Sunday, December 11, 2016

2 years

2 years is a long time to be out of the blogging world.  No real excuses other than the fact that I have been terribly busy and a lot has gone on.

I have no intention of catching up today.  Maybe I will fill in the gaps when I feel ready to write about it.  But I have made one recent change which has been on my mind for years.  Anyone who reads my blog (which is very few) will note that I am very into my philosophy and have written about it for some time.  So what is my ground breaking news?  Simply that I have finally decided to become a Vegetarian.  Wow.  There you go, said it.

So what's the big deal?  Well, the truth is that I have pondered this for years and years.  I am a lover of animals and I know the reality that lies behind the scenes when it comes to animal care when they are alive and a fair idea of what it is like at the end of their short lives.  That is not to say that all animals are mistreated, I am sure many are well treated during their lives.  But I know deep down that however humane the dispatch process is, it cannot be good even when done well.  But perhaps this is the wrong debate.  This is a matter of belief and not fact.  My issue is that I have opted all these years to go against what I thought I knew and believed and ate meat.  So this is no revelation for me, no new event has occurred, no new piece of information has come to light and no pressure has been applied from anywhere.  This is simply acting on something I already believed in.

So, the next question I suspect that needs to be addressed is one of the standard ones.  'But are you a Veggie or a Vegan?'  For now, I am a Veggie.  I will not be eating meat nor fish.  And yes, I know, animal products will be consumed, worn etc etc.  I know.  Some products are tested on animals.  I get it, I really do.  But I think it is a fallacy that one has to be all or nothing,  If I take the argument that the dye used in my clothing was tested on animals so therefore I am a hypocrite for just not eating meat as other things in my existence cause animal suffering then I should what?  Accept this argument and continue to eat meat?  That would be an absurd position. 

It is hard to find that line, it really is.  I have shifted mine and now I do not eat flesh of animals.  But the Vegan may argue no animal products.  This is of course fine, but I suspect hard work.  And indeed, even that line, is just that, a line.  It is not the end.   Every Vegan may not consume or use anything other than products free from animals.  So no eggs, no milk, no wine with fish bits used to clear it and so on.  But I have no doubt that while direct impacts are avoided, the indirect ones are not.  They companies who products they do use are probably employing people who are not Vegans thus helping to employ people to spend that money on animal products.  Its impossible to step out of the world completely, so all you can do is try and draw a line.

I look at it like this.  Animals are bred, grown and slaughtered for a variety of reasons.  The main one being meat.  So that is the target to start with.  Cut out eating flesh and it makes a difference.  Who to?  I have to accept, mostly me.  The amount of cows that will suddenly survive that would not otherwise is nil.  I simply do not consume enough meat.  However, I am probably not alone in my change and therefore, whilst I am not part of a movement, I suspect the numbers will grow and my change will add to that.

I do not have time to work out a product range that has zero current or historic impact on animal suffering and I am not about to become Buddhist.  I will not get to a 0 suffering foot print just as I will not get to a zero carbon footprint.   I will not get to a zero waste position either.  I refuse to shit in a hole period.  But I do now not eat meat or fish, I do run a much smaller car than I used to (tiny to be honest), I run low energy lights, I do not run water when I clean my teeth and I recycle a lot.

I will not be existing on the planet with no impact.  But I can look at my impact and try and take out the worst excesses.  This change in itself is positive.  I will not be preaching on any of these things, they are personal and to do with how I want to live my life.  If you want to be a meat eating, water wasting, gas guzzling person then fine.  We live in a free world and everyone has to make their own decisions.

I've made mine.  And I am happy with it.



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