I just started bursting into tears. I was having dinner with my mom, our whole plate included pasta, potatoes, sweet plantains, avocado, and whole wheat bread. We were almost half way through when I asked how she had prepared the potatoes, they were sooo good. Then I asked about the pasta, I assumed she had used my butter preference, Earth's Balance (not made from any animal ingredient). She said no. She started getting all worked out, saying she was going to use her butter preference, that she would prepare her own meals, that she should live by herself, blah blah blah. That's when I started crying..... I just responded, "Why do you want to support animal cruelty? Do you know what these animals go through? Especially the cows for their milk?!!" Tears and tears kept coming, she asked, "What happens to them??" After a few minutes I calmed down, but while explaining I kept sobbing.....
"The female cows are constantly kept pregnant. Once they give birth they immediately get separated from each other, they both cry for days and days. If the baby cow is male (a veal) they get killed for their meat. The mom cows are pumped up with hormones to produce 10 to 20 times more milk than she has to. Because of this they get infection, makes her get pus and bloody. They have to get antibiotics, and all this goes into the milk. They don't live the life they deserve, out in the wild where they belong. The cows have this horrible life for about 7 years and when they are considered too old, they just get killed." My mom kept listening...
My mind kept racing, "The chickens is almost the same. If they are male, they just get dumped to get killed, they are not 'useful'. The female chickens are kept in tiny spaces where they can't even flap their wings. All they can do is lay eggs and die" I kept sobbing, thinking how is this world so cruel. Why is society such a liar!! And why do people listen to dumb ads like, Got Milk?!! We humans DON'T need any animal derived foods, we by nature are herbivores. If you like all these dairy products, there are plenty of replacements for everything without containing any single animal ingredient. Why can't people take advantage of what we have today to inform themselves and stop supporting animal cruelty?! Like the internet, movies, books. For most of my life I was part of the 'blind' group. Not knowing these things. I wish somebody would have told me this. I turned Vegan after reading 'The Kind Diet'. But I know other people become Vegetarians/Vegans after watching 'Food Inc.' or 'Earthlings'. Or maybe after reading 'The Food Revolution.'
After I told my mom all this, she just looked calm. I'm not the type of person to cry in front of others, but this time I just couldn't help it. I felt like she didn't care and just had to explain. I hope others will understand my concern and maybe even look up these movie titles. On a bright side, I know I'm doing my part to help the planet. By being Vegan it's a three way-win. Helping yourself by eating what humans were meant to eat, saving the planet, and not supporting the cruelty of animals. Go Vegans!
"We used to think that slavery was okay, but we got over that. Why can’t we get over the needless torture and killing of animals for our sensory satisfaction?"
XoX
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