Since consuming animal based products supports an inhumane practice, I have committed myself to becoming a vegetarian for the next five weeks. Most of us are unaware of the processes required to get animal-based products on the shelves of our supermarkets. The reality is that industrial animal husbandry is extremely abusive toward animals. An example is the poultry industry, it is estimated that each year 9 billion chickens die to be converted into food in our country alone (PETA), moreover, they are kept in atrocious environments, living their whole lives in unsanitary and densely populated barns where they can barely move. This is similar to the life stories of the cattle and livestock that are turned into the beef and ham that we see at our dinner table. It then becomes clear that by purchasing these products we are supporting a form of institutional violence towards animals.
However this doesn’t have to be the case, even though our culture has consistently encouraged a heavy animal protein based diet, many people are becoming vegan or vegetarian. And the diet has even been proved to be healthier and more environmentally responsible (as industrial animal husbandry is highly carbon intensive).
For the preceding reasons, I have taken the initiative to become vegetarian, at least for the following five weeks, as it is a way support the cause of nonviolence towards animals. As a vegetarian, I’ll allow myself to consume dairy, honey, and eggs, and although these are still animal-based products, I’m not ready to commit to a vegan diet just yet.
Finally, to address an argument that may arise, I’d like to say that eating meat from free roam and humanely raised animals is preferable to eating meat from industrial complexes. However, these methods aren’t scalable as to meet the demands of an american population that eats meat on a daily basis. For these reasons, eating less meat is still the most effective approach toward ending institutionalized animal abuse.
PETA. “Chickens Used for Food”
https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/chickens/
Hi, Mateo.
I find your strong commitment and condemnation of the industry of animal husbandry to be very motivating for me to commit even further with to my own personal project. I understand the horrors of the industry that gives us animal meat to eat, but I would like to hear your own personal thoughts and feelings as you undertake this difficult task. I’m interested to see what the thought process will be like as you attempt to go cold turkey (pun unintended) on something that you’ve probably been doing your whole life; eating meat.