When one stops to think—the fact that none of us need to consume the flesh, secretions, skin, hair, etcetera of nonhuman animals in order to thrive—we mostly enslave, torture, and steal the lives away from others for pleasure alone.
Confined cows, pigs, birds, and so many other nonhuman animals are forced to serve us humans for their entire lives. And as Nathan E. Schneider states, “[e]ven the most doted upon slaves are still slaves.” Thus whether the nonhuman is “owned” by a small family-sized farmer who names and “loves” her and allows her to roam on a “free-range”, or a mega-factory conglomeration that coldly assigns the slave a number and never sees “it” in its cramped quarters, the fact remains that these poor beings are enslaved to satisfy our taste buds.
Torture comes in many ways to our slaves. Baby girl chickens have their beaks seared off with hot blades while their “useless” brothers are thrown into grinders alive. Many animals are castrated, branded, have their horns and tails cutoff, etc. Cows are forcibly impregnated once a year to keep their milk production in high order. And, nine months later, upon birth, their babies are usually stolen from them. I believe this kidnapping is one of the most heinous things someone can do to another and all of this is performed to quench our thirst for slave products.
Slaves are keep around for as long as they’re useful to us. Once this usefulness ends, generally so do they. Some say that nonhuman animals do not care about dying like we do. These folks suggest that all they care about is whether or not they have comfortable lives up until the point where we “humanely” kill them. Are nonhuman animals really that different from us? That is, who among us doesn’t care to live? Sure, there are cases where some humans, for various reasons, may want to die but overall, from what I’ve seen, we will go to extreme lengths to save our lives as well as the lives of others. That said, I cannot understand why other animals would not want to live as well and therefore it is my opinion that we steal their lives away from them to fulfill our selfish desires.
In conclusion, even though humans have for the longest time, enslaved, tortured, and stolen the lives away from other animals mainly because “they taste good”, YOU can make a stand against this unnecessary barbarous behavior. YOU can, as Eva Batt so eloquently called for in 1964, choose “a way of living which avoids exploitation whether it be of our fellow men, the animal population, or the soil upon which we all rely for our very existence.” That is, YOU can become vegan, inspire others to do the same, and when possible, give a loving home to those in need.
Think, then Go Vegan!
Quotes on Slavery 