A person--that I haven't known from before-- sent me a link that she wanted me to check out on the Internet. I clicked on the link and a movie started about animals in slaughter houses, and also bullfighting. It was not a pleasant view.
Suddenly, I had to run out from the room for a minute, when I returned, Olivia my four-year-old daughter was watching the film.
It was a pig in a slaughterhouse, and the pictures were very graphic. I held my breath, angry at myself that I hadn’t clicked it away. Her face was very serious and she turned her little white face towards me and said, “Mommy look, the pig is hurt.”
“I know baby, it is because we eat meat.”
Her eyes were glued to the screen, and I could see how she was thinking. “That is not good, mommy you go, and get the pig.”
For over 20 years I have been a vegetarian. I have never talked to Olivia about why I don't eat meat. It's just not an issue (yet). At dinner time, I make what she chooses: vegetarian or meat. Since dad is a meat eater (and Max), there is always the option before her.
What was it Linda Mc Cartney said? "If all slaughterhouses had glass walls we would all be vegetarians."
Mia Mattsson-Mercer Born in 1964, Sweden. Author to three books. Writing a web-column for the Magazine NARA. “That’s Amore” is my catch phrase. Finishing the manuscripts for two different books. Also HomeSchooling Mother. Worked: United States, Germany, Switzerland, Bosnien, Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Bahrain Founder/CEO Animals Without Limits. I am a proud Lyme disease, Child Abuse and Animal Warrior.
3 comments:
I was on a website about this same sort of thing just last week. It was heart-breaking, the animals. I watched a video about egg production (having chickens of my own now, I thought I should watch it). Those poor chickens. They look so sick and dirty and tired.
I signed up for the "vegetarian starter kit" and I hope I can transition to vegetarian successfully. As long as my chickens want to lay eggs for me, I will allow myself an egg. But I cannot buy the eggs from the store after seeing that video.
Good thoughts, and one step at the time. Its like I said to Todd yesterday, "I know this vet who is a vegan but puts animals to sleep. How does that work?"
I´ve been a vegetarian for many years too, but Richard eats meat. He says he doesn´t want to live without eating meat but I CAN`T understand him. The way animals are treated! I could MAYBE understand if he would always eat ecologically produced meat, but it´s too expencive he says. Can you but a price to animals suffering?
Now we are discussing how we will do with our children (when we hopefully will get some in couple of years..), will they get to eat meat? I would like to learn them that you can eat as well as an vegatarian and that animals lives are of as big vallue as ours, and you can´t kill them just to eat them. But I can´t decide that myself. Richard thinks it´s "natural" to eat meat, and doesn´t question it. But isn`t it my duty as a parent to learn my children what I think is right and wrong? How can I then serve them meat when I know how animals suffer because of it??
I do think that it´s ok to eat eggs that are ecologically produced because (atleast here in Sweden) those chickens have good living conditions. As long as they can live a natural life without being just a part of productionchain, I think it´s more worthfull living for them. But does same go for meat? Is it ok to eat meat if the animals have lived a "good" life? I really don´t know what to do...???
There aren´t any easy answers...
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