100% Vegetarian

I have cats as companions. Some people call them pets. I like the term and have no problem with it. We share our home and our lives. However some people don't think of cats and dogs in the same way as I and most of the British population do. There are places where our closest furry friends are eaten. Is is not simply the eating that is offensive, it is the treatment of the animals prior to being consumed. In the slightly more "civilised" world where people do still eat animals there are often laws and some controls on the level of cruelty pain and torture inflicted on them. In countries where they also eat cats and dogs there is not. These same countries are also often the ones that have the worst human rights records, where they treat fellow homosapiens no different to the way they treat animals.  This is someones pet dog. It has been stolen, tied and bagged ready to be slaughtered for food by mentally ill people who think they have the right to do thi

The three stages of truth ridicule violent opposition acceptance Earthlings 14:40 euthanasia of the dogs made me cry. 15:00 gas chambers full of stray cats, made me so angry. 17:55 I shouted NO NO at the screen and had to walk away for a few minutes. I am ashamed to be a human.  The screen shot above is from the film. It is of a dog being put in a rubbish truck and being crushed. The is the last moments of the poor animals life. This is only 18 minutes into the film. If you have a conscience, you need to watch this film and reflect on the contents. There is no other single film I've ever seen that can change the heart of a human being. Watching it through to the end is not easy. It broke my heart. If this film doesn't change your views on animal exploitation, then I pity you. If you don't believe that 1 hour and 34 minutes of film can change your life, then watch this. I am in 100% agreement with the following quote: "If I could make

Halal & kosher slaughter. From all my previous posts I already think everyone will have a pretty good idea of my opinions on Halal & kosher ritual slaughter of animals. However halal & kosher go beyond the ignorance of regular meat eaters. It takes the obscenity to a whole new level. For any human (sub-human in many cases) to think that because their god said in some ridiculous made up book that he wants you to kill his creations is acceptable to do so, is to me mentally deranged. Years back I was involved in an anti halal protest outside a halal butchers shop, where they regularly slaughtered poor little lambs and sheep in the yard out back. I was called a racist, a facist and a nazi because I was trying to be a voice for beings that have no voice of their own, other than their screams of pain and terror. This is a picture inside a slaughter house. The poor creatures have to watch and listen to the screams of their companions. Don't forget the smell o

Following on from the last post regarding my dilemma: The decision has been made. It is not really much of a change in my life but here goes: After nearly 33 years as an ethical vegetarian, I am not going to become a Vegan. I feel that an attempt within possible and practical limitations to eat a vegan diet, and to reduce further the impact my life has on the suffering of other sentient beings is the best way forwards. So I shall move to remove dairy products and eggs, as much as reasonably possible from my life. However I cannot declare that I am a Vegan because I do not believe it is possble in 21st century London without some huge changes to lifestyle; car and bike tyres are made using a process that involves animal products, and risks associated to health by not for example taking prescription drugs if required. On my last trip to the supermarket I picked up some vegan "cheese" from Viotros called Violife. The stuff is amazing. It's made from c

Are you a Christian or Jewish? Do you believe in God? Do you believe that man has dominion over all animals? Genesis 1: 28  And God blessed them, and God said to them, Bring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every beast that moveth upon the earth . Do you believe the next verse, where GOD tells man what to eat?  29 And God said, Behold, I have given unto you every herb bearing seed, which is upon all the earth, and every tree, wherein is the fruit of a tree bearing seed: that shall be to you for meat . The above is from the 1599 Geneva Bible where the word rule is used. Below is from Bereishit (Genesis) in the Torah Pentateuch : כט וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּה֩ נָתַ֨תִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶת־כָּל־עֵ֣שֶׂב | זֹרֵ֣עַ זֶ֗רַע אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כָל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶת־כָּל־הָעֵ֛ץ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ פְרִי־עֵ֖ץ זֹרֵ֣עַ זָ֑רַע לָכֶ֥ם יִֽהְיֶ֖ה לְאָכְלָֽה In the following f

I'm not a vegan. However if Veganism was a religion, I would be a believer. Not just a believer but a preacher. I preach animal rights, the sanctity of ALL life, a meat free and cruelty free lifestyle, the Shame of factory farming and my disdain at those who consciously and knowingly choose to eat the dead flesh of other beings. My partner calls me a zealot. She says I am passionate, but can get so aggressive that i'm like a crazed religious nutcase. But how can we not be? How can we stand quietly when we see the truth, when we see the torture, the cruelty, the murder, when we see the reality of what the human species does to our fellow beings? It would be wonderful to be able to say I was vegan and for that statement to be true. I doubt there are many true vegans in the world. It is a badge many of us life long vegetarians have serious concerns about. For example, there are a multitude of definitions of what a vegan is on the interweb, however to me there can b

A good question. In the shops a pint of milk will cost you 45 pence. But what is the real cost? Cows are mammals just like female humans, they only lactate when they have a baby to feed.    A milk producing cow will spend it's life being mechanically raped, so she gets pregnant and gives birth to a calf that is immediately taken away, just so she will lactate and produce milk for us to consume. This will happen repeatedly throughout the animals life until her milk production reduces to a level where it is not deemed financially worthwhile to keep her. The cow will then be killed. What about her babies? After she is raped with a machine and impregnated,  she will start to lactate. At the point of delivery, the calf is taken from her and either (if it's a boy) put in a box to produce veal, or if it's a girl either killed or put in a cage and fed until she is old enough to join her mother in being mechanically raped throughout her life and having her babi

No, I'm not a lentil. However for the past 30 odd years I have been a vegetarian. Over the years a lot has changed, but one old phrase I still use to this day is: "You are what you eat, and I'm a lentil" In the past few years my vege diet has changed somewhat. There seems to be more pre packaged processed vege food available, and I'm a lazy cook, so will happily throw a handful of Quorn pieces into a stir fry rather than prep my tofu. Lazy but tasty. Tofu is still the firm (pun intended) protein of choice in my life, although the beloved lentil is right up there. There's a relatively new brand on the market available at supermarkets; tofoo. Look out for it as it's firm and pure. They provide a smoked version, but it's unnecessary for general usage as the plain is the best quality firm tofu available, and perfect for slicing/dicing and frying. Or even raw from the pack with a splash of soy sauce. Ok, that wasn't an ad for the brand,

Hey, I hear you're a vegetarian. Why do you not eat meat? Hi, inqusitive person. I don't eat meat for one simple reason. There are no complex dietary reasons. There is no religious reason, although many enlightened Asian religions abstain from eating flesh. My reason is simple. I don't eat animals because I believe that to kill another living sentient being is ethically wrong. To then chop up the dead body and eat selected body parts is revolting beyond imagination. We as the "highest" animal have the ability to choose. We can reason and make choices. Not just instinctive choices but moral ones too. We can determine the difference between what is Right and what is not. My belief is that all life is sacred, be it Man, cow, pig, cat or fish. Each being has the spark of life in it. Whether the animal has a brain the size of a hummingbird, or a spermwhale. The singularly most amazing thing in creation. Life. Sentience is subjective. Plants