If you have the opportunity to become acquainted with farm animals, you will learn that, apart from their appearances, they are not significantly different in terms of affection, intelligence and lovability from the animals we traditionally consider pets.

About 20 years ago, I read an article in the St. Petersburg Times reporting that some local Haitians were eating cats. I thought, at that time, that this must something in their culture. In Asia, for example, eating cats and dogs is commonplace. This inspired me to consider our culture and the animals we eat. As a result, I stopped eating all forms of meat i.e., chicken, fish, beef, pork, lamb, excetera.

While our tradition seems to come from the idea that man has dominion over animals and therefore eating meat is “natural,” nothing in this idea supports either eating meat or the cruelty associated with its production. And production it is. With animals confined to cages, one on top of the other, with stalls too small for them to move, with slaughter practiced on production lines and the enormous pollution associated with meat production, I find it difficult to understand why anyone who professes to love animals, or the earth for that matter, would continue to eat meat.

Many people are concerned with issues like global warming, famine, and pollution. There is an intricate relationship between these issues and the production of meat. Deciding on a plant-based diet is a socially and environmentally responsible move, as well as displaying a deep consideration for animals. More information about a plant-based diet and the impact it has on many issues can be found on the following websites:

TryVeg.org
FactoryFarming.org
nrdc.org/water/pollution/ffarms.asp
ChristianVeg.org
JewishVeg.com
PCRM.org

I encourage people to take their disgust with animal cruelty further, and their love of animals higher, by cutting down and eventually eliminating animal products from their diets.