Now that you have the information what are you going to do with it?

Everyday we encounter bits of information. Some we ignore, some we file away for future reference (either figuratively or literally), and some information requires us to make a decision. Oprah Winfrey recently aired an episode of her talk show that I know many of you saw. It included video footage from a beef slaughterhouse. Interestingly, the knocking and sticking (rendering unconscious and bloodletting) were not allowed to be taped.

Outside of “What do you eat?” the most common question I get is: “Why did you become a vegetarian?” The reason is twofold: first, I believe eating a meatless diet is healthier than one that includes meat. The second reason is that I could no longer justify giving my money to a segment of the economy in which cruelty to animals is an industry standard. Groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Mercy for Animals have spent years documenting the horrors of slaughterhouses, pig farms, feed lots, layer hatcheries and more. Whenever I tell someone my second reason for being a vegetarian I never cease to be amazed by the response. I always expect an argument, but instead what I get are nods of agreement, tongues clucking in sympathy, and furrowed brows. They know just as well as I do what happened to the pig that suffered for their morning bacon, but they are happier not dealing with the information they have. They prefer to live in ignorance, they say. The only problem with that is they are not ignorant. They know what goes one and yet they still choose to partake.

I posted the video embedded below in my opening post on this blog. It is not pleasant, but I urge you to watch it.

If you understand the horrors of the meat industry and are okay with it, then fine, by all means keep sending them your money.