I’m not talking about calories here – I’m talking actual physical guilt. The guilt you feel when you cause another to be hurt, or take part in that suffering some way.
We are all guilty of blindly eating foods that we have no idea where they came from (no, not the grocery store’s shelf – there’s a whole lot that happens before it gets there) or that we don’t know exactly what’s in them. It’s a difficult act to take part in, because once you know, you cannot ‘unknow’. Most people would rather not know how that juicy steak came into being on their plate, because if they did, they’d likely not eat it. This would cause some serious lifestyle changes that, let me tell you, are not a walk in the park.
Having watched some of the Earthlings documentary recently, I’ve started to have to think more ethically and wondering how on earth I’m going to cope with this. The scenes in that movie show you your worst fears of how animals are treated in this world in the name of ignorant consumerism – they cannot be unseen. Traumatised after 30 minutes and jolted into the realisation that humans are indeed @ssholes.
Where do you stop? How do you live a normal life? How do you eat out socially with non-vegetarians? What started as pescatarian, moved on to vegetarian, is now leading into veganism. We’re not just talking food here, we’re talking clothes, pets, cosmetics, non-animal-friendly materials and unethical products in all areas of your day-to-day life. All these things contribute to the violent torture of animals and the raping of our environment and it’s not easy to find vegan-freindly alternatives.
Having some amazing vegetarian/vegan friends along the way helps a lot, but mingling with the rest of society seems to be a problem.
I just know that I’d rather consume life-giving food than life-taking foods. And I don’t want to be part of any industry that contributes to the unethical treatment of animals. Maybe it really is that simple.
Stick around for some more posts about this journey, I’m sure I’ll have lots to share along the way. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter too.
PopcornCandi 
December 13th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Hey chick, I have heard a lot about this movie via friends and through social media but I am simply not brave enough to watch it, I will be scarred for life. I know this as I once saw a clip of a person killing a cow (one of my favorite animals, as you know) in a very unhumane way and I am still disturbed by the visual. I have also only started my journey a year or so ago and what started as pescatarian journey very quickly turned to a vegetarian journey and just by doing that the things that have changed within me and within my life are unbelievable and you certainly do become more aware of whats going on around you and the choices we make for ourselves everyday.
I am proud to be a vegatarian, even though it is hard and lots of people scorn it and you.
Well done on your thought provoking and awareness-raising blogs – I must be one of your many, many fans (and regular readers) and your writing always gives me somehting to think about.
Much Love Al
December 13th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
You’re funny Al – I think you’re my only hardcore fan!
But seriously – it’s awesome to have people around you going through the same awareness journey – really helps.
And I know it’s difficult, but just watch the trailer. Watch what you can and just stop when it becomes too much. It’s really important to reinforce the reasons that we fight so hard for what we believe in.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:06 am
I recently stopped eating meat,I still eat fish and hubby still eats chicken but the rest is off the menu.I can’t watch the movie but I can imagine.It would be great if there was one place to go to get advice,lists of places to shop and buy things that are animal friendly.
BTW heard about your blog on mwebs wall where you listed yours
Lindsay
January 6th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Cool – that’s great to know. You might be interested in subscribing to “Beauty in Balance” – it’s a blog on sustainable living by a Jozi gal. You’ll find lots of places there to find animal friendly products. Thanks for the visit to my blog – hopefully see you around!
February 10th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Hi. I understand what you feel when you see such movie. I have also seen some of them , and some time before that I started to be vegan because I searched a way how to be less destructive to living around us. That was almost 6 years ago. What I found after struggling with my eating habits and also with that, how my body and mind reacted to this radical change is: My body , thinking a what I eat is dependent on each other. Si when I just started to be vegan while I did not change way I thinking I started to slowly degrade, to be in energy or mind control deficit. I started f.e to be depended on food like dark chocolate or some sweets and had not power in mind to overcome it. So to be vegan , to act like vegan is also to think the way that you are free from other type of foods, habits, to think positively to clean your mind from forgotten past, and so on. Now I don’t call myself a vegan , because I am not if I have not power for that, and that comes back periodically. But I am always trying to be most vegan as I can to be productive and not deficient, to live ecologically but modern, to think positively while still be man. With Love !
PS: I found this blog through nice Yoga picture. I am also practicing yoga.