I often get told that people respect my opinion and therefore I should respect theirs. I'm sorry, but no. I will respect any opinion of yours that does not lead to the imprisonment, abuse and murder of 65 billion land animals every year and literally countless sea creatures. However when you ask me to respect your right to contribute to a system of abuse, particularly on such a terrible scale the answer will always be no. I can no more respect that opinion than one who believes it acceptable for a man to rape his wife. I can no more respect that opinion than one who finds child abuse acceptable.
Do not ask me to respect your right to abuse those without a voice.
I also strongly object to the word 'opinion' when it comes to veganism. Even if you do not care about species other than your own, veganism is not an opinion.
It is not my opinion that there are 7 billion humans in this world, over a billion of whom are starving.
It is not my opinion that the population of the world is expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050.
It is not my opinion that it takes 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef.
It is not my opinion that the amount of grain it takes to produce a single steak could feed between 40 and 50 starving children.
It is not my opinion that many African governments are corrupt and sell their nation's grain to the West as cheap cattle feed.
It is not my opinion that it takes around 2500 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef but only around 290 to produce a pound of soy beans.
It is not my opinion that around 51% of all greenhouse gases can be directly attributed to the meat, dairy and egg industries.
It is not my opinion that 70% of destroyed rainforest is used for grazing hamburger cattle.
It is not my opinion that around 95% of the remainder is used to grow soy for cattle feed.
It is not my opinion that the WHO and the UN have stated that there is not enough space on the planet to feed everyone such an animal heavy diet and that we need to make the transition to veganism to ensure the survival of the human race.
It is not my opinion that human beings are the only animals on the planet who suffer from excess cholesterol.
It is not my opinion that processed meat has been proven time and again to increase the risk of cancer.
It is not my opinion that a plant based diet has been shown to actually reverse the effects of type 2 diabetes.
It is not my opinion that on the whole vegans are less obese than those who consume meat.
It is not my opinion that vegans are less likely to suffer heart attacks than meat consumers.
So please, don't say anything about respecting my 'opinion.' Just look at the facts.
If you don't care about animals go vegan for other people in countries less affluent than our own.
If you don't care about people on the other side of the world go vegan for the planet and to ensure that your children and grand children have a good quality of life.
If you don't care about anything other than your own little bubble, go vegan for yourself.
Thaks to Jess Crisp for this
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