For very strange reasons we have been taught massive lies since our childhood and all the way even as we grow up, we defend such lies by arguing against any new information and against our inherent common sense. This is especially true of arguments around our eating habits and sentience of plants versus animals. Should we continue to justify the mistakes of our ancestors and the system that insists we comply with what we are taught in schools or by parents? Or should we start thinking for ourselves and questioning those beliefs in a sincere way?
1. Humans are Omnivores: Teachers receive training to advocate misinformation in schools, misinformaton that has been passed down for several centuries even though contrary to Darwin’s model of evolution. If we look at scientific evidence, it becomes clear that we resemble frugivores and apes in our appearance and genetic structure, e.g. teeth, digestive tract, body shape (refer to chart below). Is it really so hard to believe that we are designed to be frugivore more than anything else? Then how did the concept of Omnivorism get into our system? Omnivores in their wild state, such as badgers, opossums, skunks, bears and foxes hunt and eat the flesh of their prey without cooking, just as carnivores do. Humans on the other hand, conveniently commodify and factory farm animals and the ‘kill’ process is largely conducted privately without the consumer’s intention or involvement, making them unaware of the emotions associated with the grotesque ‘process’. Humans also need to clean and cook the animal body parts before consuming them. Clearly this diet or lifestyle is not part of the ‘cycle of life’ and not what nature intended originally, but something Humans ‘chose’ or were fooled into following, against nature and against their own good judgement, thereby inviting deadly diseases and social disorders of violence that have curiously become acceptable in the matrix of society.
2. Plants are living too so eating plants is as bad as killing or exploiting animals: In truth plants do not ‘die’ for us to harvest their fruits and leaves…they are resilient and grow more if trimmed or harvested just like our hair. Secondly they don’t have nervous systems or pain receptors although they respond to physical input in an automatic way, thanks to the chemical process that help them sense stimuli. If you believe that harvesting carrots is painful to them, because plants sensing movement or responding to light and water is an evidence of sentience, then perhaps our motion detector gadgets, thermometers, biosensers and fire alarms are sentient beings that feel pain too! Can you imagine how ridiculous our conditioning is? Animals however clearly exhibit pain due to nerve endings and respond by running away from danger. They also feel fear, pain, joy and sorrow, as they display emotions. Farm animals suffer from a reduced life span as well as lose their life if turned to food, quite unlike plants or fruits who simply grow back onto the plant. We certainly do not uproot and kill trees when we take an apple from it, however we need to kill the animal entirely to consume their meat. If vegetarian, we cause massive harm by breeding and exploiting birds and mammals, abusing the females sexually and consuming off their abused bodies which ultimately are slaughtered for meat after all that violent abuse, even as their males counterparts are incarcerated shortly after birth as they are useless to the industries. And lastly even if we believe that plants might feel pain, animals bred or slaughtered or exploited for food would intake a lot more plants to feed humans and wo.uld also consume significantly more resources such as land and water, and therefore we cause a lot more plant ‘mutilation’ or ‘death’ when we consume animal products than if we directly consumed plant produce. But arguments aside, even a child can tell us that chopping cucumber and chopping heads off animals feels very different. Infact if sensible parents do not wish to show graphic bloodshed and exploitation of animal agriculture to their sensitive children, it is even more important that they should not deceptively feed them animal products which are always the result of graphic exploitation, thereby ruining the moral, mental and physical health of children.
3. Animals are meant to be eaten as our ancestors were hunters (pagans) and/ OR God put us here to rule the planet (book religion): Truth is our ancestors did a lot of wrong things, killing was one of them..hence we evolve not regress. Even hunter-gatherers are mistakenly believed to be primarily animal killers, when truth is hunting can mean ‘searching’ for something you need and does not necessarily reflect a desire to kill. Our ancestors as hunter gatherers often foraged for plant foods and other items they needed and might have built thier instruments for carving, art and craft, instead of merely for taking a life, except in self-defense in the wild ancient world. In any case we have now evolved to a massive extent and need no longer depend on rudimentary and brazen violence, regardless of ancient or spiritual traditions of nomadic, native or pagan tribes. If you don’t believe in evolution and think some God put us in ‘hell’ to help us rule over it..that sounds more like a devilish character turning us to demons by bringing us down from the plant-food world designed initially in the sixth day of creation as per book-based religious theorms. These Biblical texts clarify that the first ‘matrix’ was designed as a frugivore paradise or Eden and only after humanity’s deception, were we placed in a new matrix where suddenly the evil of slaughter was allowed after the creator destroyed earth on account of man’s evil nature. We have imposed our will upon the planet for a long time based on our belief that our ancestors and religious books teach us the right things about human superiority and it is time to step down from our ‘high chair’ of human ego that assumes we were created to rule the world and do as we will to other creature we consider ‘lowly’ or less ‘intelligent’. Even children may not be as intelligent as adults, therefore the ‘intelligent species’ argument does not justify our mistreatment or commodification of other animals, leave alone sexual abuse or killing which is what we are doing to innocent children of earth.
4. We are supposed to be kind and compassionate to our own kind: Talking of human to human kindness, and human suffering in response to information about animal sentience and suffering is ignoble. Would you start arguing why activists who campaign for women’s rights or children’s rights do so when there are so many other issues to promote, and would you accuse them of not focusing solely on environment or economy instead of their chosen cause? So why do we get angry with animal right activists for campaigning for animal rights and liberty, unless it is strictly about pet dogs or cats and not farm animals whom we believe were ‘made for us’? Is fighting against animal rights advocacy, a sign of true compassion or merely a sign of hate and ego? And why do we ask campaigners of animal liberation to ‘tone their campaigns down’, ‘suppress the evidence of graphic violence by not showing it’, ‘fitting into society’, ‘refraining from questioning beliefs or traditions’ and allow people to carry on participating in violence even as trillions of animals suffer and die constantly? Our belief that we should be nice to all people around us and be agreeable to all is a misplaced notion that agreements are a sign of love. Infact helping someone realize the truth and adopt a healthier, more affordable, more sustainable and less gross lifestyle is a sign of kindness and compassion to the human we are dealing with. At the same time we end up ensuring that we are not being biased towards our own species in vain disregard to the other millions we share this planet with.
5. We can kill humanely: Is it possible to kill someone kindly? In case killing is humane would you like yourself to experience the humaneness of ‘domestic abuse’ and meaningless slaughter that farm animals are routinely and forceably subject to? If you think free-range is better, would you feel happy being shot into your head (baby calves), being bludgeoned to death on your head as an infant (piglets), or about being gassed alived in a packed gas chamber with other inmates (pigs and chicken), macerated alive soon after birth (egg industry hatchlings) or being killed with a massive slit to your throat (cows including pregnant cows with their unborn babies), because these are approved practices as per legal standards? Slaughterhouses claiming to be humane have been filmed and it is clear that animals are slithering and shaking in pain – moving their legs desperately till their last breath. Even if this was not the case and somehow the animal died totally painlessly, does it mean it is not violence or that a life was not taken unnecessarily against will from the victim? Would we humanely kill humans too as you say humane killing is good, if we can ensure they had a good life in free range organic farms. Even Jeffrey Dahmer the notorius serial killer treated his victims well before rape and slaughter and consumed their flesh. If this is wrong, why do we have double standards in our treatment of humans versus animals? If you would not want it done to yourself why support this crime against others just because they are do not share overt semblence to humans? The only reason is specieism which is an extension of racism and therefore a digression from spirituality.
6. We need to kill to survive: The theorem behind ‘survival of the fittest’ has led us to believe that the more dominant we are on earth, the more likely we are survive, especially in adverse situations owing to lack of food. Truth is we are not on a desert island dying of shortage of plant food or defending ourselves from danger in the wild. Even if we were in those hypothetical situations, our instincts are not to kill but to escape. No-one sees an innocent animal and actually wants to kill . We do not have the urge to pounce on every moving being and crush them with out teeth and hands the way carnivorous creatures are programmed to. Our first reaction when we see a beautiful rabbit or bird is to admire their beauty and feel a connection. If there are some people going around on a hunting or killing spree by thinking that posing with the dead bodies of our victims make us look cool, it is all because of our mental training by the matrix that promotes sex, consumerism, fashion, power, money and humanism as values over universal kindness to all beings, and at the cost of our physical, emotional and spiritual health. Not only that, if the world went vegan, we would save humanity from extinction, counteract climate change, solve the problem of world hunger and food shortage, free up massive amounts of land and consume much less water, while improving the overall consciousness and sense of ethics in the world. Instead of killing we would grow food. Thus not only would we survive, but thrive, and so would the planet.
7. Vegan and Plant Based Lifestyle is challenging or lacks nutrition: Whether for commercial, nutritional or convenience based presuppositions, we have seen resistances still being imposed on the average mind of humankind. We may fear that there will be commercial loss to existing businesses that depend on animal agriculture and feel bad for the exploiters and murderers who abuse animals. In truth these professionals can simply change what they are doing and be even more profitable if they have the will to do it and are guided clearly on how to. Most people buy into the myth that vegans lack in dietary nutritients which is due to a failure of our education system because we can clearly see that the strongest and healthiest animals are complete herbivores and frugivores, such as rhinos, elephants, whales, bulls and chimpanzees. The only argument people restate is that of Vitamin B12 which is derived from soil and the only reason both vegans and non vegans can be deficient in the same, is that we do not these days routinely consume organic vegetables straight from soil. Therefore farm animals are injected with or fed supplements of B12 just as plant foods are supplemented or fortified for us. Consuming rice, lentils, flour, vegetables and fruits is not only nutritiously rich, but also also cheaper and super convenient for every one of us, with the added health benefit of whole foods as compared to processed foods.
For More Information and Professional Guidance on How to Adopt a Vegan Lifestyle:
Fish, chicken, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, cats, dogs, humans…all animals are sentient. All animals feel pain because unlike plants, they have neurological pain receptors. Yet, farmed animals are abused and killed in cruel ways while humans who are also animals, enjoy a much higher status simply because our laws are skewed. British Dietetics Association and American Dietetics Associations have declared that vegan and plant based diets can be nutritionally sufficient and healthful at all stages of life and for all levels of activity. Yet, every year over 70 billion land animals and trillions of fish are killed mercilessly for food alone. Although we can do without any and every animal product, industries still breed, abuse, traffic, trade and kill animals for meat, dairy, leather, fur, feathers and other ‘products’ with animals used as commodities. This may be legal, ‘normalized’ and profitable but it is not right by any account, especially as it is destroying earth itself.
Swati Prakash 