A Concern has risen strongly in me over the last few months to take action around the consumption of meat and dairy products, as well as the suffering and cruelty that animals endure.
In her book on Craftivism, Sarah Corbett speaks of gentle protest. Of not falling into binary right and wrong arguments but instead being open and curious of the other’s viewpoint while challenging gently. In this spirit, I listened to some podcasts that debated veganism so that I could practise listening to views different from my own without judgement. I have tried. I really have. But I can’t do it.
I cannot listen to people:
i) arguing that eating meat is okay if animals are allowed to roam free before they’re slaughtered. 50% of land in the world is used for animals or to grow animal fodder. There just isn’t enough space to grow sufficient food for the human population as well as let animals roam so we can eat them.
ii) bemoaning the difficulty in cooking vegan food or in going out to restaurants. Animals suffer cruel lives and deaths.
iii) justifying that they like the taste of cheese too much. Cows are forcibly impregnated and then their calves removed so that we can take the milk to make your cheese. This happens again and again before they are slaughtered for beef after 5 years.
For years, I couldn’t bear the pain of knowing what was happening in the meat and dairy industry. I’d feel so overwhelmed with sadness, helplessness, and rage. I became a vegan and tried not to look. I tried not to talk to others about my veganism unless they asked; I was gentle in my reasoning so as not to cause offence. I tried to be so ‘Quakerly’ about it.
Now, though, I feel called to turn and face the pain of witnessing this suffering. It hurts to know that these beautiful sentient creatures are being treated so badly by humans, that the meat and dairy industry is so powerful that it has lobbied the government and put out clever PR campaigns. Truths are hidden and twisted to keep meat and dairy consumption high and plant-based diets low: humans need meat and dairy for good health; animals are skipping around happy and free; there is no environmental impact of animal farming; there is plenty of land for animals and crop production for human consumption.
The Quaker faith invites me to live simply, in truth, sustainably, peacefully and in equal relationship with everyone and every sentient being. I have aligned my life to this faith for the past 25 years. I am concerned now that our Quaker faith might be complicit with the inequality, complexity, and inefficiency of meat production, and that we are knowingly consuming food produced through violence and not seeking the truth.
What do I do with this hurt? This pain? How do I keep my heart open and act from love? I don’t know the answers, but I know I cannot do this alone. I am grateful to the new group that has formed recently: Quaker Vegan Witness. A group where I can share my pain and be heard, met, and seen. Together, in this community, I feel I can offer patterns and examples so that all sentient beings can walk cheerfully over the world.
Kerri Wright