Over the last 699 days of living as a devout advocate for Justice & Compassion (i.e. as a vegan), I have been involved in many conversations with non-vegans about why they continue to support animal abuse by eating animals and consuming animal secretions (a.k.a. “dairy products”) … Some of these conversations have been a bit edgy, some of them have seemed a bit aggressive, and some of them have been truly fascinating — and yet all of them have proved to be deeply intriguing …

And, as evidenced by the publication of this very book, the very first thing that deeply interested me was how many different “reasons” non-vegans came up with to try and justify their choice to confine, kill & eat animals.   I would start a conversation explaining the fact that we humans can easily get all the protein we need from plant sources, and then somehow 30 minutes later I was talking about the dietary inclinations of cavemen — or the kind & respectful nature of “humane slaughter” — or the intelligence of plants – or what it really means to be an “omnivore” …. On & on & on these conversations would go, with their list of different “reasons” seeming endless. And every time I would calmly point out that the reason being discussed was not accurate — and definitely not a justification for committing acts of great cruelty towards animals — my non-vegan conversation partner would simply shrug his of her shoulders and move on to “reason” next.

Now while all of this was happening, I began to ponder some very important questions: For one, I wondered how so many obviously rational & intelligent people could so often cling to such irrational beliefs &/or say such unintelligent things … And I wondered how so many patently Good people could support the immorality of purposefully causing other beings to needlessly suffer … And I wondered how so many innately Kind people could actively support an industry that is so inherently cruel … And, of course, I wondered how so many of these people could sincerely believe so many different inaccurate, illegitimate &/or illogical reasons for treating their sentient animal cousins as mere commodities — indeed, for needlessly causing them so much pain.

And at was some time thereafter that I realized a great Truth — I realized that almost all of the justifications non-vegans give for confining, abusing, killing & eating animals weren’t actually reasons at all … they were excuses. Indeed, the more I thought about it, the clearer it became that there are only four true reasons for treating animals as mere “things” — only four true reasons why we humans are treating animals with so much callous injustice & abject cruelty …

*Reason #01: APATHY … To put it simply, some people have chosen to just not give a damn. Despite all the evidence to the contrary — despite the obvious mental & moral sophistication of so much of the animal kingdom (and the obvious barbarism still being blared by humanity), these folks have chosen to place humans on an unjustified pedestal of superiority. In essence, these few have chosen to cast aside all hope of evolving into Human Beings, and have opted instead to remain mere “cavemen” themselves. There is no salve for the level of arrogance it takes to openly justify acts of raw cruelty with a calm “But they are only animals” or an idiotic “Mmmmm … Bacon!” As such, I accepted the fact that — at least for the time being — there is no reaching the deeply buried “Souls” of such people. It is indeed unfortunate for them to have chosen such a limited existence, and I have great compassion for their extremely poor choice. And yet for the animals — and indeed for all the rest of humanity — it is most fortunate indeed that such callous cowards are so few in number.

*Reason #02: GREED … In essence, a noticeably larger group of people has chosen to place the gathering of fleeting moments of personal pleasure over the entire lives of millions upon millions of innocent, sentient beings. Yes, meat & dairy products are quite “tasty” when cooked & seasoned “properly” — and yes, meat dairy products are also highly physically addictive to humans, both of which explain the prevalence of such flagrantly immoral statements as “But [torturing animals is acceptable because] meat tastes good” or “But [enslaving animals is OK because] I love my cheese” … and yet deep down every human being with a functioning sense of basic morality knows that these are not valid excuses for engaging in choices that are torturous & cruel. Greed is understandable, my Friends — even natural, and yet we have come far enough as a species to know that greed is never an excuse for intentionally causing others harm.

*Reason #03: IGNORANCE … Seeing as how I am still unrestrainedly in Love with humanity, I choose to believe that this particular reason for animal consumption is by far the most common – In other words, I believe that the vast majority of my still meat-eating & still secretion-sucking human Friends simply still don’t know any better … In fact, it was this same simple ignorance that led me to regularly consume meat &/or dairy products for the first 45 years of my life. Indeed, I vividly remember the day when I was calmly informed that most cheese is made using rennet — a byproduct obtained from the stomachs of freshly killed baby calves. To say that I was a cheese lover at the time would be a gross understatement – and to say that this news shocked me to the core would be even more so. I went home that very night and started researching the dairy industry (I had already been vegetarian at the time for over 8 years), and within a few days had gathered more than enough evidence to awaken me to the fact that there is actually no “dairy industry” or “egg industry” at all — that they are both actually vital appendages of the meat industry itself … And so, because animal cruelty is to me fully unacceptable (as it almost certainly is to almost all of you), I went vegan very shortly thereafter … And — now that you have read this book — a series of chapters that quite clearly illuminates the myths & misconceptions behind most of the excuses commonly given for consuming our animal cousins, you too no longer have ignorance as a justification for continuing to do so.

*Reason #04: FEAR … Lastly, we come to the fourth & final real reason why people consume animals, and for by far most of you reading along, it is the only reason that remains … Yes, this is the final reason why otherwise Good People do “bad” things — the final reason why otherwise moral people behave immorally and Kind people support cruelty. And that reason is fear … You see my Friends, we humans are herd animals, and the one thing we innately fear almost as much as our own death is being cast out of “the herd” — being ridiculed by strangers; being shunned by co-workers or classmates; being ostracized by our friends; being disowned by our family. And these days our “herd” still believes it is normal and acceptable – often even appropriate & sometimes even admirable – to use & abuse farmed animals. Indeed, our current culture is literally soaked in the blood & the agony of the innocent animals who we enslave, abuse, murder and consume. We do not need to do so to live well — and indeed would actually live longer & healthier were we to stop doing so, and yet our collective society still demands that we “fit in” and “tow the line” and “follow suit” … And most people are still too afraid to step away from these conventions of cruelty; these traditions of torture – and this is the reason why so many of you still turn away from your conscience; why still so many of you who truly do Love animals sit down at the dinner table and mutter benignly about how “tender” the meat is or how “delicious” the cheese or how “refreshing” the milk; why still so many of you completely disregard the immense suffering that had to be endured to bring that meat & cheese to your plate and that milk to your glass.

My Friends, you are turning away from this Truth not because you are a sociopath; and not because you are callous or selfish or immoral or greedy … You are turning away because you are afraid.

Well, with this all in mind, I will close with some Good News for you all — some very Good News indeed. And this Good News is this:  You are not a coward at all … You are a HUMAN(e) BEING!

Yes, still within you — still within you right now in this very moment — you have the same moral awareness that you had as a child. You know that animals are aware … you know that they suffer when confined & abused & killed … and you know that it is completely unnecessary for you to do so in order to live a long & healthy life.

And still within you, my Friends – right now in this very moment — you have the same ethical resolve, the same moral Strength, that you had as a child as well. As a toddler you didn’t see another person’s race or gender or nationality or religion or species as hindrances to showing them sincere respect & open compassion. You knew then — just as you still know now — that ALL sentient beings are to be treated with fundamental grace & dignity … just as you still know right now that you are more than strong enough to start doing so again today.
Peace & Love to you ALL,
                  Scaughdt

Filed under: Minimizing the Myths of Meat by Scaughdt