I just heard on NPR that many large companies are going to start raising their chickens free range. It’s still not great (I’m vegan), but if people insist on eating eggs etc. it’s better than the alternative…..
It worries me that these companies, by inventing an image of cruelty-free exploitation, keep it going for longer than it otherwise would. For example, I was vegetarian for 20 years before going vegan because I thought that free-range chickens lived out their whole lives naturally on the farm. If I had realised that the male chicks were brutally annihilated after hatching, and that laying hens were sent to slaughter after 18 months, just like the caged hens, I would have been vegan from the beginning. Companies like these are not becoming more compassionate, they are just trying to manipulate compassionate people into continuing to buy their products.
Indeed. The problem is that it’s almost impossible to get most people to really understand or care about these sorts of things. I’ve been vegetarian/vegan for going on 40 years. Sadly, most Americans are staunchly meat-eaters. It’s simply the American way. It’s baby-steps for most people. 40 years ago people would look at me like I had 2 heads when I said I didn’t eat meat. Believe me, it’s better now by a long shot. But we must keep our dreams alive. I became a vegetarian in college when I went to an Ag school–THAT convinced me! Ugh.
Oh yes, things have improved so much. The fact that these companies feel compelled to present their products as ‘compassionate’ is proof of that. We are definitely making huge progress in the right direction, and thanks to the internet allowing ordinary people like us to publish the truth, it’s much harder for mainstream media and big business to mislead people.
Violet's Vegan Comics 
I just heard on NPR that many large companies are going to start raising their chickens free range. It’s still not great (I’m vegan), but if people insist on eating eggs etc. it’s better than the alternative…..
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It worries me that these companies, by inventing an image of cruelty-free exploitation, keep it going for longer than it otherwise would. For example, I was vegetarian for 20 years before going vegan because I thought that free-range chickens lived out their whole lives naturally on the farm. If I had realised that the male chicks were brutally annihilated after hatching, and that laying hens were sent to slaughter after 18 months, just like the caged hens, I would have been vegan from the beginning. Companies like these are not becoming more compassionate, they are just trying to manipulate compassionate people into continuing to buy their products.
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Indeed. The problem is that it’s almost impossible to get most people to really understand or care about these sorts of things. I’ve been vegetarian/vegan for going on 40 years. Sadly, most Americans are staunchly meat-eaters. It’s simply the American way. It’s baby-steps for most people. 40 years ago people would look at me like I had 2 heads when I said I didn’t eat meat. Believe me, it’s better now by a long shot. But we must keep our dreams alive. I became a vegetarian in college when I went to an Ag school–THAT convinced me! Ugh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, things have improved so much. The fact that these companies feel compelled to present their products as ‘compassionate’ is proof of that. We are definitely making huge progress in the right direction, and thanks to the internet allowing ordinary people like us to publish the truth, it’s much harder for mainstream media and big business to mislead people.
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Every little bit helps. 💕💖
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