Getting The Facts When I Went Veg
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I went veg in 1982, toward the end of the year. Initially I joined my older daughter’s decision to move to vegetarianism because I had been having difficulties digesting meat, primarily beef. She said she did not want to eat animals any more because she did not want to be responsible for their deaths.
I was 36 (she was six). There was no Internet, no web.
Yet over the coming months I learned a lot about vegetarianism and animal rights, and it wasn’t long before my focus shifted from health to animal rights. I learned about factory farms, about experiments on animals, about fur, seal killing, whale hunting. I learned of all the animal issues that still exist.
When I look back I am not sure how I got started. I started subscribing to Vegetarian Times and I think this magazine had a large influence on me. Through editorials and ad pages I found out about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other animal organizations. I found books to read, most notably John Robbins’ Diet for a New America.
Initially our little family still ate chicken and fish. I remember the trips to Colonel Sanders and I wonder now, did I buy chicken at the store or reserve it for take-out only? Either way, we soon stopped eating the chickens. We learned about debeaking and crowded conditions and the horrors of life as a factory-farmed chicken. It took a little longer for us to stop eating fish.
I remember carrying around all this knowledge and realizing that I was one of the few. I knew few people who were aware of the deplorable factory farms, the seal hunts, the whaling, the eating of dogs in Korea. When I mentioned any of these issues to friends they didn’t want to hear it. Or worse, they simply refused to believe any of it.
But they can’t hide any more. The information is out there and I rarely come across a person who does not know about it. The web, with youtube and similar services, has brought the story home to millions. It is a lot easier now to get the word out. Now if we can only get folks to listen.
Thanks for writing, I really enjoyed reading your latest post. I think you should post more often, you clearly have natural ability for blogging!
I’m with you. I started this journey for my health, but the more I learned the more compelling my reasons for remaining a vegan have become. It’s been great to have the internet and sources like Vegan Soapbox to help. Thank you.
~ Recent blog post: A sunshine-y evening ~
Right! Mostly people don’t want to listen somehow…but information is still a problem. There is still more than enough disinformation out there and propaganda by fur traders, meat industry,… and these people are powerfull adversaries. I often wonder how we can fight them back with just the net and some letters to the editor. At times it seems hopeless. But we may not give in!
All the info online did help me grow more as a person and educate myself.
~ Recent blog post: Katinka simonse and my dearest Tinkebell: animal abuse as art ~
I agree, oneandonly, that there are powerful adversaries distorting the truth every day. I have dreams of “counter-ads” to be run after the misleading ads on television, funded by a non-profit – but of course the networks would not accept such ads. Sometimes a television series can have an effect, if the writers and producers have the guts – or their star(s) insists. If we can get through to mainstream reporters we’d get it done. But how?
Thank you for writing this post. I really like it.
Sometimes it feels like we’re moving at a snail’s pace, and we probably are, but stepping back and looking at things from another perspective, it’s easy to see how far we’ve come:
In the 80s people flat out denied factory farming. They said it was a myth. Now, they understand. Now, they know.
That’s HUGE.