Speciesism

S P E C I E S I S M ⁣

I thought I loved animals. I loved my dogs, I loved riding horses, I loved spotting wild deer, elk, birds, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, bears, moose, bison, snakes, toads, fox, fish and turtles. I loved going to the zoo, the aquarium, the pet store. I volunteered at the humane society. All of my favorite books and movies were about animals. It pained me deeply when my parents set mousetraps, the time my dad used a broom to take down a bat that had made it's way into our house, and when our car ran over a squirrel. I thought I wanted to work at SeaWorld or a zoo with wild animals so I could selfishly be around these beings that I was so enamored with. ⁣

Breaking into my 20's, I adopted my dog Price, and became increasingly passionate about animal rescue. Meanwhile, I was studying sociology, taking my blinders off and understanding how we've been conditioned to act and think certain ways dictated to us by what's "normal." I began to understand systemic racism, sexism, and classism. My own research led me to learn about another -ism not talked about in school: speciesism. ⁣
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Speciesism is the reason that most of us are horrified by the dog meat industry, or the abuse my dog Cricket suffered that led to us adopting her (being shot in the head and beaten). Why does our heart hurt for her pain, but not for the pigs, cows, lamb, chickens, and sea creatures that lay dead on our plates? Why do we love, care for, and protect some species, and then systematically harm others? The answer of course doesn't come down to an inherent value that any particular animal does or does not have. A pig has the same capacity to experience joy, pain, love, and fear as our beloved companions do - yet we would never think of treating our family members the same.⁣
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Speciesism is an irrational and untrue distinction between species that attempts to justify treating them differently (sound familiar, human history?). It's past time that we extend our circle of compassion to ALL animals as they ALL have the same capacity to suffer. They all have the right to live without being experimented on, abused, worn, or eaten. Their suffering is not necessary and we owe them so much better. 

It starts with what we put on our plates. If you need help transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle or simply adding more plant based foods into your diet, let's have a chat so I can help you get started! Send me an email directly: morganaveryco@gmail.com


Why Vegan: https://freefromharm.org/why-vegan/#animals
Film: Earthlings