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"All truth passes through three stages.
First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
- Schopenhauer
The harsh reality of the modern factory farm is far removed from our daily lives and rarely portrayed in the media. The industry spends millions of dollars annually on advertising campaigns to preserve pastoral images of contented farmed animals. They promote misleading nutritional information that society has grown to trust.
Once people begin to connect to how farmed animals suffer, how our health is compromised, and how the environment is imperiled because of an animal-centered diet, the information challenges food choices that many have never questioned. While facing the truth about our food choices quickly inspires life changes for some people, others initially turn away in discomfort, disbelief, fear, or sadness. Changes do not come easily when we are so used to thinking and behaving in certain ways. If you are thinking...
"It's probably only happening in a few places..."
THEN CONSIDER that over 95% of animals today are raised on factory farms. Family farms have given way to huge corporations that have a monopoly on modern agribusiness.
"It can't be that bad for the animals... "
THEN CONSIDER that farmed animals are exempt from anti-cruelty laws and they are victims of the most violent crimes. Their extreme suffering is openly admitted by slaughterhouse workers and other employees in modern agribusiness. Check out the books, Slaughterhouse, by Gail Eisnitz or Mad Cowboy, by Howard Lyman. Can unnecessary killing ever be humane when we have abundant and food choices available to us?
"I just won't think about it... "
THEN CONSIDER that while it is often challenging to face violence and suffering in our world, don't we all have a desire to be the best person we can be? Don't we want our lives to reflect our deepest values? If I turn my back away from the unnecessary violence and pollution, what kind of world am I helping to create for my children and their children?
"It's sad but what am I supposed to do?... "
THEN CONSIDER that with every dollar you spend to support an animal based diet, you are helping to perpetuate the sadness you see; the deplorable animal suffering and environmental devastation. Consumer choices that don't support cruelty and suffering are powerful statements that help create a better world for all living beings.
"I feel fine and my doctor hasn't said anything... "
THEN CONSIDER that many doctors have very little training in nutrition as it has not been a highly valued field of medicine. However, what we put into our bodies is the most powerful key to abundant health! Today, there are a rising number of doctors and nutritionists who value the positive benefits of a vegan diet. Extensive studies have been conducted that demonstrate the direct connection between animal protein and chronic illness. According to the American Dietetic Association's position paper, plant based diets are associated with a reduced risk for obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, mellitus, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and kidney disease.
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