More than 56 billion farm animals are killed every year by humans. This shocking number doesn’t even include the number of fish and other marine creatures caught, which is so big that it’s measured only in tonnes.
How tempting it is to believe that the meat we eat is ethical, that our “animals for food” have lived a fulfilling, happy life and that they haven’t experienced pain or fear in the slaughterhouse. The sad truth, however, is that all animals (even those labeled “free-range” or “organic”) fear death, just as we do. Regardless of the way they are treated, they all feel the same fear when they feel they are about to be slaughtered.
Ethics
Is there such thing as humane slaughter? No.
Meat is always murder. And this is well known to all, but most people seem to prefer to conveniently ignore this fact, completely downplay its seriousness, and just close their eyes, cover their ears and just not think about it. They don’t bother or burden with unpleasant emotions, inhibiting their minds of any empathy. They don’t want to face the discomfort of the truth or the inconvenience of seeking a different, and perfectly possible, ethical way of living. If it opens up a topic or questions about this problem, it’s more comfortable to them to fall into cognitive dissonance.
Indoctrinated since children to be speciesist
Animals are not just food, but thinking, feeling individuals who want to enjoy their lives. The lives of animals are as important and irreplaceable to them as ours to us. But as children, we are brought up to look at cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and fish as inferior beings whose cause of existence is to provide us with meat, milk and eggs. This way of perceiving other species is known as speciesism. It is time to change the way we see the other animals we share the planet with. We need to stop thinking of them as resources and start looking at them as: individual conscious beings whose lives deserve to be respected and valued.
There is one very simple way we can prevent the greatest animal suffering: by adopting a vegan diet we can personally save up to 95 animals a year, and thousands during our lifetimes. Most of us are already convinced that animals should not be unnecessarily harmed, but still eating animal products damages and kills animals and is not necessary for human health. Choosing a healthy, varied vegan diet means respecting the lives of animals and refusing to participate in their exploitation.
FISH
Most of the creatures that die for our consumption are fish. The amount of bodies, measured by tons, is so large that it is difficult to calculate how many die. Despite the number of them being caught and how they are treated, fish are individuals with the ability to experience pleasure and pain, as confirmed by numerous scientific studies. According to Huntiford (2002), fish have senses to detect stimulation of pain and cerebral mechanisms that process stimulation and cause negative physical reactions.
Many different methods are used to catch fish, but almost all of them will die in a terrible way. Victims of commercial fishing nets die from suffocation, crushed under the weight of other fish or frozen in the boat’s cooling chambers. Others undergo agonizing decompression as they are transported to the surface – their eyes and internal organs literally explode. Fish hooked by fishermen endure sensitive parts of their mouths to be torn off by sharp hooks before being hooked up or stewed. On fisheries, many thousands of fish are crammed together and forced to swim in circles. Parasites and infections that spread in fish farms can also spread to wild fish.
PIGS
Pigs are intelligent beings who are fully aware of their own existence and enjoy their lives when given the opportunity. They can play for hours, wallowing in mud, lie in the sun, and explore their surroundings with a strong sense of smell. They enjoy doing these things and like us, they want to continue to have joy and enjoy their lives.
Probably the ones who suffer the most in this industry are the pigs used for breeding. They are repeatedly forcibly impregnated throughout their lives, often in extremely restricted cells, and then separated from their babies shortly after birth. They suffer physically and mentally. The lives of these pigs and their ability to reproduce are only seen as a way to create more production units. Mothers who are unable to give birth to the required number of piglets are sent to the slaughterhouse.
BEEF
Male calves generally are send to the slaughterhouse on the 5th day after birth, although they would naturally live 25 years or more. Their mothers end there as well, ruined by the milkin. As it’s known, the daily attached to their udders machines milk them – the machines pull regardless of whether or not there is milk in the udders, meaning when they finish the machines will continue, causing injuries, infections and pus. Forcing them away from their mothers and others from their flock causes a lot of anxiety, as they are social beings capable of recognizing each other and forging strong relationships that can last a lifetime.
POULTRY MEAT
Meat-raised chickens, turkey and ducks are fattened in huge sheds and given hormones to be ready for slaughter so fast, that their feet often cannot support their body weight and many suffer from heart attacks. Chickens and turkeys are social beings who like to eat, to be with their fellow, to bathe in the sand and to lie in the sun. For these reasons, they suffer a lot when they are deprived of their freedom and deprived of the opportunity to exhibit natural behavior, just as we would suffer if we could not do what we longed to do.
Ducks also require water to satisfy their needs, to keep them clean and not getting infections. Most ducks are raised without water and suffer a lot because of their frustration caused by their inability to satisfy their natural desires.
The animals above are not the only victims of our eating habits. Rabbits, deers, pigeons, ostriches… every animal we use is a victim. For the simple reason that we like the taste of their flesh or the products of their bodies.
What do DARWIN and the other scientists think?
According to Charles Darwin: “The classification of the forms and functions of the organs clearly indicates that human normal food is plant-like, similar to that of human-like apes, that our canine teeth are less developed than theirs, and that we are not destined to compete with wild beasts or carnivorous animals. ”
Hippocrates – the greatest physician of Antiquity, also called “the father of medicine” and considered one of the most important figures in the field of medicine. His name is associated with the Hippocratic Oath. Here’s what it says: “Let food be your medicine and medicine your food.” Guess if he ate animal products. No.
Thomas Huxley, a zoologist, biologist and creator of the word agnostic, says: “The man appeared before the fire and the ax. So he couldn’t be omnivorous. ”
Georges Cuvier, founder of stratigraphy and comparative anatomy, says: “Comparative anatomy teaches us that in everything human is like the FRUGIVEROUS ANIMALS and nothing like the carnivorous animals. Only by masking dead flesh in order to become more fragile through culinary preparations can it be chewed and bold by a person whose view of raw and bleeding flesh and insides causes terror and disgust. ”
Richard Owen, an English biologist, specialist in comparative anatomy and paleontologist, states: “Monkeys get their food from fruits, grains and other plant nutrients, and the exact analogy between the structure of these animals and that of humans proves their natural fruitfulness.”
Leonardo da Vinci: “I have given up on the use of meat from an early age and there will come a time when people will consider the killing of animals as criminal and disgusting as they now see the killing of humans.”
Albert Einstein: “Nothing will further improve human health and increase the chances of preserving life on Earth, as adopting vegetarianism as a diet.” At his time, the concept of vegetarianism was a complete plant-based diet (without eggs, milk, their derivatives products or bee products). The modern understanding of vegetarianism began to impose the “British Vegetarian Society” only in the 19th century, defining different types of vegetarianism, one of which excludes only meat. Let’s see what the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron says, dating to almost the time when the movement of vegetarians began. The time-honored encyclopedia defines adherents of the then-modern and modern philosophy as “followers of a philosophical movement who recognize only natural products of plant origin as natural food for man“. And only that. Period.
Nikola Tesla: “How to provide good and abundant food for humankind is a matter of paramount importance today. Generally speaking, cattle farming as a means of providing food can be rightly objected to. It is certainly preferable to grow vegetables and I think that vegetarianism is a commendable deviation from the established barbaric practice. That we can only survive on plant food and do our jobs even better is not a theory but a well-demonstrated fact. Many tribes and peoples living almost exclusively on vegetables are in better physical health and strength. There is no doubt that some vegetable foods, such as oatmeal, are more economically viable than meat and are superior to both physical and mental activity. In addition, this food puts a greater burden on our digestive organs, and in terms of making us more relaxed and socially adaptable brings benefits that are difficult to calculate. In view of the above facts, we must make every effort to stop the arbitrariness of the brutal slaughter of animals, which also undermines our moral standing. ” / At his time, the concept of vegetarianism was a complete plant-based diet (without eggs, milk, derived products or bee products). The modern understanding of vegetarianism began to impose the “British Vegetarian Society” only in the 19th century, defining different types of vegetarianism, one of which excludes only meat. Let’s see what the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron says, dating to almost the time when the movement of vegetarians began. The time-honored encyclopedia defines adherents of the then-modern and modern philosophy as “followers of a philosophical movement who recognize it as natural human food only vegetable products. “ And only that. Period./
Thomas Edison: “Nonviolence leads to the highest ethics that is the goal of every evolution. Until we stop hurting all sentient beings, we will still be savages. ”…“ I am vegetarian and I do not drink to make better use of my brain.” / At his time, the concept of vegetarianism was a complete plant-based diet (without eggs, milk, derived products or bee products). The modern understanding of vegetarianism began to impose the “British Vegetarian Society” only in the 19th century, defining different types of vegetarianism, one of which excludes only meat. Let’s see what the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron says, dating to almost the time when the movement of vegetarians began. The time-honored encyclopedia defines adherents of the then-modern and modern philosophy as “followers of a philosophical movement who recognize it as natural human food only vegetable products. “ And only that. Period./
Albert Schweitzer “A rational person must stand against all cruel beliefs, no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and how surrounded by a halo they are. When we have a choice, we must avoid causing suffering and pain in the life of another, even the lowest being. If we do not do this, we are guilty, nothing justifies it. ”
Benjamin Franklin: “My refusal to eat meat is a source of inconvenience for me, and I am often reprimanded for this strangeness, but with my lighter meal I have made the greatest progress towards a clearer mind and greater receptivity.”
“Eating animal flesh is nothing like a unprovoked killing.”
Voltaire: “Certainly this bloodshed in slaughterhouses and our kitchens is no longer perceived as evil, even the other way around, we view these cruel actions, which often have a morally threatening effect as a blessing from God, and thank him in our prayers for our bloodthirsty actions. But is there anything more terrifying than constantly eating the flesh of slaughtered animals? ”
Schopenhauer: “The world is not a factory and animals are not a product for personal use. Not regret, but justice is what we owe them! ”
Immanuel Kant:
“If man does not want to dampen his humane feelings, he must show kindness to animals, because he who is cruel to them becomes so in his relations with humans. We can judge a man’s heart according to his attitude toward animals. “
“Cruelty to animals contradicts the moral obligation of man to himself, because it kills in him the sense of empathy for their suffering, and so the natural proneness, which is very beneficial to morality in relation to other human beings is weakened. ”
Seneca:
“Vegetable foods are enough food for the stomach, in which we now stuff expensive animals.” “I strongly decided not to consume the flesh of a killed animal, and at the end of the first year, my abstinence became not only a habit but also a pleasant activity.”
Pythagoras:
“Everything that man causes to aninals will come back to him. The one who cuts the throat of a cow with a knife and remains deaf to the torment of fear; the one who can slaughter a cold-blooded screaming goatling and eat the bird he feeds himself – how far is he from crime? ”
“The Earth generously provides an abundance of food that does not need violence – food free from murder and blood. ”
“As people slaughter animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love. ”
“How can we, with the flesh and blood of a creature, us alike, nourish ourselves and kill other living creatures to support our lives? Is it not a shame for us, surrounded generously with the gifts of the fertile land, to passionately, with fierce teeth to tear broken bodies like wild beasts? … A man who, listening to the pitiful death roar, slaughters an innocent calf, who kills the lamb, crying like a child, who beats the bird of heaven for fun or to eat, it will not be difficult for him to decide to destroy another human. To this cruel practice only anthropophagy is likely. ”
Plutarch:
“You ask me why Pythagoras abstained from eating meat. I, for my part, wonder what feeling, thought, or reason was guided by the man who first decided to defile his mouth with blood and allow his lips to touch the flesh of the slain creature; who ordered the disfigured forms of dead bodies at his table and asked to have for daily food what had previously been a creature endowed with movement, feeling and voice. You may ask why Pythagoras refrained from eating meat. How can a human gaze withstand the slaughter of an animal, with the insides being eviscerated and the limbs separated from the body? How can the nose inhale the stink? How does the tongue not turn away when it comes in contact with the juices and serum of dead flesh? Why don’t we eat wolves and lions that threaten our lives, but kill harmless, obedient creatures that can do us no harm? Because of a piece of flesh, we deprive them of the sun, light and life to which they have the same right as we do. If you are so sure that the animals are meant for your food, then kill yourself the animal whose flesh you want to eat. But kill him with your bare hands and your teeth, not with a stick, a sitter or an ax! ”
“The digestive organ is most commonly upset after a meat meal because it soon suppresses it and leaves bad consequences. It would be best for man not to eat any meat, because the earth gives us enough objects that serve us not only for food but also for pleasure. But a man of greed rushes to everything to satisfy the whims of his appetite, tries everything, tastes everything, and as if, in search of what should be for him, becomes an omnivorous animal. He uses meat not for need or necessity, but for voluptuous and satiety, because he sees that he is given a free choice between herbs and fruits, whose abundance is inexhaustible. He seeks out and finds unclean and inconvenient food that comes at the cost of killing living creatures. And thus it comes out more cruel than the most bloodthirsty wild beasts. The blood and flesh of a killed animal can feed a hawk, a wolf and a snake, but they are unnecessary food for humans. ”
“You ask me on what basis Pythagoras abstained from the use of animal meat. For my part, I wonder what feeling, thought, or reason was guided by the man who first decided to defile his mouth with blood and allowed his lips to touch the flesh of the slain creature; who ordered the disfigured forms of dead bodies at his table and asked to have for daily food what was, before, a creature endowed with movement, feeling and voice.”
“Why do you blaspheme the earth that it is not able to feed and provide drink to you? ”
“You call predatory and cruel lions, tigers, and snakes when you are not yielding to them by barbarity. Yet to them, murder is the only means of existence, and to you it is a waste of luxury and crime. In fact, we do not kill or eat the lions and wolves we would do for self-defense, but on the contrary, we leave them alone, but we persecute and kill innocent, domestic, helpless creatures who are deprived of a self-defense tool. Poor savage humanity! It is frightening to see the tables of the rich, surrounded by those who stretch their dead bodies – butchers and chefs. And even more scarier view is the same meal after the feast, because the naked relics are uglier when they are bare bones. ”
“If, nevertheless, you still claim that nature intended you for such food, then kill at least what you want to eat, but do it only with your natural tools, without using either the butcher’s knife or the ax, nor a snot. Just as wolves, lions, and bears kill on they own whatever they feed, so do you, kill a cow or an ox by biting it with your jaws, biting the pig, jumping on the rabbit or sheep, and tearing it into pieces without looking for time and place. After doing all this by yourself, sit then at your table. But if you are waiting for a living and thinking being to be deprived of life by other people, and if it is disgusting for you to rip out the heart of your victim and shed her blood, then I am asking you, why contrary to nature, do you feed on beings endowed with a conscious life? What is more: even after your victims have been killed, you will not eat them as they were delivered by the slaughterhouse. You cook them, bake them and change them perfectly with fire and spices. You completely transform the killed animal by using tens of thousands of scented herbs and vegetables to give your your natural taste and prepare it to accept unnatural food. ”
“The human body is in no way like those born to tear; There is no predator beak, no sharp nails, no rough and heavy teeth, no stomach strength or digestive heat that can be enough to transform or process such heavy and fleshy food. ”
Plato: “The gods created certain kinds of organisms to fill our bodies; These are trees, plants and seeds. ”
Socrates:
“Don’t talk about love and peace when you have a dead animal on your plate.”
“Does this habit of eating animals require the slaughter of animals that we know as individuals and in whose eyes we can look and see our own reflection, just hours before eating?” Socrates describes why he considers the use of meat to be the beginning of a great deal of misery for the people and the whole society. He believes that wars and diseases are a long way off, but a real consequence of carnivores. (From Plato’s farewell dialogue “The Republic.”)
Are we made for eating meat?
Is it unnatural to eat meat? It is unnatural for humans because our system is like the fruit- plant-eating animal. We are not omnivorous, as many are trying to get us. The omnivorous need much more than 8 hours of sleep and do not see the full range of colors, and herbivores can. The omnivorous have a lower jaw attached to the upper, in the case of the herbivores it is opposite: the upper one is in the lower one. The jaw angle of the herbivores is expanded, unlike the omnivorous ones. Dog teeth have almost all animals, even herbivores, but ours are much smaller, blunt and short than omnivorous ones that have long and sharp teeth. Look at the teeth of bears, most of them are omnivorous. The chemical composition of our salivary glands is alkaline, while in the omnivorous it is acidic. The length of our small intestines is 9 times the length of the body (as in the frugiverous animals), while the omnivorous ones are only 3 times the length of the body. For herbivores it is 20 times, but the size of ours perfectly fits the size of the fruit-eaters: 9 times. The chemical composition of our colon is acidic, the omnivorous is alkaline. Our colon is long, while the omnivorous is short. The omnivores also metabolize LDL cholesterol very effectively, whereas we, like all frugiverous, can only metabolize phytosterols. All predators and omnivores have a special LDL cholesterol digestion enzyme that is not possessed by herbivores. You know, man doesn’t have that kind of enzyme either, so LDL cholesterol accumulates in his blood vessels. The gastric acidity of the omnivorous stomach is less than or equal to pH 1 with the food in the stomach, with all herbivores being pH4 to 5 with the food. This does not mean that we are ruminant herbivores, just that for our species the ideal food is the fruit. The frugiverous digestion takes much more time than the omnivorous ones and much less than the herbivores. We have an absolute coincidence of the body with the frugiverous animals.
Is meat harmful to health?
People who eat only animal products (such as Eskimos) have the lowest life expectancy, with an average life expectancy of up to 40-45 years. Many believe that we have evolved through meat, but they do not know that our brains only feed on glucose. And as we said before: We, unlike omnivorous and predators, do not have the enzyme to absorb LDL cholesterol and it clogs our blood vessels. As a result, there are a number of problems from erection problems to infarction. Older fans of the meat often suffer from Gout.
The greatest doctors of modern times tell us that animal products are harmful – Dr. Michael Gregory, Dr. Kim Allen Williams (President of the American College of Cardiology and the University of Chicago Cardiology), Dr. Campbell, Dr. Neal Bernard, Dr. Michael Clapper, Dr. Caldwell Esselston, Dr. John Magleg, Dr. Joel Ferman, etc.
Are we addicted to meat?
The meat contains hypoxanthin. It is a central nervous system stimulant and the body gets addicted to it. Therefore, when we do not eat meat for a long time, we abstain.
Ecological disaster
The livestock industry is the most responsible for pollution on the planet, polluting water resources (eutrophication). 80% of the deforestation is felling due to agriculture. (Information from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Mass animal husbandry is a source of nitric oxide and sulfur dioxide. Methane released by farm animals is the biggest cause of OZONE DEPLETION AND GLOBAL WARMING!!
Methane is 20 to 200 times more harmful than carbon dioxide! The ANIMAL INDUSTRY IS THE GREATEST DESTROYER OF THE PLANET not cars, not leaks, not oil, not shale gas, not nuclear power plants, etc. It’s the livestock industry !!! It is the largest cause of the ozone hole.
The solution: veganism
It’s a fact animals for meat are killed directly. But those who are grown for exploitation also end up with a knife – have you heard about them being buried? All animals used for milk, wool, eggs, down, feathers, transport, and so on, sooner or later end with a knife. When we sponsor their exploitation, we pay for their deaths as well. Our consumption makes us partly responsible for their end, that will follow once they become unusable.
