Mom asked some interesting questions this morning that I thought about while working today and that I learned about as I was coming home (late) tonight. The basic gist of her questions was this: What happens to the calves of “happy” dairy cows (we’ve stopped eating meat, so I wasn’t thinking about beef cattle)? What do they do with all male calves that are born?
Every cow is gonna give birth to at least one calf a year. Why? In order to produce milk for us to drink, and to produce our beloved ice cream, cheese, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, etc., the cows, “happy” or not, cows have to be pregnant, just like people. No prego, no milko. So… they’re artificially inseminated once a year, bred to produce a heck of a lot more milk than they’d normally produce, milked up to four times a day, and lots of awful things I won’t mention, but one I will–about 50% of the calves born are male.
Hmmm… male calves can’t produce milk… so… gosh, what do we do with those? Hey, there’s an idea! We’ll sell them for veal!
And that’s by and large what they do. 😥 Slaughter the calves at only a few months old, after keeping them in teeny tiny pens (why? As I understand it, with small pens, the calves muscles can’t get strong, so they stay soft, which makes the meat more tender.
You know, that’s sick.
These things have been in the back of my mind for years. Why has it taken me so long to really internalize it? How can I contribute to the awful suffering and wasted lives of so many creatures? I mean, as a member of the LDS Church, we’re taught in the temple that the purpose of life for animals was the same as for us (among other things, to have joy).
Yeah… some joyful life we’re giving them.
Good heavens.
Why!?! Why has it taken me so long!?! How did I manage to keep myself so callous!?! I’d feel twinges here and there, but I’d still get my burger. My chicken nuggets. It’s just culture, life, not a second thought… normal.
Well… if you ask me, normal is ugly, brutal, selfish and loathesome in every sense of the words.
I didn’t think about the fact that what I was eating used to play and have fun, was actually pretty intelligent, loved its offspring as we love ours. I didn’t need to eat them to live, but… for the flavor, for momentary pleasure, for convenience, I’ll take a life–cut short an animals opportunity for joy.
Yeah.
I’d barely think about it. Then I’d see the turkey trucks drive by on deserted roads in the middle of the night (I’d guess they drove at those hours so fewer people see how horrendous those poor birds look, the awful conditions they must be kept in to look like that).
I’d see those trucks, and I’d feel bad, a it of a twinge, and I’d think about it.
I don’t know what turned the tide for good for me. I don’t remember how I got on it again, I guess I should say, but I read Section 89 of the Doctrine & Covenants again, where it says that animals are ordained for the use of man, including for meat, but that it was pleasing unto the Lord that we only eat them in times of famine or winter/cold.
And Joseph Smith’s translation of the bible… in Genesis 9? It says that meat is ordained for man, but only to save our lives, and that we’d be held accountable for the blood of every animal we kill. Then there’s what it says in D&C 49, what Joseph Smith taught about living as one with nature and allowing animals, even dangerous ones, to live and let live. Saying, how do we ever expect the lamb to lie down with the lion if we’re killing animals ourselves? Something like that anyway.
And then there’s just love. If I actually have a loving, sensitive heart, how can I?
Anyway… sorry… tangent. And I’m not trying to be judgmental. This is about me not you. I’m just… evolving. I’ll let y’all decide for yourselves if it’s for the better or for the worse.
You’re getting to experience the changes raw, as they happen. Fun, right?
So… that happened today, and I’m back to the no-dairy diet I was on years ago (I’m not letting what we still have go to waste, but I’m not buying more). I imagine more changes will take place as I continue this journey toward perfect love for all people, creatures, and any living thing.
In other news, and I guess I’ll make this the beginning of the gratitude.
#1. I’m grateful that my finger is only a few days away from maybe being scab free? It’s still swollen, and my range of motion is terrible, but I’m not forcing it anymore. I’m waiting for it all close up and be scab free before I try to get my range of motion back, but it’s looking pretty good, honestly, and I’m grateful.
#2. Echoing myself from earlier… I’m grateful I’m becoming more sensitive, more compassionate, more gentle (at least, that’s what I feel is happening). I think it’s been the natural outgrowth of trying to become like God, as I understand him to be, which among other attributes, is the very epitome of perfect love for all living beings.
#3. I’m grateful that we had a good full day of work today. I only did two cars, while working all day long, but whatever. It was a good work day. David did six cars, and he got a good day’s pay, so I’m grateful on two fronts, there.
#4. I’m grateful that I can make progress in some areas of my life while still struggling in others, that growth can happen on multiple fronts.
#5. I’m grateful that I was able to use my little battery-operate chainsaw to cut through the big trees that were across the trails. They’re all cut and moved now, so you can walk the paths again without having to climb over fallen trees.
#6. I’m grateful that when I thought that perhaps my chainsaw bar had bit the dust (again), that it appears that maybe it’ll still work a bit longer.
#7. I’m grateful for good friends.
#8. I’m grateful that Cory has a functioning cell phone again. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed being able to text him at will until I couldn’t.
Anyway, loves and hugs to all y’all. I hope you have a beautiful evening, restful sleep, and peaceful, happy dreams. 😊
Thought of the day: “Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others…By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley
Lift the World.
~ stephen
Lift the World 