Veganism
“Veganism is a way of life that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing and any other purposes.”
Vegan Society
Being vegan means living a life dedicated to not exploiting or eating animals in any way, shape or form. It means living in a way that does not contribute to animal abuse.
Vegans do not eat or use animal products such as meat, milk, dairy, honey or eggs. Fish and other marine life are also animals and so are birds, therefore as vegans, we do not eat or exploit fish or chickens, turkeys, or other species of birds either. Ants, bees, insects, rodents, and reptiles are also living beings that we do not use or exploit.
Vegans Do Not
We do not use clothing or shoes made from leather, fur, down, silk, wool or cashmere. We refrain from using all sorts of non-vegan products whether it be food, cosmetics, clothing, shoes, or other material items made from or by animals. We do not attend circuses, zoos, SeaWorld, bullfights, dogfights, horseracing, rodeos, or any other activities, games, or contests where animals are used and exploited. We do not support industries and businesses that exploit or abuse animals either. We do not condone the cruel acts of hunting or fishing. Hunting and fishing are the act of killing innocent animals for sport, for money, or for pleasure.
Innocent Beings
An innocent being is an animal, an insect, a rodent, a reptile, or a human being that has never done anything to purposefully harm, exploit or hurt anyone. All animals are innocent living beings just like you and I are innocent beings and deserve to live their lives just as much as you deserve to live your life in freedom and in peace without being persecuted or exploited and without being tortured or killed.
Is veganism A Religion?
Veganism is not a religion. It is a simple way of life where we share this planet we live on together with animals. As vegans, we treat animals with love and compassion and do not exploit them in any way, shape, or form. Animals were not put here on earth for us to eat or to use for our own purposes. All animals are living, breathing, feeling, loving sentient beings with their own lives, thoughts, and dreams and have their own children, their own friends, and their own families.
Any person, despite what religion, background, or ethnicity you have can be a vegan. You can still live a wonderful vegan lifestyle even if you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or an Atheist. The religion you practice does not hinder you from living a vegan lifestyle. There are vegans from every part of the world who practice every type of different religion there is here on the planet.
Whether you believe in God or not you can still treat animals with love and compassion. A truly loving God or a creator of the universe and the creator of everything in it would never want you or anyone else to harm, torture, kill, or exploit and eat animals or other innocent beings. Animals are here on earth with us human beings and not for us. As human beings, we have a moral responsibility to take care of all animals. By going vegan you align yourself with your true religious values of treating other living beings, especially animals with love and compassion.
Thou shall not kill is one of the main laws in most religions. In order to acquire meat or animal flesh, an animal must be killed or slaughtered. Thou shall not kill, means that you should not kill, slaughter, or sacrifice any animals or other beautiful species including human beings. Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself. Animals count equally as others.
Animals Kill Other Animals
Animals that kill other animals do it to survive. It is part of their instinct to hunt and eat other animals. As human beings, we do not need to kill animals in order to survive. We live in a technological age with cities and supermarkets and do not need to live like cavemen in order to survive. We buy our food in food stores and shopping malls and have tons of vegan food options all over the world in every supermarket on the planet. We do not need to kill any innocent being in order to thrive as a human species or to survive and live our lives.
Animals are true carnivores by nature and are built to hunt and kill their prey. They do not need weapons, guns, handmade traps, or tools to kill or eat other dead animals. They are built with speed and agility and have the bodies to run and chase down their prey without needing anything else other than the bodies they were given by nature to hunt and kill their prey. They also have really long canine teeth in order to rip through tough animal skins to eat their victims. They eat their meat raw. They eat the guts, intestines, organs, blood, liver, heart, brain, nose, face, eyes, toes, and bones and do not choose which body parts of other dead animals to eat.
Animals that eat other animals have short intestines in order to be able to digest and push out decaying flesh. Humans are plant eaters. We are herbivores and frugivores by nature and have long intestines and cannot digest raw meat, day in and day out, without getting sick. Only true carnivores can digest and eat raw meat every single day of their lives without getting sick. Human beings must cook, boil, grill, or fry their meat and are not true carnivores. Humans don’t really like the taste of meat, they like the taste of how meat is cooked. They like the taste of the salt and the vegan and vegetable spices and seasonings that are put on meat to make it taste good. If human beings truly loved the taste of meat, just like real carnivores such as lions and tigers, dogs and cats, and other real carnivores, they would eat meat raw.
Humans are Herbivores
We as human beings are herbivores and frugivores, which means that we are fruit, vegetable, and plant eaters. We have no carnivore instincts and only acquired a taste for meat through childhood and become indoctrinated to harm, kill and eat animals whilst growing up in our cultures and societies. All the biggest animals on the planet such as gorillas, elephants, rhinos, hippos, and giraffes are also herbivores. The most peaceful, loving animals on the planet, meaning animals that don’t kill other animals, are all herbivores or frugivores. As human beings, we should be just as peaceful and loving as all the other herbivores and frugivores living here on earth and should not act as if we are carnivores.
As humans, we were created by nature to be plant, fruit, and vegetable eaters. When we departed from nature’s natural order, we created disharmony within nature and within our own bodies which has caused diseases such as cancer, heart attacks, and strokes.
“If meat-eating stimulated the growth of our brains, then carnivores would have the biggest brains but they don’t.” – Dr Milton Mills
Animal Rights Activists
Many vegans within veganism are also animal rights activists, which means taking a stand to help defend animal rights and working for their freedom and liberation. We do this through being active for the animals whilst spreading awareness and knowledge about veganism and about animal rights. We use our talents and our gifts in every artistic way possible to work for animal rights. We teach the world that what human beings are doing to animals is wrong. We help people understand that exploiting, killing, torturing, enslaving, and eating animals is the most horrible and horrific behaviour our human species does to innocent beings. We show the world that being vegan is awesome and that animals should be loved and treated with compassion.
Making the connection
Making the connection is the act of reuniting yourself with your true nature of loving and treating animals with compassion and respect. It is the act of recognizing and understanding that the meat you eat was a life, that it was a living breathing sentient being that wanted to live. It means becoming aware of the fact that the piece of meat on your plate is only there because an animal was murdered and cut up into pieces of flesh that are then put in the supermarket and end up on your plate. It is the process of learning and understanding that by eating meat and other animal products, you are paying for and participating in animal abuse.
By eating meat, either by paying for meat dishes in restaurants or by buying meat in the supermarket or at the butcher’s shop or on a local farm you are responsible for animals being killed every single day. Slaughterhouses and the meat, dairy, and egg industry only exist because slaughterhouse workers and farmers are being paid with your money to kill and enslave animals. Every animal that is slaughtered is killed because you and meat-eaters around the world have a demand for meat. If you and people around the world didn’t eat meat, there would be no need to murder innocent animals.
Animal Abuse
Animal abuse is the act of abusing, enslaving, torturing, exploiting or killing and eating animals. Every time you eat meat or use and or consume other animal products you are supporting and participating in animal abuse. When you argue against veganism you are arguing for animals to be abused. By choosing a vegan lifestyle you are helping to end animal abuse simply by leaving meat and animal products off your plate. You have the power to help save animals by going vegan.
There is no such thing as Humane Meat
Humane means having or showing compassion and love towards other humans or animal beings. There is no such thing as humane meat. To be humane is to treat others humanely. There is no way to kill anyone, especially animals humanely. Killing is the definition of not treating animals in a humane way. Whether an animal is killed by having its throat cut off or with a bolt gun or whether a cow or other animal lived a happy life before being slaughtered, the act of killing animals is not a humane thing to do. The humane thing to do is to live and let live, to allow all animals to live their lives in freedom and in peace. Being vegan is the only way to treat animals humanely.
Animal Beings
“All animals should be free to live their lives in peace and should not be locked up in cages, in chains, or be behind bars and fences. The world is big enough for all of us to live free.” -Toto Wanje
