Our relationship with animals is not fair, we discriminate them arbitrarily. We must consider a change iin our consideration to the rest of animals in this planet, we must change our habits.
2. “Do notloveme. Do nothate me. Justhaverespectfor me.” Observationsaboutourrelationshipwithalltheanimalsaroundus, living in ourhouses, ourcities, ourplanet…
4. Itisnotthefeelings a personmaybeprojectingoverthe animal, justlikecouldoccurover a niceobject, an animal gives and takes… …providescompany, affection, and asks in returnforcare, attention, respect, and alwaysbetreated in a fair and honestmanner.
9. Whatisthedifferencebetweentheanimalsweadopt and therest of them? ¿Isitthatweonlyrespectthehumanbeingswelove and belongtoourfamily? ¿Why do weonlyrespecttherights and necessities of theanimalswelove? Are theseanimalstheonlyonesthat are abletofeel, feelpainorjoy, eagertolive and developtheirown and uniquepersonality?
10. We are notaware of it, butwe are discriminatinganimalsaccordingtoarbitraryreasons, reasonsbasedonourinterests, nottheirs. Weassignanimals a place and a purpose in theworld, basedonhowthey can beusefulforus, withoutthinkingabouttheinjustice of thisclassification.
12. “Companion” Species Speciesclassified as “companion”, likecatsordogs, obtaingreaterconsideraionthanothers, and formany, theseindividuals are part of their personal community. Weacknowledgetheseindividualscertainqualities of ourown (butnotexclusivelyours): they can feel, they can feelpain, enjoy, fear, each individual isunique, withuniquepersonality…
13. “Lucky” species Otherspecies, likedolphins, elephants, seals, tigers, are consideredinteresting, pretty, superb, inteligent, praiseworthy, thuswepreferto preserve them.
14. “Cursed” species Species, likesnakes, rats, toads, vampires, etc., are considereddangerous, disgustingorannoying, so wejustkillthembasedonourfearorignorance, with no trace of remorse.
15. Endangeredspecies More and more “wild” speciesbecomeendangeredeveryday. Wewishtosavethemfromextintion, butnot in theinterest of each individual, butonlyforthevaluewecall “natural heritage”, theentityincludingthewholebiodiversity in thisplanet.
21. “Food” Species Wearbitrarilydeprivethem of theirindividuality, forgettingtheircapacitytofeelpainorjoy, whileontheotherhandweacknowledgethatthisqualities are part, forexample, of every “companion” animal.
22. The animal holocaust Almosttotallyunaware of it, mainlybecausewewerebrought up toacceptitlikethat, we are turningsentient, sensitivehelplessbeingsintojustraw material, intoproducers and at thesame time products in a quiet, large-scale industrial murderingsystem.
23. The animal holocaust Thousands of animals die everymoment in anhorrifingendlessassembly and disassembly line, justtosatisfyoureatinghabits, in slavery, hardship and exterminationresemblingthosethattook place duringWorldWar II genocide...
24. A question of habits Wemayfeelhorrifiedwathingdogsorcatsserved as food in China’s restaurants, dogsorcatsthat are killed a momentbeforethey are served, butweactually do thesamewithotheranimals… In Asia itis usual tohave a pig as companion animal. whyshouldnotasianpeopleconsiderus cruel orinsensitiveforeatingpigs?
25. A question of habits Whyisitbettertoeatpigsorcows, instead of dogsorcats? Are notall of themequallyabletofeelpainorjoy? Isn’titjust a cultural matter, a habitacceptedwithoutquestioningwhetheritismorallyacceptableornot, without prior ethicalanalysis?
26. A question of habits We can eat in a tasty and healthywaywith a greatvariety of plantproducts: cereals, pastas, legumes, vegetables, freshfruits, nuts, spices, processedmeals, etc… …and preventmillions of animalsfrombeingenslaved and murdered in ourname, in thename of ourcurrenteatinghabits.
27. Speciesforclothing Wekillmillions of cows, minks, ermines, foxes, etc., tostealtheirskin and manufacture clothes, bags, wallets, instead of usingsynthetic of plantbased textiles.
29. Speciesforamusement Certainspecies, likelions, tigers, monkeys, are consideredcurious, exciting, and in returnwecreatecircustocagethemfortherest of theirlives, breakingtheirwillwithalltherequiredviolence so they do thrillingorridiculous performances thatentertainus.
30. Speciesforamusement In Spain and othercountries, pacificbulls are grown up and selectedfortheirbraverytoparticipate in bullfights: tobebrutallystabbedwithharpoons, swords, untiltheyfinallybleedtodeathorburstinside, allthisforthejoy of peoplethatconsiderit a noble tradition, art.
31. We confine manyanimals in zoos, aquariums, whetherthey are endangeredornot, so we can enjoyvisitingthem and showingourchildrenhowisthelife of a freedom-lessbored and miserable animal. Many, toomanypeopleenjoyhuntingorfishing as a sort of “sport”, killingotheranimalsjustforfun of withpoor excuses as “population control”, causingsuchpain and agony.
34. Speciesforexperimentation Theoutcome of theseexperimientsislow, sincethephysiologicaldifferenfesamongspeciesdistorttheresults. There are alternativesfor animal experimentation, likecellcultures, computingmodels, that are showing more accurateresults.
36. “Itseemstobeanunfairsituation, butit has beenlikethiseversincehumankindexists. Everybodyacceptsit as something normal. Itispart of ourculture and I can’t imagine a differentway of living”. Then, there’s no alternative?
37. Yes, thereis… …and itisbasically a change in ourdailyhabits, a turn in ourchoicesforfood, clothes, etc., takingintoaccountthattherest of animals are notthings…
38. Freshhabits Becausewe can livehappy and healthywithouteatingotheranimals’ bodies, becausewe can dresswithoutkillingthem and stealingtheirskin, becausewe do notneedtohavefun at their expense.
43. Theinfluence of one Acceptedtraditionslikethosebecamemorallyunacceptable, thankstopersonsthat, onebyone, built up a majoritythatdecidedthosetraditionswereunfair, that stop supportingthem, and pleadedfortheirabolition.
44. Our free willmakeusresponsibleforourchoices and theirconsequences. Wemustnot hurtothersinterestsjustforconvenienceortradition. Ourfreedomisnotendless, itfinishesjustwhereothersbasicrightsstarts.
45. Itdoesn’treally look fair, norhealthyforourconscience, thatourwelfare and personal growthisconditionedbytherequirement of exploiting, enslavingorkillinganyothersentientbeing.
46. Howlongwillwekeeponsupportingtheholocaust of othersentientanimals? Isn’tit true thatweallanimals share a commonorigin? Don’twe share somebasiccapabilities, and thedifferencesthat are supposedtoseparateus are just a question of grade, notclass, and irrelevantregarding moral consideration?
47. A logicstepforwad… Includingveganism in ourway of lifepromotesrespectfortherest of animals, allowstokeep a solid and coherent moral, and a more fair and honestrelationshipwiththem. Itcontributestoeradicatetheabusivespeciestdiscriminationthatisjustifing animal oppression.
48. Within a societynowdaysthat has reachedsuchanadvancedcivilization, howmany of uswouldbeabletokill and skinwithourownhands a pig, a dog, a cow, and devourhimafterwards? Isthereanyspecificrequirementorobligationto do somethinglikethattoany animal?
49. Ifyouwouldnevereatyourdogorcat, ifyouwouldneverstealhisskintomakeyourself a dress, ifyouwouldnotallowyourcatordogtobecagedtherest of hislife, orusedfor terrible experiments…thenthinkaboutthereasonsaboutit, and youwillprobablyfindout, beinghonest, thatthosereasonsalsoapplyfortherest of animalsthatinhabitthisplanetwithus.
50. Get more informationcontactingany of theorganizationsthatsupportveganism, theywill guide youtomakeit real, tomake a changetowardsrespectulhabits and fairrelationshipwiththerest of animalswe share thisplanetwith. You can sendanyquestionorconcern: veganadvise@gmail.com Thanksfor a moment of meditation