Extremism

(This is yet another contribution from our friend, Gary, at Animal Writings. If you haven't yet checked out his blog, you really ought to. He has a great way with words. We also met at the UPC Forum, so I had the honor and privilege of speaking with this wonderful, intelligent, and dedicated person who really loves animals.)

Here is his latest and last contribution, as we are almost through:

Imagine a conversation 200 years ago: "No slaves at all? Not even one or two per plantation? That's an extreme point of view..."

It won't be too many generations before breeding an animal with the sole intent of killing and eating it seems extreme to most people. Perhaps in 100 years. Maybe 70 years in some parts of Europe.

Of course, the conditions in which we raise the animals are extreme. The crowding is extreme. Denying animals any food or water on their last day of life, packing them into sweltering hot trucks and sending them off to be slaughtered is extreme.

To the animal being killed, typically at a young age and after a severely deprived life, the impact of our eating choices is extreme.
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After all I have seen and participated in through the years, I have to agree. Killing and eating animals in unnecessary, so there is really no reason or excuse for it anymore. It's cruel, unconscionable, and just plain wrong.

That may sound strange coming from someone like me that grew up on a farm where we raised and slaughtered livestock, then caught chickens, and then did even worse. I hung and killed them for over a decade.

But the good thing about this is that if someone like me can change so drastically and with so little effort in such a relatively short amount of time, then so can everyone else. It's just a matter of desire and compassion, mixed with a little knowledge that has been denied to most people.