I think this stage where I am now- meat abstained and consumer blind; is the height of hypocrisy. All I know is, I’m trying hard – albeit vaguely- to be a better person.
I spent ages typing a post about why I’ve stopped eating meat for nearly two months before deleting it, because it led to a mind jam about the things that matter. Also, all the post did was reiterate the gory images and repeat farmed meat horrors I’ve told a everyone. I think I’ll need more than that to supplement an adequately informed decision.
But what is, an adequately informed decision? Sussing out a balanced story, where both sides of the story see light has always been first a priority, then a downfall. So now yes, carnivores are no less extreme than vegans in their dietary compulsion reserved only for dead things. But what if for some, its not a question of choice, but survival?
Pursuing one truth, leads to so many others. Okay, today I decide to be vegetarian- but hold it why not go all the way vegan- and then hell, what about being an environmentalist, a Christian, perhaps a Nobel Prize laureat? After axe-ing out choices I cannot make, I’m still faced with decision I can make. Bombarded with non-verified facts, one needs to question more, query more angles to the same story.
As a result, I now wonder if not eating meat will ever lead to me spending copious amounts of time researching on the best vegan mattress to purchase as one vegan did. I’m not saying he is an unhappy man. It just shocks you to realise what a vast turn your life will take if you have to be socially responsible for every decision you make. The more I learn, the more decisions I find myself straddling, so that I don’t undo the decisions I have earlier undertaken. How much should I know before I don’t step on any explosive, given its a minefield of vested interests – let this animal smile, but let that fish continue to be hooked?
True, ignorance is bliss. But once this myth is broken, the ‘bliss’ morphs helplessly into a selfish lack of conscience. It is not possible to un-know. And that cannot be the choice I want to make. Not to mention this is only one fight I’ve chosen. There are many other things to fight for in this life. As a bewildered rookie, I wish I could fight all – gendercide, genocide, unfair trade, enviromental degradation and all kinds of discrimination… I need to find values worth pursuing, a moral ground worth fighting for, before I can have an opinion worthing voicing.
In sum, all I know is, choosing to live out our own beliefs is humanly possible. Afterall, I’m human.
onegoodchild 
Ryan
January 31, 2007
Yeah, don’t worry, I’m not an unhappy man. :)
What you’ll find is that when you go vegan, over time you’ll come across more and more examples of how many things in this world come from non-sustainable resources or are animal derived. It can be overwhelming if you let it get that way, but the most important thing is to be aware of it while also remembering that you can’t change everything overnight. And sometimes you have to pick your battles.
For instance, you can get a cheap vegan mattress if you’re OK with the fire retartdants that are used. Getting a pricey mattress isn’t always an option financially for people.
Follow your gut and your mind, keep learning, and don’t stress about not being able to make the “perfect” choice (if such a thing exists) every time. Before you know it, you’ll look back and realize how far you’ve come.
locomotivefantasies
February 1, 2007
Pingbacks. are. embarassing.
:) That aside, i’ll keep learning, without doubt.
locomotivefantasies
February 1, 2007
Oh and Mr Ryan. Sorry you had to come up in an not-an-unhappy-man type example. eeeks.
Ryan
February 3, 2007
No offense taken. :)