The isle of death

I saw a post on Facebook today. The photo attached to it was of a cow restrained in a slaughter house, blood running down it’s white face, it’s eyes closed as it winced in pain. Blood splattered walls, other cows who had already met the hands of it’s killer hung upside down in the background.

It chilled me to my bones. Turned my stomach. Then I decided to read the post that went with the photo. It was an extract from this book about the horrific treatment of animals in some US slaughter houses. I felt the blood drain from my face as I read it and I started feeling sick.

As a vegetarian I believe it is completely not necessary to kill animals for food. It’s selfish – who are we to decide we can kill these innocent animals just to satisfy our taste. We no longer need to eat meat as you can have a completely balanced diet without consuming meat.

What we do to animals is sick – electrocute them, knock them out, shoot them, drain their blood, cut them into pieces, mince them, discarding the bits we don’t “need”. We then place pieces of their bodies into various packets to display in meat isles – what an attractive display it makes too. Cows, pigs, chickens, lambs.. all on display in the isle of death in almost every supermarket. People casually picking up these bits of flesh to cook and eat.

What the book tells us about –  is even more disturbing and horrific. Some sadistic, sick people torture the animals in the slaughter house. “I cut of a hog’s nose, just sliced it off, then grabbed a handful of salt and rubbed it in to it’s nose. It was squealing. Then I grabbed more salt and shoved it up it’s backside. It didn’t know whether to shit it’s self or go blind” … The words of one of the workers in these torture houses. They also talk of animals not being stunned correctly – shoving the rods up animals backsides, through their eyes, down their throats. Some animals are still alive when they are hung up with meat hooks. Still alive when their skin is peeled off. Still alive when they start to cut them up.

It’s disgusting they way some humans treat animals.They are living creatures like you and me and do not deserve such abhorrent treatment.

I’m vegetarian, others are vegan. You can help stop this awful treatment of innocent animals. Go veggie, go vegan. Together we can make a difference.

Veganism

Below is a link to a lovely blog from someone who after 10 years of being vegetarian is now considering becoming vegan. As a vegetarian myself, I often wonder if vegetarianism naturally leads to becoming vegan.

And also, please have a read of this:

Veganism.

 

The disadvantaged child

Disadvantaged children got money off their school trips when I was at school. Me and my sister were classed as disadvantaged children. Why? Because we came from a single parent family.

I always remember my mum standing in the kitchen reading a letter from school about a trip to some place or the other. “Disadvantaged!” she scoffed. “Ridiculous”. At the time I had no idea what she was on about, but as I grew older I realised what she meant.

It’s unfair that back then (and probably these days too) children of single parent families were (and are) thought to be disadvantaged. What makes them disadvantaged? Can one parent not bring their child up in an acceptable way? Can a single parent not provide for their family? Are these children simply dragged up through their childhood? Is the lack of a father/mother figure damaging to their health or mental well being?

There are many, many single parents all over the world who bring up their children amazingly well. These children are not disadvantaged – they have a wonderful parent who is providing them with everything they need. Love, stability, support.

Being a single parent does not mean you cannot support your child or provide them with enough care and affection.

Yes, being a single parent can be hard work – but if you are a decent, reasonable person with morals, then your child/children will have the advantage of having a supportive, caring parent who only wants what is best for them.

Time alone

I felt a bit like an oddball plodding around the local gardens on my own. “Just go straight to somewhere sunny and quiet then sit down to read” I thought. I didn’t want to look like a loner or a lost crazy person wondering around. I’m not used to visiting gardens/parks etc on my own – shopping and other places by myself, yes I do that all the time. But not going somewhere you usually go with a loved one or your kids.

After a few paranoid moments like “that person thinks I’ve been stood up”, “they must think I’m lost”, “that man thinks i’m looking for a bush to pee behind” and other irrational thoughts I finally found a nice place to sit. Quiet, sunny and away from people who are obviously thinking what a loner i am (!).

I laid my blanket out to sit on, hitched up my maxi dress (attempting to get some tan on my legs) and got comfy. At first I felt awkward laying there alone with my book, Living Lives:Living Lies (my mum’s friend wrote it so she lent me a copy) But anyways, after a few pages I was a bit more relaxed end started enjoying the quiet and the warm sun. Before I knew it nearly 2 hours had passed and i’d read a fair few chapters of my book.

As I put the book back in my bag and looked around me – at the sun glistening on the pond and the blue sky. I was so relaxed. In fact I don’t think i had ever felt so relaxed in my life.

What was I worrying about?! Who cares that I went to the gardens by myself! People do things on their own all the time – take a stroll, go jogging, sit on the beach. I don’t look at those people and think “what a loner” so why would people think the same of me.

It was actually very rewarding relaxing alone in the sun, reading a book. Now I understand why people do things by themselves sometimes. Everyone needs a bit of time alone every now and then.

My first year of being vegetarian

So, this time last year I decided to become vegetarian. I was partly inspired by my twin sister (she’s a vegan). She had helped me learn about the suffering that animals go through purely for our greed. Plus, there is such variety of food available these days that we really don’t need meat in out diets.

At first I did miss a few things such as bacon and chicken. But I never once slipped up or “relapsed”. I had made my decision (which i knew was the right decision) and I was sticking to it. I started trying lots of “fake meat” such as Quorn and Linda McCartney. I would say meat replacements are very handy for an easy transition from omnivore to vegetarian, especially if you are used to eating meat regularly.

As the weeks passed I began to feel a lot healthier and a lot less bloated after meals. I also realised I wasn’t even tempted by meat any more! In fact I couldn’t even walk down the meat isle in the supermarket as it genuinely turned my stomach. All I can think of when I see meat is the pain and suffering these poor animals went through.

Just a quick thought – One awkward thing about being vegetarian is the lack of variety in restaurants. This can be very annoying – oh, and not all vegetarians like mushrooms (this is unfortunately a common food choice in the “veggie” options!).

Anyways, after a few months of feeling really good and healthy, unfortunately a  I started to get ill a lot – colds, sinusitis, upset stomach, constipation. I had no idea what was going on – I was healthier so why was i getting ill?! Well after a few trips to the doctor I found I had developed some allergies – dust mites and pets. I had also developed  IBS with an intolerance to insoluble fibre (found in whole wheat, lots of veg and fruit). These allergies and intolerance’s have been put down to stress (not my change in diet thank goodness!).

So now finding food that won’t upset my tummy is quite a challenge but i’m getting there! Still sticking to my veggie diet as I am completely happy with my choice. As for my allergies – they are controlled with strong antihistimines, eye drops and nasal sprays.

One year on and despite my health issues i feel I have fully settled into being a vegetarian and I really enjoy it.