I stopped eating pork a number of years ago after visiting the Greater Vancouver Zoo and seeing the 'wild boars'. The tenderness displayed by the parents to their offspring struck a chord with me and I decided at that point to stop eating pork. Then, for quite a long time I ate only meats from animals who were afforded the privilege of being able to walk around....like cows. So, that meant I didn't eat chicken or turkey unless it was free range. Then, in the fall of 2005, in preparation for a service about the spiritual crisis of factory farming that I presented at the Unitarian Church in Victoria, I read Matthew Scully's "Dominion". This book is an extremely difficult read! but very informative. I was still eating some meat at that point. In 2006, I went to the Sanctuary 101 weekend at Pasadoe's Sanctuary for animals....cats, dogs and a variety of factory farmed animals. We were introduced to some individual animals and got to see and experience first hand, their personalities. These chickens and pigs etc. had their own unique characters! One duck had his own little soccer ball that he liked to play with! I saw a lot of footage there about what's happening at the slaughterhouses. I saw the films 'The Witness' and the 'Peaceable Kingdom'...both produced by Tribe of Heart productions. They were very moving.
That year, I also attended the Sowing Seeds workshop offered by the International Institute of Humane Education. I also attended the Animal Rights Conference in Washington DC. The latter totally changed my life! Not only in terms of being vegetarian or vegan but the awareness of the extent of vivisection ( animal testing) is in our society. It made me feel so ashamed of being human. Living as I do, in the Fraser Valley, I drive by miles and miles of these factory farms and I am flooded with the images of the poor, poor animals imprisoned beyond those walls! I pray a silent prayer and I say from the bottom of my heart! "I beg your pardon".
I still struggle to get off dairy products....but more and more we are getting closer to being vegan, but it's a process. What is really hard, is to consider all the other products such as shampoos and soaps etc. that use animal products. And, as well, all the companies that engage in very cruel and unnecessary animal testing. I have found it enlightening and helpful to go to
www.caringconsumer.com .
Thanks for the opportunity to write about this subject.