It can be difficult when you learn what happens to animals
so that people can eat a typical Western diet. It happens everywhere! Its
heart wrenching! My thoughts range from, “Hey, at least I am not contributing
to the cruelty anymore” to “How can we let this happen and what can I do?” I
want to desperately tell everyone to stop! I want to tell them how the animals
are treated and that plant based food will prevent and reverse our common
diseases! Trying to do this delicately is a challenge for sure! Being passionate
about something doesn’t help when you want instant change and need to allow
people to find their way (just as I did) which will be more successful in the
long run.
Sometimes I feel very small in the world on this issue.
Thank goodness for social media and all of the available resources online. It
is good to know you’re all out there feeling the same way! J
When do we focus on what is better for the larger “we” than
on ourselves? While we are very much focused on “me, me, me” which will probably
lead to our demise, what about caring beyond ourselves, for the greater good or
for another being? Someone we may not ever see or know?
If there is one thing that has surprised me, it is that mindset
makes all of the difference. At one time
I was unable to endure 40 (what seemed like eternal) days and nights of Lent to
wait for milk chocolate I’d given up for Lent as part of my Catholic
upbringing. I haven’t eaten milk
chocolate in over a year because I now know what is involved in making it –
unnecessary suffering. Dark chocolate works beautifully as a substitute by the
way! I loved milk chocolate – I was totally addicted! But, having this
knowledge makes the choice very simple. It’s an easy one because there is a substitution.
It’s not always THAT easy!
Let’s say you’re out to dinner with co-workers or friends at
a meat eating joint…Very limited veggie options on the menu (though this is
greatly improving these days) and you’ve not had a chance to look at the menu
in advance or call ahead of time. You tell the waiter you’re eating a plant
based/vegan diet and the only thing they’ve got is the boring old dry noodles
with boiled vegetables on top! Yawnnnnnn. No sauces, no spices, no nothing to
jazz it up at all! And after you’ve finished ordering, your co-workers respond
with,” Hey – you’re a vegan? When did you do that?”, “Why?”, “What DO you EAT?”,
“How do you get your protein?”, “Guess you can’t have cheese, huh? I could
never give up cheese”.
While there are
benefits, it is a big change and requires a bit of sacrifice on our part. It’s
easy to follow the crowd and not “bother” anybody. But, if you are polite about
asking for minor accommodations, most people are willing to help you out. If
you explain to your friends or co-workers, they may seem okay about it, or put
off by it, but either way, they will think about it – and isn’t that the point?
Heck, if that’s the worst that it ever came to, that’s not
so bad! Right? What a great opportunity to tell people what we’ve learned and
how great we feel! While that dinner may not be the greatest time to get into
detail about where their steak came from and how eating meat and dairy is shown
to cause cancer and heart disease (we can save that part for after dinner
drinks) we can focus on what we do eat and how we love it and feel more
energized!
Let’s find each other and work to make this world a better
place for animals (and ourselves in the process). Being plant based and knowing I am saving the
lives of animals is one of the things that makes me happiest in this life! It’s
up to us! Give it a try…
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed
people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has!” –
Margaret Mead
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