Our relationship with animals is inconsistent, leading us to love some and treat others cruelly. There is no essential difference between a pig and a dog. Vegan diets are easier than ever, and we can speed the process of building a more compassionate world.
Zoe at age 16 with her friend Wooly Baba
I have many friends who adore their
pets and regularly post photos of them on
social media. Sometimes these same friends also post photos of their
barbecues, or rather barbecued animals. My hunter and fisher friends often
post selfies with the animals they’ve killed. They hold a fish dangling from
a hook and smile unselfconsciously as the fish suffocates. Or they crouch
behind the not-yet-cold bear they’ve shot, beaming with pride, with their
beloved companion hunting dog by their side.
Our relationship with animals is full of contradictions—contradictions I
understand well. I grew up an animal lover in New York City, stopping on the
street for every dog I saw, begging for a dog of my own as a child, sobbing
during any movie where an animal suffered. In high school, I befriended a
sheep at the children’s zoo in Central Park. I named him Wooly Baba and
visited him every week. Whenever I’d arrive and call his name, he’d come
running up to me and lift his head for a neck scratch. I loved that sheep.
I also loved lamb chops. In fact, lamb chops were my favorite food. But one
day, I could no longer pretend that there was some essential difference
between Wooly Baba and the lamb chop on my plate. I considered becoming a
vegetarian, but the truth was I didn’t want to give up the foods I liked, so
I told myself that because the animals on my plate were already dead, I
might as well eat them. I didn’t yet understand the laws of supply and
demand. I didn’t realize that our dollar is our vote that says: “Good job.
Do it again.”
Eventually, I came to understand that my choices had consequences, and that
when I allowed my desires to eclipse my values by eating animals, I was
actively participating in the suffering of those I claimed to love. My
transformation from omnivore to pescatarian to vegetarian to vegan spanned
eight years. I was a slow learner. Or rather, I was slow to commit to living
more deeply aligned with my values. It’s true that in the 1970s and 80s,
there wasn’t a lot of information on the abuses that occurred in modern
farming, and few people had heard the word "vegan." Back then, “substitutes”
for meat, dairy, and eggs tasted pretty awful.
How different it is now. Many, if not most, people know that there is
rampant cruelty in animal agriculture. It takes little time to learn that
soy milk has basically the same amount of protein as cow’s milk but without
antibiotic residues, pus, and the toxins that get carried up the food chain,
nor to discover the terrible abuse perpetrated on dairy cows in typical
factory farms. Many have become aware that fisheries are collapsing one
after another as we trawl the oceans and net everything in the path,
including the dolphins and turtles we are more inclined to love. And whereas
it was once challenging to be vegan, now it’s easy.
I’ve heard so many reasons for not choosing a vegan
diet, among them:
“I could never give up cheese and ice cream.”
“You can’t get enough protein on a vegan diet.”
“I have the wrong blood type.”
“We are omnivores, and it’s natural to eat animals. Other animals do so, so
why shouldn’t we?”
I understand. I’m a CrossFitter, well aware of the protein needs associated
with weight-lifting and high-intensity exercise. But the reality is that
It’s almost impossible to become protein-deficient on a healthy vegan diet
that meets one’s caloric needs, even if one is an
athlete.
I also love the taste of meat, cheese, and eggs and know first-hand that it
can be hard to give up the foods one loves, even if many of the plant-based
alternatives now taste identical to those foods.
I have the same blood type that a naturopath claimed necessitated meat in
one’s diet, but because there is no scientific evidence to support this
claim, I have happily continued with my vegan diet for nearly 35 years,
along with tens of millions of other vegans, and together our health and
longevity provide quite a lot of counter-evidence that the blood type claim
is bunk.
And I, too, recognize that non-human omnivores eat animals and that my body
can digest meat as well as plants. That doesn’t mean I need to cause
unnecessary suffering and death to animals just to please my taste buds.
As a humane educator—someone who teaches about the interconnected issues of
animal protection, human rights, and environmental sustainability—I know
that most people resist dietary changes even after they’ve learned that
their food choices cause immense suffering, not to mention environmental
damage. Such resistance can fade when we pay
attention to, and educate ourselves about, the consequences of our
actions. When the inconsistencies between our values and actions become so
stark; when the destruction animal agriculture is wreaking on the planet
becomes so urgent; when delicious vegan options become so abundant; and when
the desire to live more compassionately becomes so compelling, we can and do
change.
I believe that one day, the vast majority of us will not eat slaughtered
animals or force animals to produce milk and eggs for us. This day will come
when enough people have shifted their diets, and food companies have shifted
along with them, changing the food production system to meet the
ever-growing demand for humane, sustainable, and equitably produced food.
When this critical mass causes a systemic shift, the rest of the population
will shift, too. We eat what we eat because that is what is served to us at
our dinner tables as children, in school cafeterias, and in restaurants and
convenience stores. If what’s served is different, we’ll naturally go along
with our new and more humane diets.
How wonderful it would be to speed this change and not wait and look back
regretfully wondering why we held on so tenaciously to cruel systems,
petting our dog while feasting on bacon; filling our bird feeders while
chowing down on chicken wings. We can build a more peaceful and healthy
world right now, so let’s start eating for the future we want today. A more
compassionate world is just a meal away.
References
Zoe Weil, M.A., M.T.S., is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education, where she created the first graduate programs and workshops in comprehensive Humane Education linking human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection. She is a frequent keynote speaker at education and other conferences and has given six TEDx talks, including "The World Becomes What You Teach.” She is the author of seven books, including The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries, Most Good, Least Harm, Claude and Medea, and Above All, Be Kind. Weil was named one of Maine Magazine’s 50 independent leaders transforming their communities and the state and is the recipient of the Unity College Women in Environmental Leadership award. She holds masters' degrees from Harvard Divinity School and the University of Pennsylvania.
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