So I know I missed a couple days of blogging here, but that doesn't mean I haven't had anything to say! Oh no, I've been pretty busy, alright. Everyone's been working like crazy to make the sanctuary ship shape for the concert this Saturday- cleaning, sweeping, raking, planing flowers- and all this on top of the regular things that need doing. We've been working really hard and unfortunately this concert has planted itself right at the end of the hottest week that has ever existed ever. I think I've gotten pretty close to having heat stroke a couple of times but taking frequent breaks inside and drinking lots of water helps a lot and everyone there makes sure I'm doing just that. Nevertheless I've gotten a few sunburns and I'm pretty exhausted by the end of each day.
Writing about everything that I've experienced and that's gone through my head throughout the day on this blog each night seems like a daunting task- almost as much as giving this presentation next week, encompassing everything that I've learned and done. It's only been a few weeks, I know, but it feels much bigger. This project has been a huge thing for me- I've gotten so much stronger! and learned so much. I've come to love the animals at the farm more than I thought possible, and I know I will miss everyone. Dawnell, Sophie, Jean Phil, Stevie, Rebecca, Jenny, Rachel- everyone is just so kind and hilarious and wonderful. It's really great here.
But it isn't always perfect. I came home last night for a day of recovery before this crazy memorial day/pretenders/ probably still scorching weekend, and I'm glad I did because I'm feeling much better now. Yesterday started out great and went downhill quickly. I woke up feeling just swell; I went out and pumped my own gas at the gas station (such a grownup)! and then went over to the farm. It was hot. None of the animals were happy and I was super uncomfortable by the end of it (though I did get to work with a nice volunteer who is a music composer- very cool). We make sure to make rounds and check on the animals frequently, especially in this heat, to make sure they are all okay and have water and shade and food and such things. I was doing this, checking on the roosters in the newest coop, and found one dead. It was really heartbreaking. I had to go tell Phil and he was just so sad... I've been helping to take care of these birds for weeks. Roosters can be jerks sometimes, but mostly they're pretty sweet. Anyway, I was pretty bummed out after that and then I went back to the house and the family I'm staying with was having veal for dinner and it was all just sort of overwhelming. I really don't understand how people can do this to animals. Is it just because they are removed from them? Because, just to be clear here, they aren't just stupid animals that can't feel pain, and don't care when they are mistreated, separated from their babies and killed.
And they're really affectionate and sweet. It just hurts me that so much suffering is going on (over ten billion farm animals are killed each year in the U.S. alone) and I've never really been able to do anything about it. The animals at the sanctuary are just a part of the lucky few that were rescued. In the grand scheme it hardly even matters.
Or that's what was going through my head last night at any rate. I remember when I switched to being vegan. I had just turned fourteen and I was just full of this anger about it, and energy to do something about it that... well...never really amounted to much. I came to accept that I probably couldn't stop factory farming single handedly and that I really needed to stop yelling at people and making them feel uncomfortable when they were just trying to eat their lunch in peace. I didn't, and still don't want to stir up trouble. I think people need to decide for their own, that it's their choice, but I also feel like not a lot of people realize what's actually going on. What it takes to put meat on their plate and how much damage and pain it's causing. I really don't mean to make anyone feel bad, but it just really sucks. It sucks that I know about all this stuff, and all day I'm surrounded by people who feel the same way and I get to hang out with turkeys and goats and scratch pigs' bellies and help take care of them but the second I step off those 24 acres it's a totally different set of rules.
But I do feel like it's getting better, and I would like to stay optimistic. There are vegan cafes and bakeries and vegetarian sections in grocery stores and all sorts of things. So I'm not going to be mad at people, and I'm not going to try to force anything on them or try to make them feel guilty or act like I'm so much better than them just because I was just lucky enough to have a super awesome family and school that allowed me to do this. I'm just going to lay down some info in case you're interested, and really strongly encourage you to try to go to a place like the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and really see these animals up close. I know I was surprised.
Anyway, here are some statistics for you from Diet for a New America by John Robbins
Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16
Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more
Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds
Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year
The Natural Resources Argument
User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2
Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support
Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level
Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)
Source:
http://www.vegsource.com/news/2009/09/how-to-win-an-argument-with-a-meat-eater.html#hunger
One morning after a big storm a man went down to the beach for his daily walk and discovered thousands of starfish washed up on the sand dying. He began to walk along the shore picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. A woman came walking from the opposite direction and motioned to the thousands of stranded starfish and said "look at them all, what you're doing doesn't matter. You can't possibly make a difference."
ReplyDeleteThe man replied "It makes a difference to this one, and this one" as he kept tossing starfish one by one back into the sea.
Being vegan is a boycott of the industry of animal abuse. It is a strong statement and your example will be seen and quietly spread, like ripples on a pond.