“Awareness is bad for the meat business. Conscience is bad for the meat business. Sensitivity to life is bad for the meat business. Denial, however, the meat business finds indispensable.” ~ John Robbins

I was recently languishing in a bit of a quandary:  It seemed that almost every time I engaged others in open & honest discussion about the basic merits of veganism (or the innate injustices of the meat & milk industry, or even the general “rightness” of animal rights); almost every time I finished making a particularly salient point, my meat-eating &/or dairy-imbibing “opponent” would simply ignore my previous statements and change the subject …

“But I need to eat meat to be healthy“, he would say … so I would calmly show that we humans most certainly don’t.

“But we humans are omnivores; we are designed to eat meat“, she would often counter … so I would explain to her gently that we most certainly are not.

“But I need to eat meat to get my protein“, he or she would then offer, changing the subject once again … so once again, I would slowly & clearly explain why that position too is not at all accurate.

And on & on & on this “dance” would continue – mostly for a only few minutes; sometimes for a few hours – until at some point my discussion partner would make one final new argument; shoot out one final meat-eating myth — and then hastily depart.

And this dynamic happened not only a few times, but repeated itself over & over & over again – with me chatting with people earnestly for hours & hours while never seeming to have any real exchange of information; mostly because there are simply so many arguments out there to distract us; so many popular myths in support of the meat & milk industry that it was too easy for folks to keep hopping from one to the other; repeatedly hoping while they did so that they would somehow land on one that would somehow justify their continued support for a practice that is patently inhumane, undeniably unnecessary & per se cruel.

My dear Friends, there has been a dramatic disconnect that has infected humanity over the past several centuries – a disconnect that has most of humanity still living in a state of complete denial – a disconnect that has most of us at least partially ignoring the undeniable fact that billions of gentle, sentient, nonhuman animals are being enslaved, tortured and violently murdered every year, all at the direct request of those same people who are blandly looking the other way … Indeed, the chances are good that you are one of the disconnected many, with studies and polls consistently showing that around 97% of the world’s 7+ billion human inhabitants are still non-vegans — with the large majority of those people being regular (if not frequent) meat-eaters.

“Regardless of what people say to defend themselves when they eat meat, it is inescapably lodged in the back of their minds that they are actively supporting cruelty and death.” ~ inspired by Benjamin Zephaniah

And yet this need not be cause for shame, my Friends. Indeed, quite frequently we humans hold onto core beliefs that are quite strong, and quite often we cling to those beliefs so tightly that we cannot let them go – even when presented with solid evidence that clearly shows them to be incorrect &/or immoral. Indeed, even to causally ponder abandoning our long-standing values in favor of fresh & more-moral ones creates such strong feelings of angst – such a highly distressing mix of uncertainty, embarrassment & shame (called “cognitive dissonance” by social psychologists) – that we often choose to remain champions of our older & less admirable ways, even after learning about newer, more noble ones. And because it is so important for us to protect our comfortable-yet-outdated beliefs –- and thereby avoid experiencing the acute discomfort of “cognitive dissonance”, many of us tend to adopt & express any number of hollow arguments in order to rationalize, ignore or even fully deny any & all information that doesn’t affirm our more comfortable ways of thinking and our more pleasurable ways of behaving.

Indeed, this is precisely what is happening within the hearts & minds of the majority of meat-eaters & dairy consumers today. They know deep down that farmed animals are self-aware (at the very least just as aware as our beloved cats & dogs), they know deep down that those farmed animals suffer immensely when confined, abused & slaughtered, and they know deep down that it is completely unnecessary for us humans to do so.

And yet there is some Good News to report as well.   Indeed, there is a growing cry for justice these days; a growing call for the liberation of our animal friends and the cessation of the massive cruelty humanity still inflicts upon them. Yes, as a consequence of this outcry the meat & dairy consuming community has come forth en masse to defend their preferences of palate – to defend their choice to treat animals as mere commodities; as mere pieces of private property; as slaves; indeed, even as convicted criminals. And yet, as a direct consequence of this loud & sometimes aggressive defense, this book was born as well.

In the chapters that follow, I will be addressing 83 of the most prevalent arguments meat eaters & dairy imbibers use to rationalize their consumption of animals. Note that I will not be doing so to “convert” any of you to veganism per se, but rather simply to provide each of you with “the facts”; to present each of you with an objective, unemotional glimpse into the reality of what it means to eat meat & consume milk & cheese; information that will allow each of you to make better-informed & fully conscious (and possibly more ethical) choices as to how you are going to proceed with your life from here on out.

I simply figure that if any of you are truly going to keep eating meat &/or continue consuming dairy products (and I do realize more than a few of you are going to continue doing so), at the very least you should do so openly and honestly – without relying on the cowardly crutch of myth & misinformation with which the meat & milk industry has inundated us & our society; fully aware of the truth about the consequences of what you are doing … and fully conscious as to why.

Yes, this synopsis took a bit of time to compile — and yes, it might take more than a few minutes of your time to read, and yet if you are a consumer of animals it is extremely important for you to do so …

After all, while there are indeed many other very important issues facing humanity these days, our species’ consumption of non-human animal flesh & non-human animal secretions (a.k.a. “dairy products”) is far & away the most important one for the health of our selves, for the happiness of our loved ones, for the continued viability of our planet, and indeed for the ultimate survival of our species.

Of course, it is also important for you to remember that I will continue to Love & Care for each & every one of you whether you go vegan or not.

Admittedly, I will “hate” what you are supporting with your dietary choices, and I will detest what you are doing to my animal Friends thereby, and yet I will still continue to Love & Care for YOU as a person regardless … After all, that is what Love does, and — at least for me – that is what Friendship means.

I realize that new ways of seeing the world are always uncomfortable to consider, and I realize as well that it is very tempting to simply stick our heads back in the sand and disregard all things disconcerting. But turning away from an uncomfortable Truth will not make it disappear, my Friends, just as turning away from the very real consequences of your lifestyle choices will not keep those consequences from coming back to affect & indeed haunt you.

Today is indeed a new day, and as such we are each free to walk a different Path – we are each allowed to alter our choices, and thereby alter the consequences that come from them. Instead of choosing to cause pain – and thereby bringing ourselves & others suffering, we are allowed to live lives that affirm freedom & justice & compassion & happiness … and thereby bring ourselves and those we Love lives of deep-seated Peace and lasting Joy.

And it is because I wish this Peace & this Joy for you & all of yours that I humbly offer what follows … May the information herein serve you well, and may you use it to guide you and those you Love to lives of greater Bliss & Purpose.

 

Scaughdt, out … Peace, in

(February 2015)

Filed under: Minimizing the Myths of Meat by Scaughdt