The dark side of vegetarianism
Why being vegetarian is a waste of time.
If you are a vegetarian for the animals, then please, stop. Because being vegetarian doesn’t help them at all.
More the contrary.
But before you get pissed off and want to finish reading this article right here and now, let me explain.
First, I need to tell you that I have been there done that myself.
Just over three years ago, after spending five years being a pescetarian, I decided to give up all kinds of meat, including fish and seafood. I switched to vegetarianism, yep, you have probably guessed it, for the animals.
Just like so many other good-hearted people, I, too, believed that a vegetarian diet is cruelty-free. However, this statement couldn’t be further from the truth.
Back then, of course, I knew nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing about animal agriculture, let alone the dairy industry. All I knew was that I didn’t want to cause any more unnecessary suffering to other beings, and I believed going vegetarian was my best shot. I thought as long as I keep animal flesh off my plate, I’m doing good. Moreover, I truly believed the dairy industry was just a big, harmless industry with huge green pastures and, of course, cows. Although I have never actually seen one, in reality, I did see many of those “happy cow ads” on TV over the years (and decades) so, I thought they must exist.
As it turned out, my only real knowledge about the dairy industry was that it indeed includes cows—a lot of them.
But now, let me tell you more about the things I did not know. The things that were shockingly new to me and, perhaps, will be new to you too.
I didn’t know that cows actually have to be pregnant to produce milk. I thought they give milk, well, you know, just because they are cows.
I didn’t know that the dairy industry doesn’t just let the cows become pregnant naturally; instead, they artificially impregnate them over and over again. (to put it very nicely)
I didn’t know that the mother and calf are almost immediately separated from each other after giving birth. If they weren’t, the calf would naturally drink her mother’s milk, which would be a loss of profit for the industry.
I didn’t know that male calves (called bobby calves) are seen as mere “waste products,” and therefore, hundreds of thousands are regularly slaughtered every year in their first week of life.
I didn’t know that cows' natural life expectancy is about twenty years, yet dairy cows hardly ever live longer than seven years. By then, they are either sent for slaughter due to their reduced milk production (not profitable enough to be kept alive) or die from continuous exploitation.
To sum it all up, I had no idea that I don’t even have to eat animals to cause them suffering.
Lastly, I didn’t know, nor in a million years, would have ever guessed that every cow born and kept in the dairy industry ends up in the slaughterhouse. Nevertheless, they do.
And that is why it’s a waste of time to be vegetarian because it’s impossible to help the animals while contributing to the very industry that exploits them the most.
If you want to know more about the dairy industry, watch this short video.
And if you want to know more about animal agriculture (including the dairy industry), then watch DOMINION on YouTube.
I truly hope that this article and these videos can help you with your vegan journey.
Peace.
