I would not eat my cats.

Nor use their body parts for clothing, medicine, or hair care products.

 This is Zipper. He's a little different.

 This is Tuck. He just wants to be kissed on the head.

I love my cats. In fact, I love animals of all kinds. Okay, yeah, spiders and snakes creep me out. I might not like them as much as my cats, but I still wouldn’t eat them. I respect their place and honor their purpose in the scheme of things.

Truth is, I probably like animals better than I like people. They are what they are. Not a game-playin’ bone in their bodies – even the ones that don’t have bones. They do their thing, live their lives, and balance out our world on more levels than you can shake a stick at. Even a tiny little phytoplankton is worthy of immense respect.

When I think back to my many years as a meat-eater, I am deeply ashamed. True, I was taught, as millions of others are taught, meat eating was a vital part of a humans’ diet. Must have protein from meat to grow big and strong. What I wasn’t taught, again, as millions of others aren’t taught, what the true impact of that belief system really is.

It all started back on March 19, 2004 with an article about a cow. A ‘downed’ cow. I stumbled across it online. Don’t remember how I got to it. Doesn’t even matter. What I do remember, with gut wrenching clarity, was the effect reading that article had on me. I was barely half-way through reading when I had to stop. Not because it wasn’t interesting, it was. Not because it was poorly written, it was eloquent. I stopped because I simply couldn’t see the computer screen anymore. My eyes were so full of tears, pouring out and down my face like an eyeball-sized version of Niagara Falls.

The article was entitled, “This Story Will Change Your Life”. It did. It changed my life. That is the day I became a vegetarian. I printed that story out and put it on my refrigerator. It is still there. Every time I look at the picture of that cow, I still have a strong urge to sit right down in the middle of my kitchen floor and cry. To think I played any part, no matter how misguided and ignorantly done, in the suffering of that cow – or others like it – breaks my heart. It is even difficult to write this and not stop, hang my head, and shed a bucket full of tears. It is deep, deep sorrow and regret.

As difficult as it was to research and educate myself on the realities behind the meat industry I still did it. I had read some of the most horrifying, brutal, and inhuman stories and facts about how that seemingly innocent cheeseburger or crispy fried chicken leg ends up on a plate. I have lost loved ones, lived through mental and physical abuse, have suffered depression to the point of attempting suicide. None of those things has been as torturous to my soul as learning about the cruelty we humans inflict on the creatures of this earth – all in the name of a great pair of shoes, soft skin, or laundry detergent. We are monsters, and sad to say, most people don’t even realize it. What could be worse? Those who know it and don’t care. I will never understand them. Not even if I live a thousand lifetimes.

Becoming vegetarian wasn’t too difficult. I thought, okay, I’ll just stop eating meat. Ta-Da! Problem solved. Unfortunately, it turn out not to be so simple. Sure, lots of stuff out there for vegetarians to eat. Way more than lettuce and carrot sticks. It was discovering the choice to not eat meat did not stop other kinds of animal cruelty. Far from it.

If you’ve read my previous posts, you’re bound to be aware by now I’m all about research. The more you know, the more thoroughly informed you are, the more able you are to make intelligent decisions about yourself, your life and how you choose to live. Learning about vegetarianism led me on a direct path to veganism. The two are very, very different. There’s a dozen and ten different types of vegetarians. Some still eat dairy products. Some eat fish but no red meat. Some eat eggs but won’t eat the chicken. Some just eat fruit. On and on. Vegan, by definition, is No Animal Products. None. And it’s not limited to just your food. It’s everything. Every.Single.Thing.

Out there in the world, every single day, animals are beaten, abused, kept in cages or chained. We call it the Circus. They are force fed hormones, suffer mutilations, contained in such small places they can’t even move, often for their entire lives. We use them for food. They are tortured, burned, blinded with chemicals, dissected alive for medical experimentation and so-called science. In my eyes, the abuse they suffer, just so someone can label a bottle of shampoo or dish detergent as “Safe For Human Use”, is an act against nature and all that is holy.

Veganism is also about saying No, I won’t be a party to such atrocities against animals. They have as much right to a life well lived as I do. I won’t spend my dollars for creature comforts at the expense of another creatures’ life. Sadly, it’s not always easy to do. We have been so blinded to what goes on behind a company’s doors. We no longer question how all those products get on the shelves at the store, we just demand they be there, for our instant gratification and convenience. Products which seem so far removed from even the remote possibility of any form of animal cruelty will surprise you. Someone, please tell me why white sugar refineries use animal charcoal filters?

Here’s a website, SourceWatch. Look it up for yourselves. If it doesn’t make you sick, you don’t have a heart.

Yes, I’ve also heard and read the arguments for the use of animals, whether for testing or human consumption. 99% of my own friends eat meat. My husband eats meat. And they all use products which contain animal ingredients or were (and still are) developed through animal testing. My friends are still my friends. My husband is still my husband – and I have to make him cheeseburgers and buy his brand of shampoo for him when I go shopping. As I said, it isn’t easy begin vegan in a non-vegan world.

But it’s the choice I have made.

I pray, some day, a lot of other people will make the same choice as well.

Namaste, y'all ...

Carol