So, I've seen a few people say that they would rather focus on Human Rights issues, and solve those, before working on Animal Rights issues (and even thinking about going vegan, it seems). This position confuses me.
Humans are animals, so in theory, human rights = animal rights. As a vegan, I am opposed to violence towards *all* animals, including humans.
Being vegan doesn't mean you have to automatically care more about non-humans than you do humans. It is simply a rejection of violence. All violence.
Right now, people in developing countries are starving to death because they don't have enough food. At the same time, tons of grain, corn and soy are being taken from those same malnourished countries to feed to livestock in wealthier countries. No matter how much food we donate to the hungry, the problem will still remain because the cause is still there and it will stay there as long as there is a demand for it. World hunger is another thing that has to be abolished, and the solution isn't to farm more animals to try to feed them all a meaty western diet (that will just increase the problem, and by the time we have enough farms to feed every human, if that could happen, the Earth would be so damaged that we couldn't live here anymore), the solution is to be vegan and to stop supporting an industry not only of great violence towards non-humans, but that wrongfully takes food that could be fed to humans and feeds it to their "profit machines".
Someone once asked if I was saying to take the food to feed to humans and let the other animals starve. To be clear: no, I am not suggesting that. There's enough grass for everyone ;)
In conclusion, being vegan is about respecting the rights of *all* sentient beings, and that includes humans. Being vegan doesn't mean you have to stop caring about and campaigning for human rights issues, and it doesn't mean caring about only non-humans. In order for us to live non-violently, we must reject discrimination in all forms. I encourage you to go vegan, if you're not vegan already, and advocate for veganism as a voice for all animals, both human and non.
Showing posts with label human rights and animal rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights and animal rights. Show all posts
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Human Rights = Animal Rights
I care about all living beings on this planet. The empathy I have for all animals is very strong, and this includes humans as well as non-humans. I want everyone to be happy, I can't stand seeing someone upset or in pain.
I often see people campaigning against child abuse, for woman's rights, stuff like that. "Violence is not OK", is the message. That's true. Violence towards humans and nonhumans is not OK, and honestly, I don't understand why we don't make the connection. Speciesism?
There is no moral difference between humans and non-humans. War = animal consumption; Murder of innocents. Rape = Dairy industry; Dairy cows artificially inseminated over and over again, in order to continue producing milk. Child abuse = animal abuse; Can you imagine eating a child? The animals who are killed for food are no more than children when they're slaughtered. And don't forget the babies in the egg industry who are ground up alive shortly after being born. Things that would horrify us if they were done to humans are common practice in the animal industry.
Perhaps we look different on the outside, but on the inside we are all the same. We all have a soul, we're all living breathing beings who were put on the earth for our own purposes, not for the purpose of anyone else. Please don't discriminate against other humans and other species.
Human children would probably be tasty and full of protein and iron too, but that doesn't mean we should go around killing and eating children does it? You can get all the nutrients you need on a plant-based diet. It's delicious, easy and healthy.
Please go vegan. It's the least we can do for other animals. If we are to have peace on this Earth, if we want war and violence on humans to stop, we first must stop harming non-humans for our own personal gain. As Isaac Bashevis Singer once said,
I often see people campaigning against child abuse, for woman's rights, stuff like that. "Violence is not OK", is the message. That's true. Violence towards humans and nonhumans is not OK, and honestly, I don't understand why we don't make the connection. Speciesism?
There is no moral difference between humans and non-humans. War = animal consumption; Murder of innocents. Rape = Dairy industry; Dairy cows artificially inseminated over and over again, in order to continue producing milk. Child abuse = animal abuse; Can you imagine eating a child? The animals who are killed for food are no more than children when they're slaughtered. And don't forget the babies in the egg industry who are ground up alive shortly after being born. Things that would horrify us if they were done to humans are common practice in the animal industry.
Perhaps we look different on the outside, but on the inside we are all the same. We all have a soul, we're all living breathing beings who were put on the earth for our own purposes, not for the purpose of anyone else. Please don't discriminate against other humans and other species.
Human children would probably be tasty and full of protein and iron too, but that doesn't mean we should go around killing and eating children does it? You can get all the nutrients you need on a plant-based diet. It's delicious, easy and healthy.
Please go vegan. It's the least we can do for other animals. If we are to have peace on this Earth, if we want war and violence on humans to stop, we first must stop harming non-humans for our own personal gain. As Isaac Bashevis Singer once said,
"As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together."Indeed, how can we expect to have peace between humans if we continue to harm innocent beings for the pleasure of our taste buds?
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