I stopped eating beef and pork in (or around) 1992. I gave up chicken about 8 months ago. I am working on giving up all egg and dairy products. I have learned that the animals who give milk and eggs live worse lives than those animals who die to become food. It's fairly easy to give up milk and eggs when I think about them carefully - I mean, would you drink milk from a nursing dog or possum? And eggs - eww!  Have you ever cracked open an egg that was a little too far along in it's life cycle? Gross. And sad

AR Conferences

On July 17th and 18th I was in Washington DC for the Taking Action for Animals Conference. There I was reminded of why people suck (c'mon, do you have any idea what these animals go through? And if you do and don't care, why? I'm sure you don't hate all animals, why are the animals you eat so insignificant as compared to animals you keep as companion animals?) and I got some nifty gifts as well as lots of reading material. I also got to have entire meals made of things and I didn't have to ask what they were, in case there was something un-vegan I couldn't eat - hurray!

I want this T-Shirt (from www.cok.net):

 

 

Did you know that the Humane Slaughter Act doesn't apply to poultry and that poultry makes up 95% of the animals that are slaughtered for food? Did you know that chickens like to roost in trees? Do you know that they throw living chickens into the trash to suffocate and that they cut off their beaks and cram them into tiny cages? Not only is all of this cruel, but it's disgusting! When I think of what they do to animals that humans eat . . .

My turning point for AR started with "The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals" by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. This book is (generally) about farm animals and how they are unhappy because they are deprived of their natural environments so that we can exploit them. It's a wonderful book (although parts of it were harshly upsetting) and it gave me the ability to stop eating chicken (I gave up beef and pork approximately 13 years ago) and I am working on becoming a full-fledged VEGAN!

At the end of the book is a wonderful page of links* to organizations that support the welfare of animals. These websites give info about going vegan and have many different ongoing animal welfare campaigns that you can help with. 

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals): www.peta.org

United Poultry Concerns: www.upc-online.org

Mercy for Animals: www.mercyforanimals.org

Compassion in World Farming: www.ciwf.co.uk

Compassion over Killing: www.cok.net

Vegan Action: www.vegan.org

Human Society of the United States: www.hsus.org

Viva! Usa: www.vivausa.org

SAFE (Save Animals from Exploitation): www.safe.org.nz

In Defense of Animals: www.idausa.org

*I am listing these sites exactly as shown in Mr. Masson's book because I was instantly amazed at the amazing content in these websites and wanted to share that info with the (few) people who will ever view this site.

Other related books I recommend:

"Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry" by Gail A. Eisnitz

"The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World" by John Robbins

"Empty Cages: Facing the Challenge of Animal Rights" by Tom Regan

I also love Satya Magazine @ www.satyamag.com

I also love: www.themeatrix.com and http://www.noveal.org/forgetaboutit/