Policy

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Crushing me

There are days when it all gets so overwhelming that I'm not sure I can feel such despair and still go on. Knowing that abuses like these happen to innocents multiplied literally billions of times every hour of every day is appalling.

I know how seductive it can be to avoid looking at these videos. To avoid "knowing". How much we want to keep the thought that we fund this away and disconnected from us. Frankly, there is a part of me that would rather not live sometimes than feel the helplessness and deep sadness that I feel when I see images like this.  I can't fathom the type of person who can do this and what they have had to experience to be so numbed and disconnected from the suffering and pain they are creating in another living thing.

Besides living in as compassionate way possible, supporting the organizations that expose these crimes and by sharing this information, I feel that I have to do more than just sit here, remotely, crying from what I see. I want to shout it from the roof tops. I want to take these practices - industry standards that encourage violence and pain - and bring them into the light and show them to everyone. 

Why?

Because I have trust and faith that my friends, family and fellow humans really do want to do what is right. That they would never, if they just knew, keep perpetuating this system just for some ice cream or a burger or any other food item. That they want to also be healthier. That they want to see the world be better off too.  And that they are empowered to do so every single day just by choosing a different food to eat.  Just by being vegan.

So, I don't stop looking. I try to wipe my tears and look again.  I keep breathing. I keep shouting and sharing. Some days I can guide and smile, speaking with joy. Some days I am so filled with rage that I shake and speak out harshly. Some days I sit in my car and bawl until I'm spent. I know I may not always be popular but I have to try. 

If I don't speak out I may not be to speak at all.



A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation provides a horrifying look into E6 Cattle Co. in Hart, Texas.


E6 Cattle rears calves for use on dairy farms, confining approximately 10,000 calves and subjecting them to lives of prolonged neglect and misery. For over two weeks in March of 2011, an MFA undercover investigator documented the operation's deplorable conditions and brutal mistreatment of animals.



Due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease, South Korea began "culling" pigs in late December. To date, it is reported that as many as 3 million pigs have been buried alive. The cost of the cull is estimated around 230m pounds, whereas a mass vaccination program would've cost only 63m pounds, been far more humane, compassionate, and conscious of our fellow beings.

1 comment:

Angie said...

I know EXACTLY how you feel. It can be extremely overwhelming at times.

(You are not alone! I actually wrote about this immense sense of frustration and helplessness as well: http://www.powered-by-produce.com/2010/12/06/confessions/)

One of the best things I've heard, which keeps me going: If you convince just one other person to go veg, you have DOUBLED your impact on this world.

So remind yourself that you ARE making a difference!

And don't feel guilty if you need to take a break from it all. Activism can be mentally draining - I call it "toxic information overload" - so sometimes you just need to take some mental time off and NOT think about it for a while.

Choosing a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is something that's supposed to make you feel GOOD. So when the toxic information starts to make you feel bad, take some time off to recharge.

And then get back at it when you're ready again!