Set yourself free with cruelty-free consumption

A wave of seeking out cruelty-free food and other products has overtaken our household the last couple of days. During her reading when she does Samayik (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samayika) my mother read a book (amidst tears) about the atrocities committed on cows and other livestock in the name of maximizing the production of milk, eggs etc. While she has completely turned away from milk and items containing milk, I have followed suit making an exception for food that contains small amounts of milk products, Harsha has sworn off eggs, Neil is still weighing his options, Karishma and Supriya though vegetarians, are not yet aware of these latest developments. My mother who has never eaten rotli without ghee or tea without milk was surprised to find that neither item was really worse off and actually tasted even better than the originals that used milk products. "Its mind over matter" she mused, "Now that I am aware of the cruelty behind some of these products, my mind is completely prepared to accept the taste of food without those products. I don't think I would have liked black tea if I would have tried it before this awareness".

I've been researching the vegan sites for products and am so glad that there are plenty of options out there. Even if there weren't I think it would be hard for me to participate in the on-going, generally accepted state of cruelty to animals. The problem at large is that on the store shelves we see the end products (silk ties, eggs, milk, chocolates etc.) in perfectly benign and even attractive packaging which isolates us from the blood that has been shed, the pain and suffering that has occurred in bringing these products to us. So in our ignorance we merrily pay for and use these products and participate unwittingly in the continuation of these atrocities.

Imagine this story:
At the beginning of the year a mythical "On-site Product Provider" visits your home and asks for a list of things that your family would like to use during the upcoming year. You make up a list of foods, shoes, clothes, medicines, toiletries...just "normal" routine stuff, nothing too fancy. OPP says that your list is quite reasonable, nothing out of the ordinary and proceeds to line up in front of your house all the things that will be needed to meet your needs. Apart from the cotton, wool, vegetables and grains, you are surprised to find that standing in your front yard are a couple of cows, a horse, several hens, some fish and sea animals in a water tank, a few mice, rabbits and thousands of bees, bugs and other creatures.
"But wait" you protest "We are vegetarians. You are not telling me that these creatures have to be sacrificed for us, are you?" OPP shrugs matter-of-factly and responds "Yes, and I hope you are not too squeamish about the fact that they will suffer before they are sacrificed to give you the products you have asked for."
"Wait. Details OPP! I can't let you do this unless I am convinced that there is no other way".
"Its just economics". OPP explains "Cows would normally live 15+ years but after their first 5 or 6 years during which I must make sure they remain pregnant most of the time and feed them hormones, antibiotics and other painful drugs, they are just not productive. It makes more sense to 'replace' them. Similar story for hens for eggs".

"But what about those little mice and rabbits and fish and worms... " you plead, a little desperation creeping into your voice.

"Listen. Where do you think the medicines that you take comes from? Some of it is from organs of some of these animals. The mice, I need to experiment for medicines to make sure they are safe for you. That skin lotion? I need the fish. Your mascara, perfumes, I have to inject directly into the rabbits eyes to see of it is going to be safe enough for your eyes...you get the picture. Now if you really want all this stuff, I have a lot of work to do...."

"Let me see that list again" you say. Your mind is racing. You are thinking, if this is the impact in one year, how about over the rest of my life and multiply that by all the millions of households like mine all over the world...

Armed with the awareness of the-way-things-are imparted by OPP, you decide to shorten the list. Many things are easy to take off. As you strike things off or substitute them with plant-based products, one by one the animals are set free. The harder ones...milk, yoghurt, ice cream, chocolates, moisturizer, medicines need more work to take off the list. You research the web, improvise, substitute. You discover it is not that hard after all. Many people and companies have already thought about this. The cost of these substitutes is higher than the cruelty-based originals, but trivial compared to the cost of a de-sensitized heart. OPP realizes that there is a business opportunity in terms of higher revenues going the cruelty-free/vegan/organic way and goes the extra mile in finding you all of your remaining requirements using humane methods and sources. Turns out your neghbourhoods and cities and the world has gone through this same experience. Turns out that less deforestation, less depletion of the ozone layer will occur as a result of this new way. Turns out that due to this heightened awareness and consumption of benign foods, people are less angry, more satisfied with less, crime rates have dropped, wars are ending. Turns out we will be able to live on this planet far into the distant future and we won't need a whole second planet worth of resources for our grandchildren to survive...

Am I dreaming or is it the rice-milk I just had?

For some eye-opening more information on current production methods visit:
www.hfa.org
www.yja.org/Jivdaya
www.peta.org
www.abolitionist-online.com


For humane product substitution visit:
www.bwcindia.org
www.vegan.org
www.vegsource.org
www.pcrm.org

For meditation to strengthen your resolve and to experience bliss:
www.ssy.org