Our Daughter Just Turned Eleven
Articles Reflecting a Vegan Lifestyle From All-Creatures.org

Vegan lifestyle articles that discuss ways of living in peace with humans, animals, and the environment.

FROM

Lyn Rose

It makes no sense that human women do not relate to animal women. It makes no sense that human women cook up animals, since most animals that are eaten are young females.

Our daughter just turned another year, blowing out 11 candles on her birthday cake. We make it a point every year to celebrate her birthday completely separate from Christmas. Each birthday we always get out the photo albums and look back at all the pictures of her all the way back to her birth. I truly cannot believe that she has grown so much and that 11 years have gone by so quickly.

This year, as we were laughing at some pictures of her she said something to me that just sort of "rocked my world". She told me, you are a lucky mother that you get to see your baby grow up. I knew immediately what she meant because we have raised her since birth without eating animals and she understands what "meat" really is.

Not too long ago, she read and was deeply affected by the inside cover of a magazine that she saw of a mother cow crying for the baby that had been taken from her. I don't remember the name of the group who ran this ad, but it was incredibly effective.

I felt the pain of this terrified mother calling for her baby for weeks afterward. But my feelings were entirely for this mother cow. I did not put myself personally in the place of this mother cow until my daughter's remark. When our daughter was born, there was no person on this earth that was going to take our new baby from us. And other than the occasional crazy person who roams the delivery ward looking to steal someone's baby, we humans know that our baby will be going home with us. The instant attachment and need to protect is so powerful. We humans protect our own and let the mothers keep their babies. We let the mothers raise their babies into adulthood.

But when it comes to cows, pigs, chickens and every other animal we have figured out how to "use", we think nothing of separating mother from child. I look back at the many treasured experiences my husband and I have had with our daughter and I feel so fortunate we have had these experiences. I can only imagine how wonderful a cow's experience with her baby could be, watching her baby grow up as he or she is learning about the world.

I always wonder what the days will be like when ALL mothers will be able to raise their babies without the traumatic experience of kidnapping. I have often thought about how mothers everywhere should be the leaders of all animal protection groups, demanding that all mothers and babies be left alone. Mothers everywhere should not know the taste of an animal. Fathers should not either because the father-instinct is just as powerful. It makes no sense that human women do not relate to animal women. It makes no sense that human women cook up animals, since most animals that are eaten are young females.

Did you know that if you go to the baby food aisle in the supermarket you will find veal as a baby food choice? Are we actually serving baby animals to baby humans?!?! How in the world did this ever get started?

Mothers...there is something seriously wrong here! Not only is the mother separated from baby, but the baby, if a boy will become veal? If a girl, she will be artificially inseminated (raped), to produce babies she will never know and milk these babies will never drink. I cannot help but feel intense anger toward those whose job it is to separate mother from child with the intention to kill these animals, chop them up and sell them in packages...the same anger I would be experiencing if my baby was taken from me to be chopped up, packaged and served as "food". Our world will never be right as long as we are creating such serious disharmony in the animal kingdom, in the world.

Our daughter turned 11, but she still loves baby dolls and stuffed animals. So we gave her a baby doll and a stuffed bear for her birthday. She cares for them like a mother cares for her baby. It is truly a sight to see! All females are born with this instinct and it is a treasure. Our daughter is our treasure and we know that we are unfairly more fortunate than the millions of mothers and fathers that will never know their babies. She knows that as she is celebrating her birthday, millions of animal children will never celebrate theirs.

Happy Birthday Rose, you are a lucky girl and yes, you are right, I am a lucky mother, in so many unfair ways.


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