Before I get started, I'd like to give a shout-out to This Vegan Life. I've been non-stop reading her posts for the past couple days now, and they are really well-written and thought-provoking! She addresses what most people question when it comes to being Vegan.
This brings me to my own beliefs. After partaking in a survey over at CarpeVegan (another blog I love to read), I'm led to believe that I'm not the only one who may think like this... I'm referring to insects/bees. While I get that the bee is "exploited" for it's honey (which I don't even eat; I'm just using this as a point), how many of us really care about exploiting bees (or bugs, or other creepy crawly insects). Who really wouldn't kill a bee if it was about to sting them? Or swat a mosquito? Ok yes, bugs and bees are living, breathing creatures, but I don't put them in the same category as dogs or cats, or cows, pigs, chickens, etc... Do you see where I'm going with this?
I have a really difficult time putting my thoughts into words, which is probably why this blog sucks ;) but I'm really in a dilemma over this. My reasons for going vegan are because of animals. Because of ethics. It wasn't about the environment and I was already healthy. My complete change of diet and lifestyle was ONLY because of the animals. The farm animals. Not bugs, bees, insects. Farm animals. Animals that are inhumanely treated to become "food." That is all. So does this make me not vegan? Veganish? Extreme vegetarian? I know people hate the word veganish, but really- I don't eat any type of meat, dairy, or eggs. I'm an advocate for farm animals. I "preach" about the atrocities of factory farming and inhumane treatment of farm animals. I do what I can to live cruelty-free.
But I will not even hesitate to smash the crap out of a mosquito if it lands on me.
So what does that make me? How ethical can I be if I don't think of bugs the same way as I do "real" animals. That's honestly the comparison I make. Insects are insects, not animals. Sigh. I should stop before I give myself a headache.
I wish more than 3 people read my blog ;) because I'd love some opinions on this, whether I get flamed or not. So if any of you 3 want to share this among your readers...
And on a lighter note, I've got my marathon training plan all set up. I have it tweaked to include the 10-mile run on 11/6/11 and should have me able to run 26.2 miles on or about January 29th! That also lets me be able to take a week's rest and then go right back to HM training for the St. Luke's Half Marathon in April. I'll post a pic of the training log as soon as I get all the dates put on it. Right now they are just hand-written in.
Alrighty then, the coffee must be ready by now...
3 comments:
Hi Laura! When I see a centipede at my house, I smash it with a shoe. I have no remorse. They don't have Bambi eyes like farm animals.
I really like how you are. You are outspoken for what you believe in. You're an original in such a great way.
It reminds me of when my daughter went vegetarian in 2006. At the time, I really didn't understand, but now I do. She and you make great sense. I'll probably never go to Vegan, but I'll probably hardly ever eat meat again. That's good for the earth and for its people--especially myself.
Many of my very best posts have no comments. So that doesn't mean that what you said isn't important because it's not busting the door down with comments.
:-) Marion
The news about our food supply right now is disturbing for a variety of reasons. Fifty people have died from the cantaloupe problem. Now it's tomatoes and romaine lettuce they are recalling in addition to ground beef.
Even though I hate that the animals are treated cruelly, I will probably continue to eat poultry and eggs and milk. When I read that they feed cows chicken poop to fatten them up, I gag. Maybe I should look for grass fed beef. I really don't know.
As far as bugs go, I am fine until they invade my house and then I go for them. I am going to read some of the posts one the first blog you mentioned. :)
Hey Laura, thanks for the shout out. :-) When it comes to killing insects, I guess I tend to think in terms of self-defense. Insects are complex creatures who may feel pain -- so I'm not going to go out of my way to hurt or kill them (and in fact, will go out of my way to gently scoot them outside whenever possible). But if a mosquito lands on me and starts biting, you better believe I will swat him. It's just a matter of self-defense. I would fight back if attacked whether my attacker was a bug, a lion or a person. And I'd defend my home against invaders, too, whether the invaders had two, four, or four hundred legs. ;-) But I'd try for non-lethal methods of self-defense whenever possible, of course. On a side note: I used to be terrified of spiders. Absolutely scared stiff. But an interesting thing happened when I went vegan -- I suddenly started to see them as just fellow beings trying to get along in the world, doing their "thang" just like you and me. I suddenly felt compassion for them...and believe it or not, I stopped being afraid. (Well, mostly!) ;-)
P.S. here's an interesting read on the subject of insects and other animals and 'drawing the line": http://tinyurl.com/66pxsmg
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