so, this video is horrifying. and a perfect example of why the state of California voted in November of 2008 to give animals cages that were big enough for their wings to stretch out fully. not that it's a perfect system now, but this is an example of the cruelty that goes on in the egg industry.
click here to go to www.humanesociety.org & see the video --->Animal Abuse at Iowa Egg Factories
Showing posts with label veganism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label veganism. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, August 24, 2009
throwing paint
i made a list today of all the reasons my life is falling apart.
if you are in the midst of a horrible pity party/crying fit/hormonal migraine fest, it might sound like the least healthy thing in the world (which is what the rational part of my brain kept telling me as i wrote), but it was very cathartic.
the optimist in me (fighter, she is) wanted to write antidotes to every statement. but i wouldn't let myself. i insisted that the list could only be bad. this is a list of bad, awful things.
what i wanted to do was paint. i wanted a canvas and i wanted to throw paintballs at Jesus. i'm frustrated, i'm confused, and when i start to feel this way, the darkness of my past creeps up to whisper that i might have been forgotten about. the ever expanding list that i have is overwhelming. i feel like the number of problems i have is ridiculous, and every one of them seems like something nobody's ever been through, and if i were to share my problems with anyone, i'd just be talking about myself, forever. and i just love Jesus because i know He wants me to throw sponges full of paint at a canvas and pretend it's Him, every one an item from my list, a prayer, a plea.
(i'm thinking, when i say that, of the white witch again - who threw that busted up wrought iron lamppost at Aslan's face, trying to kill him. you remember that what happened next is that it bounced off Aslan's forehead, fell into the Narnian snow, and grew into a far more beautiful lamppost than it had been before. that's a perfect picture of God's redemptive power.)
i realize that this list belongs to God, and that He cares about every single thing on it, and that He has a plan of how to work it all out - from how i'm going to make sure i'm getting enough nutrients from a plant-based diet (a serious concern, considering my migraine medication causes me to forget to eat for much of the day) to how i'm supposed to balance my work schedules, since i'm trying to earn serious credibility at one workplace while hanging by my teeth, running from job to job in order to keep gas in the car and groceries in the fridge.
so, thinking of my list - each item a sponge full of paint - like a lamppost- i want to throw it in Jesus' face and see what His redemption can turn it into. take my migraines, Lord. what can you grow that into? my financial brokenness?
i know He's up to something, and i'm really trusting in Him in the midst of this. for me, trusting involves throwing paint.
if you are in the midst of a horrible pity party/crying fit/hormonal migraine fest, it might sound like the least healthy thing in the world (which is what the rational part of my brain kept telling me as i wrote), but it was very cathartic.
the optimist in me (fighter, she is) wanted to write antidotes to every statement. but i wouldn't let myself. i insisted that the list could only be bad. this is a list of bad, awful things.
what i wanted to do was paint. i wanted a canvas and i wanted to throw paintballs at Jesus. i'm frustrated, i'm confused, and when i start to feel this way, the darkness of my past creeps up to whisper that i might have been forgotten about. the ever expanding list that i have is overwhelming. i feel like the number of problems i have is ridiculous, and every one of them seems like something nobody's ever been through, and if i were to share my problems with anyone, i'd just be talking about myself, forever. and i just love Jesus because i know He wants me to throw sponges full of paint at a canvas and pretend it's Him, every one an item from my list, a prayer, a plea.
(i'm thinking, when i say that, of the white witch again - who threw that busted up wrought iron lamppost at Aslan's face, trying to kill him. you remember that what happened next is that it bounced off Aslan's forehead, fell into the Narnian snow, and grew into a far more beautiful lamppost than it had been before. that's a perfect picture of God's redemptive power.)
i realize that this list belongs to God, and that He cares about every single thing on it, and that He has a plan of how to work it all out - from how i'm going to make sure i'm getting enough nutrients from a plant-based diet (a serious concern, considering my migraine medication causes me to forget to eat for much of the day) to how i'm supposed to balance my work schedules, since i'm trying to earn serious credibility at one workplace while hanging by my teeth, running from job to job in order to keep gas in the car and groceries in the fridge.
so, thinking of my list - each item a sponge full of paint - like a lamppost- i want to throw it in Jesus' face and see what His redemption can turn it into. take my migraines, Lord. what can you grow that into? my financial brokenness?
i know He's up to something, and i'm really trusting in Him in the midst of this. for me, trusting involves throwing paint.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
a long/short vegan rant
a few thoughts in response to my own post from friday regarding my (continuing) choice to not consume animal products:
- since i've been vegan for six months now, i recognize i'm at a turning point where i should opt in and figure out how i'm going to make a life out of this or just give it up. if i opt in, i really want to have a firmer philosophical foundation, because i'm that kind of thinker. one of my continuously evolving philosophies is that i don't want to make a negative impact on animal life. like, a "no animal footprint" kind of deal. i think that's what i'm going for. in the meantime, i've been driving 1600 miles thinking about humility, so i want to make it clear that i don't have this all figured out.
- since i've been at Aunt Kathy's & Uncle Dan's, i've been grabbing a lot of veggies from their garden to eat. and every time i do, i have to knock a bunch of bugs off of my lettuce and berries. wait. they're animals. vegan dilemma.
- so, what does respecting animals look like to me? i don't know! for the last six months, it has been not eating them. and i think that's what it means to me. but where's the line? i'm going to admit to my blogosphere that the jam we made has a trace amount of butter in it - during the boiling process, it helps reduce foaming. usually, i wouldn't TOUCH anything with butter in it, but i spent 5 hours making that jam, and i'm eating it.
- i know there is a difference between using animals for food in a humane way and exploiting animals for money. that's why i have respect for small-scale farms that use as much of an animal as possible, who respect animals as living things and not just as a commodity.
- honestly, meat and dairy don't appeal to me anymore. i remember liking them, i remember them tasting good, but there was a time recently where i ended up eating some egg and some shrimp (i don't want to talk about it) and i had two fears: that i would get sick (i didn't - that suprised me) and that i would like it (i didn't - that also suprised me). i'm happy eating things that grow out of the ground.
- since i've been vegan for six months now, i recognize i'm at a turning point where i should opt in and figure out how i'm going to make a life out of this or just give it up. if i opt in, i really want to have a firmer philosophical foundation, because i'm that kind of thinker. one of my continuously evolving philosophies is that i don't want to make a negative impact on animal life. like, a "no animal footprint" kind of deal. i think that's what i'm going for. in the meantime, i've been driving 1600 miles thinking about humility, so i want to make it clear that i don't have this all figured out.
- since i've been at Aunt Kathy's & Uncle Dan's, i've been grabbing a lot of veggies from their garden to eat. and every time i do, i have to knock a bunch of bugs off of my lettuce and berries. wait. they're animals. vegan dilemma.
- so, what does respecting animals look like to me? i don't know! for the last six months, it has been not eating them. and i think that's what it means to me. but where's the line? i'm going to admit to my blogosphere that the jam we made has a trace amount of butter in it - during the boiling process, it helps reduce foaming. usually, i wouldn't TOUCH anything with butter in it, but i spent 5 hours making that jam, and i'm eating it.
- i know there is a difference between using animals for food in a humane way and exploiting animals for money. that's why i have respect for small-scale farms that use as much of an animal as possible, who respect animals as living things and not just as a commodity.
- honestly, meat and dairy don't appeal to me anymore. i remember liking them, i remember them tasting good, but there was a time recently where i ended up eating some egg and some shrimp (i don't want to talk about it) and i had two fears: that i would get sick (i didn't - that suprised me) and that i would like it (i didn't - that also suprised me). i'm happy eating things that grow out of the ground.
the mysterious "seattle dave" & challenges to veganism
i cruised back down to seattle after making jam, because it was dave's birthday and i love seattle. it was a flipping fantastic night. i honestly love his crew of friends - he is a magnet for people from texas, so somehow, the backyard of the ArtChurch became a west texas saloon, but it was amazing. here: meet dave.
everyone was on a really good intellectual plane, too, and i had some good discussions about food. dave gave me a challenge about my veganism that totally shifted a paradigm for me. it went something like this: "you don't like the way big farmers treat the animals they are raising and selling. so you're boycotting and taking yourself out of the market. however, in capitalism, the way to make an impact on those farmers, because they are businessmen, is to move your market share, not withdraw yourself from the market completely. you not being a part of the market at all? makes your vote not count. tyson? knudsen? they don't care about you. you're not a blip on their radar. if you were BUYING organic milk and organic, free-range chicken, eventually, they'd pay attention to that." i'm not saying he changed my mind and now i eat meat, but it was the first kind of convinicing argument i've heard regarding how to be responsible with my philosophy & eating/buying choices. one of his friends referred to this as "responsible capitalism" and i liked that term. SOMEONE is going to profit on every dollar you spend, so it's your responsibility as a consumer to choose wisely - who do you want to profit? (i.e. local businesses or mega corporations?) i'd love to hear your thoughts if you have any.
everyone was on a really good intellectual plane, too, and i had some good discussions about food. dave gave me a challenge about my veganism that totally shifted a paradigm for me. it went something like this: "you don't like the way big farmers treat the animals they are raising and selling. so you're boycotting and taking yourself out of the market. however, in capitalism, the way to make an impact on those farmers, because they are businessmen, is to move your market share, not withdraw yourself from the market completely. you not being a part of the market at all? makes your vote not count. tyson? knudsen? they don't care about you. you're not a blip on their radar. if you were BUYING organic milk and organic, free-range chicken, eventually, they'd pay attention to that." i'm not saying he changed my mind and now i eat meat, but it was the first kind of convinicing argument i've heard regarding how to be responsible with my philosophy & eating/buying choices. one of his friends referred to this as "responsible capitalism" and i liked that term. SOMEONE is going to profit on every dollar you spend, so it's your responsibility as a consumer to choose wisely - who do you want to profit? (i.e. local businesses or mega corporations?) i'd love to hear your thoughts if you have any.
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