“As we continue to eat animals even knowing that a vegetarian diet is healthier, and knowing that factory farming is the greatest contributor to water pollution and climate change, and knowing the pain and suffering inflicted on other sentient beings who want to live, I believe history will judge us harshly.”
We’ve all heard the oft-quoted aphorism that if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain.
I’ve never subscribed to that stance.
But there is a parallel philosophy that is harder to dismiss.
If we decry the hunger of 1 million people on this planet, and the trashing of the oceans and the destruction of the rain forests, the extinction of species and the wasting of water – and yet we choose to participate in the causes, do we have the right to decry? Or must we say, Well, I sort of care, a little bit, but not much – not enough to give up some of the pleasures I’m accustomed to.
I have this on my mind because a friend sent me a link to a November 10 New York Times article,
Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene, by Roy Scranton.
A brief excerpt:
The…
View original post 524 more words
Exposing the Big Game 
The original NY Times opinion piece http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/learning-how-to-die-in-the-anthropocene/ is well worth reading. Helen of Marlowe’s optimistic take reverses the issue from learning to die in the Anthropocene to living in the Anthropocene, with excerpts from videos promoting veganism as a way to support an increasing human population. If other species are to survive, we humans must learn to die.
Well put, Marc. What many “happy vegans” do not realize is that ‘Veganism” has become another religion to those who think it is the end-all to every evil on the planet. I practice a plant-based diet, but I also see the larger picture: this species is not necessary for the continuance of healthy life on Earth. In fact, it is the opposite. If we humans could shed our hubris for one moment, we might understand that our passing from this planet would do more good for other life than any other thing we could do.
So true. As I’ve said before, human population control (reduction) should be a part of any vegan paradigm. I don’t think most people who point out that a vegan society, as opposed to one that thrives on factory farmed flesh, would feed more people actually want there to be more humans on the planet. They just don’t like hearing that 40,000 people a day starve to death while we feed crops to cows that people could survive on. But ultimately, we’re going to have to get used to hearing about human die-offs on a massive scale while nature tries to right herself and cast off the parasite that dragging everything down with it.
Yes, the human species needs to learn to let go and not take themselves so seriously. To Hollywood hero-types the end of humanity is the worst thing that could ever happen, but to every other species it would be a blessing.
well said Jim.