This of course could be countered with the argument of speciesm, but that is another discussion all together.

However, as I was reading this article I

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I went vegetarian at six years old because I learned the truth about where meat comes from and no one lied to me or told me I had to eat it or else. I had a vegetarian teacher who was honest with me about it – not mean, not scary, not weird, not defensive, just honest. And when I announced that I was going vegetarian my wonderful mother didn’t suppress my urges. Instead, she considered them carefully and adopted vegetarianism herself!

My husband was first exposed to veganism when he met his mother’s friend at a potluck. Think it was the vegan food that piqued his curiosity? Nope. It was the nonleather baseball glove! He wondered why his mother’s friend’s baseball glove was different than all the rest and his mother was honest with him. Even though she’s not vegetarian or vegan and she does not believe in animal rights, she believes in being honest with children. (She’s a professor after all, so she ought to value honesty!) She explained that this man used a nonleather glove because he didn’t want to hurt animals. She gave her friend and his values the respect they deserved and she gave her son the honesty he deserved. Years later, my husband recalls that moment as his first introduction to veganism. When he made the switch to veganism as an adult, he was much more accepting of it because he hadn’t been taught lies about it earlier in life.

I think it’s critical that vegans reach out to children to introduce veganism to them. It doesn’t take much, just a nonleather baseball glove or a short explanation that meat comes from dead animals. Children are naturally compassionate. All we have to do is foster that compassion.

Meat-eaters and many vegans believe, “Warwak is giving vegetarians and vegans a bad name” – What a joke. Vegetarians already have a bad name. I do not give in to peer pressure or name calling. Do they really believe I will change my message for their friendship? I don’t want to be friends with these same people. This is the oldest trick in the book. Attack the person, not the problem. These same people believe vegans should be seen but not be heard, after all, we might break their consciousness while they are eating. They fight to stay disconnected at all costs – even their own children’s lives. I SAY THEY GIVE THE HUMAN RACE A BAD NAME!

It is obvious we need to be honest with children so they may make their own decisions about their own lives.

Meat-eating society doesn’t want children to think of such things. It is every vegans duty to tell children the truth – today. Children are the transmission of society. They are right in front of us. The future is here within reach. Problem is, vegans are afraid to be honest with children.

Why wouldn’t you? Yes you will get the meat-eating world mad; but, isn’t it the right thing to do? Aren’t you mad the meat and dairy industries go after children in schools?

If peer pressure rules your actions, you are not your own person. Children appreciate having a choice – especially when it is a peaceful, loving, and compassionate choice. Tell a child the truth and you will have a friend for life. Think about how grateful you are to those who turned you on to veganism.

YES, children prefer life over death, peace over war, and a clean world over a polluted one. If you just try telling one child the truth, you will find it is a beautiful experience and you will want to tell more. In the past year of talking with children about veganism, not once did I argue about biology, evolution, or religion. When discussing veganism with adults, nearly every single time, it turned into an argument.

Children love animals. Children are naturally curious. Children are still based in reality. Children are all about change. Children are still in touch with their hearts. Once the ball gets rolling in their world, change will happen. They talk amongst themselves and are rebellious by nature. News spreads through neighborhoods. The future has a way of arriving unannounced. The adults have proven they will fight change and do not want to teach our children a different way.

Children have a way for starting trends. I wish adults could change the world; however, this fight to save the animals and Earth belongs to the children. Children have a way of getting their way. Children are the transmission of society. If only they knew it. If only adults would tell them. It is up to vegans everywhere to start telling children the truth. If we do not, the meat-eaters will continue their legacy of suppression.

Telling children the truth today is the only way change will happen in the future

If you don’t want to bother or you are afraid of the adults, don’t complain in 10 years how brainwashed people are and how impossible this whole thing is. If every vegan was honest with children right now, this would be a better world in 5-10 years

Stop believing their favorite lie that got them this far. Truth is, it’s not a personal choice when you are ruining my world and eating my friends. This vegan is not afraid of telling the truth and has the clear-headedness to see a workable solution.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” Einstein

The moon cries in loneliness as today’s child chooses to stay inside glued to an electronic box, compartmentalized inside a temperature controlled facade, instead of going out in to the world, exploring caves, swimming with turtles, discovering nature’s beauty and perfection, caring a broken wing, feeding fish, finding real friends, friends who help the child as much or more than the other

I’m always struck by the notion that vegetarianism is a political position but eating meat is neutral. You know what I mean? The media are usually afraid to touch the subject (vegetarianism) lest they be promoting a particular position, as if they’re NOT promoting a particular position when they represent meat, dairy, and eggs in a favorable light. These are the gatekeepers that decide how issues are presented to the public. As a result, the public accepts the information as gospel and thinks they’re making independent food choices – until those darn vegetarians come along and spoil everything. Considering the billions of advertising dollars spent to persuade people to eat animal flesh and secretions, the millions of congressional contributions meant to persuade the government to create policies favorable to the food industry, and the millions of dollars in government subsidies given to the animal exploitation industries – I hate to say it, but we’re not even CLOSE to making independent food choices. We’re told what to eat every minute of every day.

You can listen to it here:
http://cdn2.libsyn.com/compassionatecooks/minding_the_gatekeepers.mp3?nvb=20080614023702&nva=20080615023702&t=0735d4105d0afb9f46574