Cause and effect, karma, etc.

The belief that positive actions produce positive results and that negative actions produce negative results is a concept that spans religions and cultures. Examples of this can be found in the Jainist, Buddhist and Hindu concept of karma (which, incidentally, is now a common word in English and many other languages), in the Christian concept of "you will reap what you sow", and in many other belief systems. Even religions that don’t have a concrete word/description for this concept, still often believe that doing positive things (such as charity, helping other people, praising God, etc.) will lead to some kind of reward, whether it be in this life or the next, and that doing negative things will lead to some kind of punishment.

I believe that this this concept is equally valid in relation to the way we treat animals, and that the killing, hurting, or mistreating of animals are all negative actions that will have negative consequences. I believe that eating animals should be avoided because the killing of an animal should be no more acceptable than the killing of another human; that using the fur, skin, and other parts of animals should be avoided for the same reason; that we should not abuse or exploit animals any more than we should another human being. I believe that we should use the moral foundation that many of us already have relating to the treatment of other humans, and expand this to include as many animals as possible; that the only reason people don’t do this is because they have been conditioned to think that they have the right to mistreat and kill animals, conditioned to be blind to the fact that animals, just like us humans, have feelings, albeit maybe simpler ones, and should be respected. The belief that we, as humans, have some kind of "right" to abuse animals is, for me, a big lie, one that’s keeping us on the wrong path, both as individuals and as a society. Having said all that, the opposite is also true: Every action that involves helping animals have a healthier, less stressful life, any action that saves an animal from death or suffering, will have positive consequences. This is why the act of helping is so important.

It’s hard to break free from a way of thinking that our families and culture have told us is correct our whole lives. It’s much easier to just stick with the way things are instead of going through some major upheaval. Still, in order to progress as human beings, we have to question any kind of action that causes the suffering and death of innocent sentient beings. This realization is an important one, the implementation of which should lead to positive actions and, subsequently, to positive consequences.