Herewith a set of considerations introduced more than four year ago. It is, therefore, well-neigh time to tie a few strings in the midst of many threads. Encouragement from the inimitable Katrina of New Zealand.
A Bold Woman who has brought us a grand thought issued by David Bowie: Katrina.
“Aging is an extraordinary process, where you become free to be the person you always should have been.”
Full disclosure first — I am the green sheep in the family: one of “those vegans” who have the temerity to speak up for “others” — more similar to us than not — who have no voice in determining their own destiny. Today I focus on the multiple billions living in camps
By this time next year 70 billion will have lived from birth to death in one of those facilities. Factory friendly farms.
Well there must be a good reason then.
Many reasons, but each is specious, spurious and tawdry. We deny inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to “the others.” Is that ethical behavior? Do animals volunteer their own destruction?
Bill, they outnumber us 10 to 1. So it looks like we are the ones endangered here. Do you call that fair? Let us tell you something. life isn’t fair and freedom fries aren’t free. It’s a wonder that any of us are left standing, actually. So it’s self-defense, us or them.
But can we talk about something a little less depressing?
Sorry. Let’s talk about optimal health, vibrance and well-being. In short: those habits that produce a healthy body. There are many ways to become ill: some involve luck, some are viral/bacterial, some are self-induced. I’ve tried many ill-advised styles of life.
To quote my own father “I would rather be rich and healthy than sick and poor.”
Majority rule then. You vegans comprise 3% of the eating public. Why force bunny-salads down our throats? We are not geese. We are designed to eat meat. Some call it stewardship in a dominion over all life. What’s wrong with being top dog? Beats low dog.
3% of human eaters are vegan, 3% of human scientists deny climate-change, 3% is a good guess at the percentage of lifeforms that would survive an extinction event — asteroidal, nuclear or climatological.
Detox is tough because meat is a powerful addiction that is socially acceptable and culturally sanctioned. Secreting toxins is wearying — so is withdrawal from other addicting chemicals. We are living and breathing chemical factories, walking bags of chemicals.
Some very good news: craving for meat and meat byproducts metamorphoses into revulsion.
Why are you vegans always so negative?
We aren’t. And being a green sheep is a very good thing.
Thanks for reading.
No we are not negative!! In fact, i’m absolutely bouncing having converted!
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Before going full strength vegan I found out the hard way that eating cheese — a big hurdle according to many who have given up on a vegan diet — was not only unethical but was ruinous in every way, especially for the cow that had no say in the matter. Thanks too for your blog “the balance brigade” — good stuff indeed.
Keep on bouncing 🙂
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A brilliant quote from your sagacious father, Bill.
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Reblogged this on billziegler1947 and commented:
“The time has come” the Walrus said, “to speak of many things.” Here are some of the many things…
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Good blogpost, Bill, and thanks for the mention 😊 Up until a wee while ago I was the lone green sheep of the family, too, but happily a few – a small few – have joined me since.
Happy veganning!
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Kind thanks for your blog, Katrina. It is quite possibly the finest blog in the Southern Hemisphere. Is it not intriguing to observe how many stereotypes simply arrive? : such as a nation with more sheep than people, at a darned great distance from Northerners, more than an eyeshot from Australia, where they speak Strine.
Good on ya for corralling “a small few” green sheep to join with us happy few.
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Flattery will get you everywhere, Bill 🙂 What stereotype in particular intrigues you? Can’t deny that we’re a damned great distance from anywhere, which in these days of Covid it suddenly isn’t as much of a buggerance as it once was. With the shipping industry in chaos, though, I’ve heard that some shipping lines are cutting NZ from their routes, as it’s too far out of the way – so win some, lose some.
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Some believe that New Zealand is pretty much a part of Australia. While they are at it, they imagine the distance between NZ and AUST to be quite short — not so close as to cause a Suez Canal-style blockage though. We’re also jealous of a place that looks like Middle Earth.
Just read today that Auckland is the stomping ground of those bestowed with much wealth. Such as Silicon Valley perhaps?
Now I am wondering if those folks cutting NZ from their routes are customers for that famous IKEA World Map, the one where NZ is completely absent. Perhaps the shipping line cutters are conniving with IKEA.
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Haha – I must remember to use that one about IKEA’s world map if the topic of ships missing NZ out comes up again. Good one, Bill 😄
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