
And it's been a long time coming.
When I was in the 7th grade, my family took our 4th vacation to Hawaii. We were sitting in the hotel room, watching Major League (I know-who watches tv when they're in Hawaii?) when all of a sudden there was an obnoxious boom and the whole building shook. Earthquake? Bomb? Later we would learn that it was an elephant. An elephant who had "gone on a rampage" and killed his trainers and was shot dead in the streets of Honolulu. The noise and shaking was the elephant falling to the ground. A few years later, while pondering a topic for a paper, I remembered that incident and started surfing the newly founded internet for information on "animal rights." I discovered a whole new world. A world that changed my life. I became a vegetarian (later I would eat the occasional piece of chicken) and became an avid circus protester.
It's been about 13 years since I wrote that paper and permanently gave up meat and fish (save for that occasional chicken.) I never once "cheated" in all that time and indulged in a small bite of turkey or ham. I protest the circus, I've "adopted" endangered species and farm animals. I drank milk and ate cheese and didn't think anything of it. Until a few weeks ago I saw Jonathan Safran Foer on the Ellen show discussing his new book Eating Animals. I was intrigued and immediately went out and bought it. I read the book with-in 2 days. It was life-changing. I was aware of the factory farms and the atrocities that happen daily there; I had read about it, seen pictures and video footage of the abuse, but hadn't really thought about it. If I took the time and froze my ass off to protest the abuse of circus animals every year, if I adopted/sponsored/lobbied for Indian dancing bears/polar bears/pigs, etc. how could I possibly justify eating that occasional chicken or drinking regular milk? I couldn't. I immediately went out and bought soy milk. I haven't bought cheese (my main food source) in 2 weeks.
I'm unemployed and not collecting. I have rent, utilities, a car payment, car insurance, cell phone and credit card bills and of course MK's welfare to think of. I can't afford to spend the extra money to eat "vegan." But at the same time I can. Because while I haven't been a major contributor to the factory farm industry in the past 12 years, I was a contributor. I can afford to spend a few dollars more on my groceries and know that at least 1 factory corporation will no longer be receiving my small contribution to animal abuse. Animal abuse I have abhorred for the past 12 years, but have only recently begun to fully comprehend.