Recently I saw a post on social media that seemed to ‘call out’ PETA for being hypocritical. The post referenced the amount of critters impacted by vegetable farming and suggested that PETA's message made vegetable farmers out to be animal abusers. I took a pause and chose to scroll on, not wanting to get into the weeds of the comments section.
But, I couldn't let it go.
Do we really think the creatures who are displaced or harmed during vegetable harvesting amounts to the same treatment as dairy cows, pigs headed to slaughter, chicks ground up alive, or fish skinned while flopping around in pain?
Is there a certain amount of harm caused even when the best of intentions are laid out, or, as in this example, when a farmer is rotating crops to get ready for the next corn season? Yes. Plain and simple. There is, however, a big difference between this level of unintended harm and the purposeful, mass breeding, abusive treatment, and ultimate slaughter of billions (yes, billions) of sentient creatures.
I say all of this to suggest we make a case for kindness and extend our current compassion towards dogs and cats to pigs, cows, sheep, fish, and more. If we hold a position that harm is unavoidable (so why do anything?), we will continue supporting an industry that is cruel and inhumane to the planet, animals, and ultimately us.
The only difference is your perception. (image courtesy Vegan Outreach)
A big shout out to Zoe Weil (founder of IHE) who wrote the book on this:
Most Good, Least Harm (affiliate link).
As we move into another year, I encourage anyone who's feeling that nudge to do something different, make a change, go for it. Can it be scary to go against the masses? Sure. Here are some tips:
1. Politely decline the ham at Christmas or lobster on New Years and opt for a Plant-Based or vegan alternative. Not sure what to try? Check out this recipe playlist - we love to help, that's our point.
2. Offer to host and sneakily only serve Plant-Based options (or tell everyone!). For some easy-peasy recipes, check out our cookbook.
3. Donate to animal sanctuaries in lieu of gifts this season (here's a good list...).
4. Check out Netflix for some amazing documentaries (Forks over Knives, Game Changers, What the Health, Seaspiracy, and more).
5. Follow us on the socials @plantbasedpoint and let us know how it's going!