Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is somthing which I've been wondering for a while... to any of you, is veg*anism a stepping stone, not only to improving your views and treatment of animals, but a way to being more ethical in other areas of life as well?

In terms of my life, I see my choices in foods and beauty products as just the beginning of a long (and possibly quite greuling) path to being more ethical on all levels.

There are so many negative issues plaguing our society, many of which we can help combat on a personal level. Animal abuse is just one such issue.

When I first ceased with eating meat, a whole new world began unfolding around me. I began to not think merely about my personal comfort, but of my impact on the world as well. As I began to realize that my ice cream wasn't from a happy cow from a small family farm, I also began to realize, moreso than before, that the t-shirt I was wearing wasn't exactly made by a fairly well-off first world laborer. I was slowly connecting the dots between consumption and brutality.

Now, as I learn more about global issues, I feel that I should effectively take a stand against them in whatever way I can. Dropping meat was just one thing in a list of reforms which I have made in my life over the past few years.

Veganism is about eliminating, or at least minimizing, suffering in the lives of other feeling creatures, so shouldn't that sentiment be taken beyond animal rights, and extend to other humanitarian areas as well?


(This probably isn't very well-developed, but I've been up for the past twenty hours...)


Discuss:

-Doing things in your daily life to help resolve global problems.

-Eliminating suffering, beyond animal rights.

-How has a veggie lifestyle impacted your view of the world?

It was sort of the reverse for me...I was raised as an omnivore but also anti-war, anti-capital punishment, anti-abortion, and with respect for the environment...becoming a vegetarian naturally followed for me.