once you get the hang of it, it’s not a good idea to do it without an introduction to basic nutritional requirements and how to get them. VegFamily, at www. vegfamily.com/dietician/, is a wealth of information, as is Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, at www.pcrm.org/health.

If you have a canine companion animal, vegan food, supplements and recipes are available at the sites listed above, in addition to at Harbingers of a New Age (www.vegepet.com).

Educate other people and help them go vegan.
Living by example and showing those around you how easy and inexpensive it is to be healthy, happy and stylish without using animals is the best way to generate interest in veganism. But when people start asking you questions and challenging you, it’s helpful to have resources handy that support what you’re doing. Here are some more favorites:

Farmed animals: Life for the ten billion land animals slaughtered for their flesh each year is hardly idyllic. Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary, at www.peacefulprairie.org, is a great place to go to learn about what we do to farmed animals and to read the stories of individual animals who were rescued and are now living their lives in peace. While you’re there, check out "The Free-Range Myth" at www.peacefulprairie.org/freerange1.html, which clearly explains why there’s no such thing as a humanely-produced egg.

The environment: The connection between eating animals and climate change is now undeniable. Two recent, independent studies demonstrated that raising animals for food is one of the biggest contributors to global warming. Both “Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options,” at www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/A0701E00.htm, which is a report by the United Nations; and the University of Chicago study, “Diet, Energy, and Global Warming,” available at geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/nutriEI.pdf, conclude that the breeding and raising animals for food uses resources, such as grains and water, that could be going directly to people. It also produces enormous amounts of air, water and ground pollution, and is responsible for a massive loss of biodiversity. The impact has been so devastating that we need to address it immediately.

Learn how to cook tasty morsels to bring to parties and meetings.
When introducing people to veganism, beginning with dessert is always a great idea because everybody likes dessert! If people like the taste of food first, they won’t complain about or be dubious about its veganness. Once they like it, then reveal the reality that no one died for it. If you tell them it’s vegan first, they tend to be skeptical that it could taste good, and that affects their experience. If you like baking, try The Joy of Vegan Baking, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, who also has recipes, cooking DVDs, nutrition information and a podcast at www.compassionatecooks.com.
   
Hold a screening of “The Witness” or buy the DVD for friends and family.
Films are a great way to spread a message without having to do the talking yourself. Tribe of Heart (www.tribeof heart.org) created the award-winning documentary, The Witness, about Eddie Lama,  a construction contractor-turned-animal advocate. Tribe of Heart’s latest film, Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home, which is about farmed animals, will be released in early 2008.

Next time, I'll discuss what to do with your charitable dollars if you believe animals aren't ours to use.

As always, I welcome questions and comments.

The photo above, of Emily Fokker Loder, the rescue cat who's a carrier of Feline Infectious Peritonitis, is the property of Mary Martin. Emily is living comfortably with her adoptive parents, Mary and Dave.