It has been almost 10 years since I turned to a vegan lifestyle, but I have never written much about this choice here. Partly because I tend not to advertise my beliefs unless explicitly asked, and partly because I expect people to be able to look up for themselves what being vegan means and why it matters.
However, I do feel like this is an important cause I have not been doing enough for so far. It is true that my choice means one less person out there eating meat and dairy products, but is it really enough? Believing in something implies standing up for it, and I have never stood up for anything remotely this necessary in my life before.
To celebrate World Vegan Day I would like to share some helpful resources one could peruse to understand why a change of diet is a crucial step in the right direction and why much more could be done for a far better world.
Anonymous for the Voiceless
The not-for-profit animal rights organisation Anonymous for the Voiceless discusses veganism and animal exploitation directly on the streets. They collected some videos over at The Essential Videos and being fooled by a click-bait title such as Best Speech You Will Ever Hear makes total sense for once.
ADAPTT
Following the above mentioned video one could visit the ADAPTT website and begin their journey at Becoming a New Vegan. There is useful information everywhere on this website, so be sure to check out other pages as well.
Earthlings
A key part in my move to veganism and why I consider it the most rational choice I have ever made was Earthlings, a devastating close look at animal exploitation. This is an eye-opener for anyone who prefers to turn away from violence on animals while accepting it for illogical reasons.
LAV
What I like about LAV is the extent of their operations, the legal actions they are willing to pursue, the campaigns they constantly promote, their coordinated efforts day after day for the sake of animals. LAV is for Italians only, but one can refer to PETA for a somewhat similar approach.
This is of course only a selection of places one can have easily access to, not to mention people to get in touch with, in order to learn about different choices and alternative consequences. It does not take much to dig up more with a decent search engine.
I firmly believe we all can live a better lifestyle if we base our actions on caring, a feeling more relevant now than it has possibly ever been. When we care the world makes much more sense. With this powerful feeling within, every action makes much more sense as well.
Perhaps she would not have thought of evil as a state so rare, so abnormal, so exotic, one in which it was so refreshing to sojourn, had she been able to discern in herself, as in everyone else, that indifference to the sufferings one causes which, whatever other names one gives it, is the most terrible and lasting form of cruelty.
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)