Asteroid # 4 - Let it go

VEGAN AND VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS AROUND THE WORLD: Vegan Point (Alicante, Spain)

Address: Garzìa Morato 36, Alicante, Spain
Phone: (+34) 608 098244
Website (Facebook): https://es-es.facebook.com/pages/Vegan-Point/202162539983870

A nice and cozy (fairly new) little tapas bar located in central Alicante, possibly the only all-vegan place in the city. The lunch special sampler plate I got included a couple of very tasty tarts, a pasta salad, and marinaded tofu (or seitan, can't remember) for under 10 euros. Some of the tastiest food that I had in Spain.

The rise of meat consumption in China and India

I recently came across an article about how more people in India are starting to eat meat. The article attributed this trend to a general growing financial prosperity in that country. This came as a surprise to a lot of people since, as many of you already know, India is one of the world's bastions for vegetarianism, with an estimated 40% or more of its population being vegetarian. Still, while the phenomenon is an unfortunate one, it is understandable.

In many parts of Asia, meat consumption was relatively low because meat was expensive. It was reserved for special occasions. In places like China, where many are benefiting from economic prosperity, meat consumption is up, because many people can now afford it. This phenomenon has very little to do with ethics, and much more to do with economics. I, for example, have attained a higher level of empathy for other animals, so I'm not going to start eating meat no matter how much more money I'd make. On the other hand, a person who normally would eat meat anyway, but simply didn't have the means to do this on a regular basis, would benefit from his new-found wealth to consume more meat. It becomes important, then, in societies where meat consumption is on the rise, to actively teach (and remind) people that the lives of sentient beings like pigs, cows, chickens, fish, etc., should be respected. An increase in wealth does not have to mean an increase in violence towards other species. Theoretically, this should strike a chord in countries which already have a strong tradition of tasty and healthy vegetarian alternatives. It's great that some people can enjoy life more, but it's important that animals should be given an opportunity to enjoy their lives as well.

So what about the increase in meat consumption in a country like India, a country with such a strong tradition of vegetarianism? First, the fact that 40% of India is vegetarian obviously means that about 60% of its citizens are not vegetarian, which means that quite a lot of people do eat meat. Second, a lot of the vegetarianism in India is based on religion, primarily Hinduism, but also Jainism and (some schools of) Buddhism. Like anywhere else in the world, people are often born into a religion, and follow it because of family tradition, etc. In this case, they are born into vegetarianism. While I think this is very positive, it doesn't automatically guarantee a deep empathy (or even respect) for animals. Some will develop this, and some won't. As I've written before, anyone who hasn't attained a higher level of empathy for animals, can quite easily fall (back) into eating meat. Once you get to the state where you realize that all sentient life must be respected, it's pretty hard to go back to a less enlightened way of treating other animals, including eating them.

Stray dog attacks - who's to blame?

I just read a report about a stray dog that attacked a family in Mexico. As is often the case in these types of situations, the dog was later found and killed. In some countries with high populations of homeless dogs (Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania come to mind), attacks such as this one have led to calls to quickly solve the problem by any means necessary. Unfortunately, at least in the countries mentioned above, this "quick fix" often involves anger-motivated revenge killings of strays, sometimes en masse.

The way a society treats its animals says a lot about how advanced that society is. Before blaming stray animals, there are a couple of things to keep in mind: First and foremost, we are responsible for the problem of stray animals, and we, collectively, have to deal with this problem in a humane way. There are two main factors that contribute to the high number of strays. The first reason is the abandonment of dogs that are no longer wanted. Many societies where stray dogs (or cats) are a problem are the same ones where people often just dump their pets after they stop being cute, or they get sick of them, etc. As long as people are not taught from an early age to see pets as sentient beings, and to care for them like they would a family member, homeless animals will be a problem. The second reason involves the lack of spay and neutering programs involving strays. Most people who have dealt with homeless pets around the world would agree that a good spay and neuter (or treat and release) program is an effective way to lower the numbers of stray animals.

So, education and spaying and neutering are the way to go. We can do this in our own families, by educating our children to respect and to help homeless pets, and we can demand the creation of government programs that do this on a larger scale. Culling (killing) strays en masse is a poor solution for several reasons. First, it is just plain wrong to kill innocent sentient beings. Second, most strays are not dangerous, and it is only a minority that become overly aggressive. The majority live a sad, lonely life on the streets of cities whose citizens are desensitized to their suffering, and do nothing to help them. I don't think I have to tell you that punishing the majority for the actions of a small minority is a horrible idea. Third, without the long term solutions I've outlined above, any mass killing will only solve the problem temporarily. Until people are taught to respect the lives of their pets, and to be responsible for them (including spaying and neutering them), the problem will resurface over and over again. Government officials often state that there is no money for programs such as this, but this is only because they fail to see the importance of this and to make it a priority.

So, again, do not blame the strays. Blame the heartless individuals who have created the problem by failing to take responsibility they had for these animals. Blame the government for failing to create spay and neuter programs that have been shown to reduce the number of strays, for failing to set up humane animal shelters that try to find homes for the ones that can be rehabilitated, and for failing to create and enforce laws that punish animal abandoners and abusers. These are modern, ethical solutions for a modern state, and all responsible heads of government should implement these to help create a better world for both stray animals and the humans around them.

VEGAN AND VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS AROUND THE WORLD: Birosta (Zaragoza, Spain)

Address: Barrio de la Magdalena, Calle de la Universidad, 3, 50001 Zaragoza, Spain
Phone: (+34) 976205333
Website: http://www.birosta.com/

A funky, fairly spacious place with a good variety of vegan and vegetarian food and good, friendly service, located in the Magdalena neighborhood in central Zaragoza. Can't remember how much the menu of the day was, but it was definitely on the cheap side, something around 8 euros for a salad, a main course and a desert. They also have a good selection of beer and other alcoholic beverages, and a lot of books to browse through.

Humane meat - ultimately not that humane

I recently stumbled upon an article that discusses whether or not animal rights activists should get involved in the promotion of "humane meat”. First and foremost, once you reach a certain level of empathy, there is no such thing as "humane meat". All sentient beings want to live. All sentient life is precious, and the right to life of these animals should be respected. In a way, I kind of find the whole idea of "humane meat" a little twisted. One can almost understand the lack of empathy in the world of factory farms. Animals are treated as mere commodities, and the whole death machine is set up to kill as many of them as possible as quickly (though often not painlessly) as possible. On farms where animals are raised "ethically", the animals are theoretically happier than their factory farm counterparts, and there is often much more contact with the animals, thus providing an opportunity to really appreciate the personalities of these animals and to get to know them better. One would think that this would create even more awareness and more empathy for these animals.

Unfortunately, this is not the case, or even if it is, it is overshadowed by the "it's sad but necessary" myth. This is what puzzles me, with so many people in the world embracing and thriving on vegetarian and vegan diets, and with so much proof that animals are both sentient and intelligent creatures, how can we view "ethical meat" as the ultimate solution? Is this truly a fair way to treat other animals?

The answer is no, but it is more fair than factory farms. In my humble opinion, and in the opinion of many people who care about animal rights, activists should adopt a two-thronged approach to this topic. On one hand, we should fight to end factory farming, as the horrors and injustices inherent in that system are something that most people in the world would agree have to stop. On the other hand, we should continue educating people that while small farms where animals are treated "well" before they are killed are more ethical than factory farms, they are ultimately not "ethical" per se.

In order to truly end the violence towards other animals, and to understand this second part of the equation, we have to leave the above-mentioned "it's sad but necessary" myth behind. In the above-mentioned article, there were responses in the comments sections that were typical of meat apologists. One stated that due to the "differences in our constitutions", not everyone can become a vegan/vegetarian, and that we should just accept that some can and some can't. I have a simple response to this: where there's a will there's a way. I've already written about common myths that meat eaters use to justify their diet. Breaking free from a lifetime of habits is not easy, but those who truly respect other animals' right to live will find a way to make their new diet work. It is possible, and pretty much anyone can be happy and healthy without meat, if they are truly committed to this.

Helping vs. selfishness

Many people claim that they love animals, but the millions of animals in the world that need our help will not survive on kind words and good intentions alone. While the factors that prevent people from helping other animals are plentiful, I will forget about the most obvious ones, such as lack of compassion, and focus instead on one that is a little more ambiguous - seeing helping as a burden, one that either financially, emotionally, or physically complicates one's life.

A good example of this desire to not complicate one's life too much is the hesitation when faced with the prospect of adopting a pet. It really saddens me that so many people basically have to be convinced to do this, when the presence of a cat, dog, or other animal in the household can bring so much happiness to all parties involved. Still, people have their routines, which they feel will be compromised by having to walk a dog, by making it harder to travel, by having to spend more money on cat food, litter, vets, etc. While I can understand all of these reasons, I still have to remind you that life is about stepping outside your comfort zone in order to help those that need it; and a cat or dog living a relatively lonely life in a shelter would definitely qualify as someone who needs help. Personal well-being is important, and there's nothing wrong with ensuring this well-being, but the reasons that most people give for not committing to a stray animal are not very convincing. Any changes in your lifestyle will be outweighed by the benefits of the noble act of rescuing an animal. I myself have adopted or rescued several animals. The first cat that I rescued initially seemed like a burden, because at that point I had never taken care of another animal, but over time she became an inseparable part of our family, and to this day I love her very much.

Another example of choosing the easy way out, the path of least resistance, if you will, is the reluctance of many animal lovers to adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. Again, even with all the new information about the benefits of a plant-based diet, as well as more and more meat-free options readily available, many "animal lovers" still can't completely cross over to a lifestyle that says no to violence towards animals. Sometimes this is because of uncertainty about missing out on essential nutrients or the fear of having to take supplements. I often wonder why the same people don't realize the simple truth that any diet has to be well-balanced to work, and that more meat-eaters take supplements for one reason or another than vegetarians or vegans do. Others say things like “animal proteins are more complete”, and that they don't want to have to work hard to mix and match plant-based foods to ensure they get the same protein. Once again, the comfort zone. "I don't want to have to do anything that will make my life any more difficult". I, and many others like me, will gladly mix and match veggie proteins if it means not partaking in the violence and death of the meat and dairy industries. For any truly compassionate individual who can see the big picture, this is a no-brainer. There are also quite a few people who simply state that they love the taste of meat and can't live without it. Whether overtly or not, what they are saying is that they don't give a damn if animals are killed, as long as they get to have that pleasure of eating meat. Hopefully someday these people will wake up to a more compassionate way of life, for their own sake and for the sake of all the innocent animals in the meat industry.

It's a lot easier to help with helping is easy. Unfortunately, helping is sometimes not easy. Even in our world, where instant gratification has become more and more commonplace, not everything can be arranged at the push of a button. Difficult ethical choices sometimes have to be made, ones that challenge the way we live. Acting to help animals is a very important part of life. We should all ask ourselves if we're doing enough to help, or if, like most people, we're too stuck in our comfort zone to really make a difference.