My little voice......

My little voice......

 

I don’t want to be a bystander.
I want to be the change I long to see in this world.
I am not stupid or naive about these things. I know I can’t change the world. But this does not mean I’m not going to try.
As much as I want to grab every single person individually and say STOP for a second. LOOK for a minute and SEE what I see and UNDERSTAND why this is so horrible so wrong and so unnecessary.....
I know I physically can’t do that.....or can I ??
The reality is ugly. The truth of the matter is not nice. Old Mac Donald left the farm and it became a factory, processing 9 billion + animals a year to feed an ever growing society with an obesity epidemic.
It’s not what the animal is...it’s our perception of what we think the animal to be...pet, companion, friend or food, a commodity.
It’s my little voice in my little corner trying to shout out loud to be heard surpassing the McDonalds on every corner, the KFC commercials, the ‘got milk’ campaign , the high fashion fur industry advertising....Everywhere we look and everything we hear tells us to buy more, eat more, use more....
And then there is my little voice....
It’s me getting shot down, told to be quiet, told to stop being offensive, branded as a radical or angry vegan ....blah blah blah....
My little voice.....
At the end of the day my little voice cannot tell you what to think and my opinion doesn’t matter. And NO my intent is not to force my opinion down on anyone.
But if I can inspire people to just question their own ideas and their own perceptions, maybe start to think for themselves and seek out information without prejudice and maybe be brave enough to stand as an individual then that is a start........

20 years vego/ 9 months Vegan and I still feel the sadness......

This is not meant to be offensive to anyone...

It is just how I am feeling at the moment.......

Please read this with an open mind and not take it personaly because it is not directed at you.......

I just need to get this out..
I need to vent..
I need to be heard.
I need to be understood...

I am just feeling really lost.........

I am finding it increasingly harder to live in a hypocritical world and be at peace with myself...

I feel like the only way to fit in is to be fake and live up to a false version of what people like.....
and I hate it...

I hate having to be fake, forcing the smile and keeping in my heart break....

Having to act carefree and complying with others standards or lack thereof (because honestly a non vegan does not live by compassion, empathy, spirituality or honesty)
It is impossible to be any of those things when living blind and dis connected....

it’s all just hypocrisy...

Not knowing is one thing, but not wanting to know is more than a cop out. It is selfish and mean.

I’m not saying I am perfect or better than anyone here, at the very least I am facing the awful truths and trying to live honestly and ethically.

I hate having to pretend otherwise....something which i am doing everyday just to fit in and get through......

I turn a blind eye
(not on the violence, suffering and lies.....NO, that stuff is burned in to my mind and soul and I can’t escape it...)

NO.... I turn a blind eye away from what I see my people do around me on a daily basis, I smile, I have to be polite and act like things doesn’t bother me.

But they bother me so much more than I can ever get a non vegan to understand.

This leaves me feeling alone, because most of the people I know and call friend are non vegan.

Non vegans simply do not understand the ethics of being vegan.

No offence intended but when people say...
‘I get it’ or
‘I support you’ or
‘I respect your beliefs’
well it’s kind of a mute and empty statement because if they did
‘get it’......
really ‘get it’.......
really understand the ethics, the compassion, the spirituality, the health aspects, the sustainability and environmental aspects...

THE HOLISTIC VEGAN PHILOSOPHY....

if they did ‘GET IT’ they would have no other logical course to follow other than to become vegan themselves...

But.......

How stupid am I...

I just realised that some people do actually

‘get it’

or at least understand the facts around factory farming, health and diseases linked to a meat eating diet, the impact on the environment etc....

And here I was assuming that people will follow a logical course to benefit others and the planet we share.....

I keep forgetting how selfish, self absorbed and self centred people can be....

So i guess the troubles in my mind, the confusion i feel and the heart ache come from 2 separate places.

One, having to be a silent witness to the injustice and misery of others (animals) and the other, the realisation that a lot of people essentially don’t give a fuck and live disconnected not caring about who or what they hurt.

They continue to be a part of a society that condones, promotes and encourages such unfair, unwarranted and totally unnecessary abuse, murder and enslavement of other beings for such selfish reasons as taste, convenience and some might say luxuries.

If I am going to be honest with myself I have to say I find this nothing more than a soulless, heartless and selfish on the part of the individual.

Because when we really look at all that is important.
Our health, our environment, the next generation (be it our kids or even their kids) our ethics, the only reason left for taking the life of another creature is for taste.

We live in an age with choices, with so much information available to us.
We live in a time where we have the knowledge to make this a better world yet most of us turn a blind eye, we turn our backs and walk away selfishly.
We live in a time where taste is relative and anything, any meal can be made a mock up of a meat dish....but selfishly people continue to abuse and kill animals....
like they are all just here for us to do with as we please because they are weaker than us......because we can....

So we play God, we breed them, confine them, pump them full of growth hormones and anti biotcs.
We separate them from their children, we don’t give them any freedom or peace, we keep them away from the sun and open paddocks.
We pack them of tightly onto trucks or ships, the lucky ones die in transit the rest have to be prodded and pushed down a kill chute shaking, frothing at the mouth in fear with no escape.....
sent to be stunned with an electric current before bolted through the brain....(and that is at an ethical slaughter house) not all are so lucky.....
WHY because we can...
WHY because of taste.....
its FUCKED....
My heart breaks every day....


It’s not a personal choice...
I just want people to stop hurting, abusing and eating my friends....
No, I don’t know these animals personally, but they can all feel fear and pain just like my Casper did, just like my Kiki does and they are all just as capable of love, just like my Bryson and Sally where and just like my boy Buddha is......

So when I hear people say
‘I get it’ or
‘I support you’
it really gives me little comfort when I know they will continue to eat, wear, use and be a part of the violent society that supports the misery of dairy farms, the killing of 700,000 baby cows yearly, the hidden torture of the life on a factory farm, the horrific treatment of the killing machine that is the slaughter house, the daily abuse of so many innocent animals that would love unconditionally just like their own pet cats or dogs if only given that chance.

Paying for someone else to do the killing and packaging (as neat as it looks in the supermarket) is really no different than doing it themselves (only they don’t have to hear the screams, face the misery or wash the blood of their hands)

When you really think about it....paying the hired help to do the dirty work is even lower than taking the responsibility for the misery and pain that only has to happen to meet a selfish need for taste (not for health, not for survival, not for any good reason at all)

This is the kind of thing I have to put out of my mind and turn a blind eye to when I am around most people......

So what do I do...

I feel lost.

I have been self isolating for 8 months doing the minimal amount of socialising, playing it safe and staying away from people....
I don’t mind it...

I prefer the company of my animal friends. It is honest and uncomplicated.

I can get along with anyone...if I lie, if I pretend, if I hold back and keep my mouth shut, if I am polite....

But.....

I hate this being false and acting fake....but I can’t see any other way to be if I am to function is this society amongst what is deemed the ‘normal’ people.
Being myself, will just drive people away...
No one wants to be reminded of what they are eating or how that animal was treated and especially how it may have suffered and how it was killed for nothing more than taste...

Because when it does come down to it....
Once we have gone the sustainability argument, the environmental argument, the health argument, the cultural and religious argument...
It comes down to taste....the eating of animals is not necessary and is in fact harmful to our health and the health of the planet...

So.. taste...

and taste is the most selfish reason to take a baby form its mother, to slaughter an innocent, to farm a living creature as a commodity.....

Sometimes, I have no other choice but to be social, there is work, the gym, the social interactions I have to be a part of to make Phil happy (which I do willingly for him)

In my heart I don’t dislike people, I don’t judge anyone, I do enjoy the company of my friends and family (when I can put aside the heart break I feel and block my thoughts, hold my tongue, ignore the little things)

It does make it hard thou because I can’t say that I respect, look up to or aspire to be like anyone I know...
Everyone talks up kindness, compassion, spirituality etc...
PLUR..
what a joke Peace, love unity and respect....as long
as you don't have fur, fins, feathers etc...
Peace love unity and respect for what exactly...
Its a fucken joke...
But how can we live by any of those things in a non vegan world...
What does it mean to be kind....
is kindness knowing a baby calf will be killed as a by product of dairy but it doesn’t matter as long as we have ice cream..
What does it mean to have compassion....
is it compassionate knowing that battery hens live their entire lives in cages, never see the light of day, stand on wire all day long, can never stretch their wings... but it’s ok because we can say we care and how horrible it is and maybe buy free range once in a while....
What is spirituality...is it hiding behind the bible and translating it to say we ‘do unto others’ as we please... Is it wearing the Om or a crucifix around your neck and saying we are spiritual....
I wonder what Jesus or Buddha would do...would they be ok with a factory farm.... I doubt it.... I’m not saying that I believe in Jesus or religion here..I am just asking this because so many of us claim to be spiritual or Christian....
This is not meant as an insult, a judgement or putdown towards anyone...
I don’t think I am better than anyone else on the contrary I feel that my life or existence is no more important than that of any other creature on this earth.

For as important, special or even how much I may be loved by those close to me....
I am sure that most other creatures feel a kin and closeness to their own babies, siblings, parents etc.

So in this context I am no more special than a baby chicken (because to mother hen, her baby chick is her heart and soul, nurturing, protecting, loving and feeling) to the mother cow that has her baby taken, well her grief would be no less than that of what we would feel having our children taken.

Her pain from being milked twice a day everyday for the entire time she is alive is something I could not even comprehended.
What that poor animal is put through for the sake of our selfish need for milk and cheese...

Any mother that has ever breast fed or used a breast pump...imagine having to do that twice a day for 8 years....it breaks my heart to think about it (again, something else I have to turn a blind eye to when I see people use dairy)....

So what do I do...

I am still lost....

I don’t know how to be or how to fit in

I don't know if i even want to fit in

I don’t even know if I want to try to anymore...

I hate not being true to who I am...

I hate being fake...

I wish I could put all this aside and out of my head and just live in peace and smile and not let the hypocrisy of the world bother me...

How do I stay true to who I am and love those around me when it breaks my heart knowing they don't care or have any compassion or empathy for creatures that they see as being less then themselves......

Quality v's quantity

Today I was told that if I kept going...(speaking up for animal rights, advocating as a vegan, posting blogs, posting notes etc etc..) I would end up living in a bubble with only my son, boyfriend, cousin and mother as friends....

This really upset me...I didn’t think I was a horrible or nasty person, I didn’t think my close friends would not want me around, sure I may not want to have dinner at a steak house or eat at a German restaurant  where giant pork knuckles are being served or do BBQ’s...but is there not other things we can do ???) or so I thought....

.

It’s true, I have closed of my old face book account of ‘500’ and my new account is only in the low 20’s...

It’s true I have spoken out, been raw at times, been honest about my feelings, anger and disgust, been  offensive in not ‘sugar coating’ any detail or worried about political correctness.....

I have shared my opinion and posted a lot of information (but I have not tagged anyone or forced it down anyone’s throat)

I don’t think I’m better than anyone else, I do think I have cared a little more to have sought out information, been open minded and willing to think outside of the conventional social square...

It’s true I have called people on it when they make silly claims and statements like:

I’m spiritual,

I love animals,

I could never give up meat, and I don’t have as strong beliefs as you (facts people, not beliefs)

Really, honestly these things can’t be claimed if you are going to turn around and eat or wear an animal...(take the responsibility and do some research on the industries and practises you are supporting and if you can still turn around and claim and believe to be spiritual or love animals when you have all this information..I will cook up and eat my own arm)

It’s true I have turned down dinner invitations when I know I’m going to have to sit and watch people eat meat (seriously you may as well cook up and eat my dog in front of me...it’s all the same..dog, cat, pig, cow, chicken...do you get the picture).

I mean, I know how much food takes part in social interactions with friends, so heart break aside maybe this is something I need to learn to deal with..........

It’s true, Sometimes I get frustrated and angry... with the ignorance, stupidity and unwillingness to take some form of responsibility

It’s true I purposely have not added people to my new account because I just don’t want to have to deal with their negativity

(Why do people feel like they need to justify their meat eating to me?)

Yes I want the world to turn vegan...

I know it’s never going to happen so go and eat your meal and leave me out of it...

I don’t need to hear  your justification, apologies or guilt  ...and further more putting me down or making fun of me doesn’t change the facts or my beliefs, I’ve been on your side of the fence, I was there 20 years ago and no amount of taunting or teasing will take me back......

‘You, as a non-vegan, must remember that most vegans thought, felt and ate like
you do. Everything you say, we know. So please, refrain from trying to
convince us that you are 'right'. Your reasons are just a bad reminder
of how we used to be. Vegans have left that pool of delusions and
outdated doctrines. Now it's your turn to do the same. By Anita Ⓥ Mahdessian’

So.....what do I do, where do I go from here....

Do I just shut up and forget just to fit in and be popular again...

After all everybody loved super funky munty ravie graceie...she was popular...

Do I give up my beliefs, keep quiet, conform to popular social culture  for popularity and fear of living in a bubble with only a chosen few...

Do I care if my friends list went from 500 to 23......meh

Popularity is over rated, give me my bubble, my boyfriend, my son, my mum, my cousin and I’m sure their are going to be a few more peeps I pick up along the way....

I’ve always thought quality is far better than quantity....

NO FEAR
A friend of mine posted on his wall the other day...

 His post stated....that he was now aware of the factory farming practises due to both myself and cousin posting
and sharing information and added that there was ‘No Fear’ of him ever going vegetarian or vegan...

Interesting choice of words “No Fear”
Fear of what exactly???

The ‘Fear’ of change

 The ‘Fear’ of being different

 The ‘Fear’ of not fitting into a society that is geared and revolves around the use of animals

 The ‘Fear’ of facing the cruelty that is inflicted on animals

 The ‘Fear’ of taking the responsibility for the things meat eaters are a part of

 The ‘Fear’ of being ridiculed, made fun off, laughed at and being dismissed as a crazy person for advocating for animals..

The 'Fear' of not having enough to eat... (not likely)

 He proceeded in saying that I was in fact ‘crazy’ for my beliefs and that I cared about animals more than humans...

 Two things bother me about that statement....

 Firstly.....Beliefs and facts are not the same thing...I don’t believe that animals might be getting abused or killed......they actually are getting abused and killed.......Fact...FUCKEN HELL... how many times to i have to repeat myself with this......

And secondly........

Interesting that he viewed at it as an ‘us’ and ‘them’ scenario. It is not a question of loving one more than the other or having more compassion for one species.


It is a question of fairness, rights, not exploiting others, not harming others, not bullying or enslaving,not taking what is not ours....

 It is a question of doing the right, kind, fair and compassionate thing.

Besides, in the interest of humanity;

The number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year = 20 million

Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10% = 100 million.....


Vegan life style is not just about animal rights, it's about human sustainability on this planet.....

For an educated man I have trouble understanding the lack of knowledge......


If we are the so called more ‘evolved’, ‘smarter’, ‘stronger’ species should not we then look after and nurture others.

If we are the custodians of this planet shouldn’t we be more responsible and make sure we all live in peace and harmony.....


Another friend wrote;


You don't have to hide who you are around me. ‘Just cos i might not believe in things as strongly as you do doesn’t mean you can't be yourself around me.’

 It’s not a question of ‘believing’ or the degree of ‘believing’ Factory farming practices and animal abuse in the dairy and egg industries are a fact. Whether or not people believe in it or not is by no means the point...... it happens....when will people understand that...

 When will people understand that if they chose to demand the supply of meat, dairy, eggs ect that they are responsible of the suffering of these innocent creatures....

 The statement should read.... ‘Just cos i might not care about animals suffering as strongly as you do doesn’t mean you can't be yourself around me.’......

So not trting to be offensive here, but again....not a question of believing.....It's a question of caring....and how much????

New look....New Gracielee .

New look....New Gracielee .
Yesterday I closed my original face book account because my posts on animal rights and vegan lifestyle where becomeing to offensive to a lot of people....
I really shouldn't care what other people think or say but...
I am not as tough and thick skinned as people think and honestly the comments I was getting and the negativity was really hurting me....
I started a new one (new look, new me) and I'm just going to add certain people...mainly other animal rights activists and vegans...

I know this might sound strange, like i'm isolating myself but I kind of need one place that I can sound off and have a rant and be with like minded people without the fear of being put down or made fun off..

I know I'm not crazy or wrong in my beliefs and don't live my life the way I do to be offensive to others or to be difficult....

If people, mainly those close to me actually took the time to understand that the last 6 months have been a big journey of discovery for me.

I've lived the life of a lacto vegatarian for 20 years and made the change to veganism 6 months ago after taking the resposibility and seeking out information.....
I have read so much literature on nutrition, animal rights and factory farming,
I have watched countless disturbing secret video footage taken on factory farms right here in Australia, watched heaps of documentaries, listened to lectures and spoken personally to RSPCA inspectors to try and find justification,clarity and reason behind all the things that have been hidden to us for so long....
and it's actually worse in most cases then the fluff pieces the general public are exposed to on commercial news and media...And really their is no justification, no answers...just a heartless desisitised public that includes most of the people I know.....

All this has changed me so much and I can’t simply sit idle and quietly because that makes me just as bad as the people I have seen and read about....I can’t and don’t want to be part of this system......

I don't want to drop any of my old friends but I find it increasingly hard to turn a blind eye and keep quiet....I'm not comfortable anymore.
Honestly...i just am sick of people telling me I'm radical and over the top when they haven’t taken the time to understand why I do and live the way I do...

I just need a safe and happy zone where I feel comfortable and normal...

Every where I go and everything I see on a daily basis is geared to a desensitized
society that I don't fit into comfortably anymore.....

My hope is that the people I love and care about will seek me out and give me an ear an open mind and an open heart...

PEACE <3

I was speaking with a friend of mine on the phone tonight...

She’s a lovely person, always helping others...in fact will go out of her way for not only friends but strangers in need to.

She shows compassion, understanding and has more patience then I could ever have when dealing with people. I have witnessed her give up her time, her money, given counselling and listen to other people’s problems for hours on end doing anything she can to help.
I guess what shocks me about her, is her lack of care when it comes to innocent creatures..
For a person that can be so kind hearted, compassionate and genuine.... that she can turn to me and say with a light hearted giggle in her voice...’I respect what you are doing, it’s a good thing...but I could never give up meat I like the way it tastes too much’.
I love my friend and don’t want to offend her, I don’t want her to feel like I’m judging her or putting her down. But honestly, the taste argument...

This is a reflection of 99.5% of the people I know...

It’s either the ‘taste’ argument, the ‘convenience’ argument, the ‘protein’ argument, the ‘calcium’ argument. Or the ‘this is just the way it is; we’ve always done it...the ‘habit/tradition’ argument.

Again...I love my friends and I love my family...but all the above are not good enough reasons. For the sake of a taste.Really????

OOP’s umm sorry, did I mistake you dog for a pig and your cat for a chicken....No matter, once I serve them up in a nice roast with a spicy sauce and some stuffing with gravy...you won’t be able to tell the difference....NOW SHUT UP and enjoy your meal you crazy emotional pet lov’n FREAK it’s free range cat and dog...think of how tender and fresh it will taste.....YUM!!!!

It seems the more I try to get my point across the more I get dismissed as one of those crazy emotional vegans....

How to win an arguement with a meat eater...Just state the facts

The Hunger Argument
Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million

Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million

Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20

Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80

Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95

Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90

How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds

Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000

Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250

Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56

Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16

The Environmental Argument
Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect


Primary cause of greenhouse effect:
carbon dioxide
emissions from fossil fuels

Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more

Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75

Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85

Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered
diet: 260 million

Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds

Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are
undernourished: 75

Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef:
55 square feet

Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year




The Cancer Argument
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times



For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times

For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times

Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times

Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.




The Cholesterol Argument



Number of U.S. medical schools: 125

Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30

Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours

Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack

How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds

Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent

Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent

Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent

Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent

Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent:
45 percent

Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent

Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl

Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent




The Natural Resources Argument



User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production

Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer

Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25

Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000

Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a
meat-centered diet: 13

Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260

Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78

To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2

Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of
livestock: 33

Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2




The Antibiotic Argument



Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55

Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13

Percentage resistant in 1988: 91

Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban

Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support




The Pesticide Argument



Common belief:
U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues

Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99

Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8

Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher

Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level Reality:




The Ethical Argument



Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000

Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker

Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker




The Survival Argument



Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)

Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian

Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)