Cow Appreciation Day

So it's Cow appreciation day. I didn't realise this was a thing but there is a day for everything these days. So I thought today would be a good time to write about the reasons to avoid dairy: 

• Cows are artificially inseminated and their calf is removed from them so they can be milked. There is nothing natural about this process and it is repeated many times in a cows life. These animals are essentially hooked up to machines for their whole life. Dairy farms are prisons.  
• Cows have strong emotions, they experience distress when separated from their young or their friends, supporting the dairy industry is as cruel as supporting the meat industry. 
• Cows are gentle creatures who form lifelong friendships, if you think animals are stupid and have no feelings think again. 
• Cows milk is designed to make a calf grow very quickly in the beginning of it's life. Milk is essentially a fat fluid to help a baby cow weighing 65 pounds become a 400 pound cow. Cows stop drinking milk after they have grown, yet humans drink what is essentially cows breast milk throughout their life, it is unnatural. 
•  Avoiding dairy will help you loose weight, this tends to happen when you stop drinking fat.
• Milk is full of hormones such as oestrogen, and does anyone really enjoy a glass of hormones? 
• There are other, better, sources of calcium which do not have the downsides of dairy. Dark leafy greens such as Kale and Spinach contain calcium but this isn't well known as we are led to believe in that drinking milk is the only way to have healthy, strong bones. 
• Cows milk contains up to 59 hormones, allergens, fat, cholesterol and not to mention any pesticides used on their feed or hormones they are given to make them grow faster. 
• The dairy and meat industries are linked, the cows who have spent their lives being milked will be sent to be killed for meat along with the baby cows who are unnaturally bred. If you avoid meat it is a good idea to avoid dairy too or you are supporting cruelty. 
• The growth hormone in milk has been linked to cancer. Need I say more? If you care about your health give up dairy. 
• It takes 10 pounds of milk to make 1 pound of cheese. No wonder cheese is a fatty food. 
• There are so many healthier non-dairy milks and cheeses on the market, avoiding dairy is easy. 
• Cows get their calcium from plants. Cut out the middle man (or Cow) and get your calcium the healthy way. 
• Also getting calcium from milk is a myth, because of the high protein content it can actually take calcium from the body. Studies have shown that countries with high dairy consumption have higher rates of osteoporosis. So much for milk being a great source of calcium! Stick to the leafy greens instead. 
• If you still want a glass Cow's breast milk after all this information, the fact that milk is allowed to have faeces in it might put you off- it is then pasteurised to make it fit to drink but at room temperature the bacteria will double which is why when you forget to put your milk back in the fridge it goes off very quickly. A glass of bacteria isn't appealing. 

These are just a few of the many, scientifically researched, reasons to avoid milk. Basically cows milk is for cows and human milk is for humans. Drinking the secretions of an animals is strange and no other species does it. You don't see apes drinking rat milk? Dairy, for humans, is unnatural and on Cow Appreciation Day I think it's time to stop using these beautiful, intelligent creatures for a liquid which we don't even need. Wake up and smell the unnecessary bovine secretion. 

Is honey Vegan?

Honey is one product which confuses a lot of people. Some people believe it's OK to eat and use even when you are vegan others believe it is not vegan. 

I have to admit when I first went vegan I hadn't considered honey and didn't know where I stood on using it. I like many people thought that if the bees weren't hurt or treated cruelly like in the dairy and meat industry maybe it was OK for vegans to use. However I did some research and decided to avoid it in food and cosmetics as I think being a vegan means avoiding all animal products. 

Although some people don't see the problem with using honey. So here's a few reasons why as a vegan you should be avoiding it.

• Bees make honey for themselves. It is not natural the way humans have turned them into honey making machines. By taking the honey which bees naturally produce you are taking their food source which they would otherwise have used for winter. 
• Some bees are killed in the harvesting of honey. This isn't intentional but a bad result of the process. So much for humans protecting bees by bee keeping. 
• Honey is a commodity, it is sold for human consumption. The bees are being used as part of a business so if you don't believe in exploiting any living creatures it's best to avoid honey. 
• Bees are vital to the pollination of crops. They do need to be protected but taking their honey doesn't have to be part of the process. 

There are many reasons to avoid honey. I think if you are vegan or going vegan the simple thing to do is avoid all animal/insect related products and by-products. Also there are so many alternatives from agave nectar to maple syrup it's easy to replace. 

Check out the alternative: http://vegoutveganguide.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/agave-nectar-vegan-alternative-to-honey.html

Grass-Fed Beef doesn't exist

There are many ways to describe meat and 'Grass-Fed' is one way of describing beef. Here's the thing, beef doesn't have a mouth as this quote so brilliantly describes. Using the term 'grass-fed' is a clever marketing ploy trying to make you see meat as healthy. I do worry what the non grass fed animals eat! They are basically admitted that most animals are pumped full of hormones and chemicals to feed them up so they can kill them quicker. Do non grass fed cows ever eat grass? It's a worrying thought and maybe something people don't consider when they hear this term.  

Also stating that the beef is 'grass-fed' is trying to make it sound healthier. Just because the cow is on a vegan diet doesn't mean these health benefits magically transfer to people eating meat. Scientific studies show meat causes high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even cancer. Eating a cow who once ate grass (before it was cruelly killed) doesn't take away the unhealthy aspects of meat. It's like adding a lettuce leaf to a bowl of sugar, one healthy thing does not cancel out something that is bad for you. 

Another thing about the statement why do they not say grass fed cows? I guess that reminds meat eaters they are eating an animal that once lived, enjoyed eating and was then killed. Using different names for meat distances it from the animal it once was. They become two separate things and many meat eaters when challenged to think about an animal being killed get upset because the meat industry goes to great lengths to make what is essentially a murdered animal become 'food'. As this quote from Colleen Patrick-Goodreau states beef doesn't have a mouth so how can it be grass fed?

I think it's time to stop distancing ourselves from the reality and see past these marketing ploys. Meat is murder, it is not healthy and if being 'grass-fed' makes you healthy why not go all out and eat a plant based diet like vegans do. Cut out the middle man, stop getting your plant based benefits through a dead animal and go straight to the source. Eating plant based foods is healthy and is scientifically proven to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and has many antioxidants which can help prevent cancer. See the difference and see through the propaganda. 

The poster used in this blog is from http://veganposters.com/ they have loads of vegan posters to download, print and share. 

My thoughts on Zoos

Zoos are in the news a lot recently. A gorilla was sadly shot dead because a child fell into it's enclosure and they feared for the child's safety and not long ago zoos hit the headlines as it was shown that they cull animals and feed them to others to stop them over populating and this practice was shown to shocked tourists on a behind the scenes tour. 

In both cases everyone was understandably upset. In the more recent story about the Gorilla, the parents are being blamed by the media for not looking after their child. The zoo is being blamed for killing the animal when behavioural experts say he wasn't showing any aggression. However I think people are missing a point that the beautiful (Vegan) creature should not have been kept in an enclosure for the entertainment of others in the first place. If he wasn't there and the family hadn't gone along to see the animal none of this would have happened. 

Of course I have to admit I have been to a zoo before, and I enjoyed it. It was amazing seeing creatures I had only seen in pictures so I can understand why people visit them but recently I have changed my mind about the whole business. This isn't a natural way to see animals and just like I don't think animals should be killed for food they are also not on this planet for our entertainment however much you might want to see a creature you've never seen before. My joy at a being at a zoo quickly ended when I saw the sadness in the eyes of the animals, especially the monkeys and gorillas who are proven to be highly intelligent. Some people will say that zoos are a way to breed endangered species. However a better way to protect endangered species is to have national parks and safaris where they are protected but able to live in their natural habitats, at the end of the day a zoo is a business designed for entertainment, they try to fit as many animals in as possible to attract customers. There doesn't seem to be much thought to the space these creatures would have had in the wild. There is nothing worse than seeing an animal in a tiny cage or looking bored in an unnatural environment. The fact that zoos have to kill animals and feed them to others shows how unnatural it has become, these caged creatures probably couldn't survive in the wild now because humans have taken away their natural instincts. 

The only way to keep humans safe from wild animals is not to put them on display and let them live their lives naturally. Some people are blaming the parents of the child who fell into the gorillas enclosure but there are always going to be accidents and unforeseen things can happen when you put wild animals in an unnatural place. Also the idea that humans are top of the food chain that some people have and use as an excuse to eat meat clearly isn't true as if it was the case why would humans fear a gorilla? They could just walk into the enclosure and carry the child out. We need to stop thinking that because humans have weapons we are superior, we need to respect all animals and let them live their lives in a natural way and respect that they are strong and often dangerous and we should leave them in peace. Until all zoos are closed we will keep hearing upsetting stories because nothing good can come from keeping animals prisoners just as nothing good can come from slaughtering animals for food. I don't know whether the gorilla would have harmed the child and I don't know if the whole situation was the parents fault and I don't think people should be applying blame we should be instead looking at why we still feel it necessary to keep animals on display. It's time to empty the cages and stop using animals for entertainment.