The treatment of animals in the Balkans

I recently got back from a trip to the Balkans. The region is a diverse one, both visually (beautiful beaches, breathtaking mountains, rolling hills), and culturally. Most tourists are rightfully impressed by what is one of Europe’s most interesting areas. There is also a much more negative word associated with the region, - violence. The Balkans have seen major wars and genocides as recently as 20 years ago. Even now, there is still a lot of tension (and hatred) between ethnic groups, and one can’t help but fear that another conflict could happen at some point in the future. I’ve always believed that violence begets violence. Eliminating violence and showing compassion will help us to create a more harmonious society. Not showing compassion and engaging in violent behavior will lead to a more cruel, less harmonious society. The way we treat animals also falls under this rule. An uncaring/violent treatment of animals will result in a society that is uncaring/violent. There are two measuring sticks for this treatment. The first is how we treat our homeless animals (usually dogs and cats), and the second is how many people have progressed to vegetarianism or veganism in a given society. Not surprisingly, most countries in the Balkans would receive a low grade on both accounts.

In regards to the first measuring stick, many of the Balkan countries lag behind in the ethical treatment of stray animals. Countries such as Romania, Serbia, and Albania (among others) have a horrible reputation when it comes to the treatment of stray dogs, and in some cases cats as well. Abandonment rates are relatively high, and because the animals that roam the streets are often seen as a nuisance, they are either poisoned or killed in a variety of other barbaric ways. Catch and release spay and neuter programs do exist, but on a relatively small scale, and not everywhere. Animal protection laws are few and far between, as are laws penalizing animal abusers. Some countries in the region (Slovenia and Croatia come to mind) have taken steps in the right direction, but most others have not done enough. Many people will blame poverty for this phenomenon, but I beg to differ. It’s all about priorities. Many of the same city governments that complain about having no money for such programs end up building lavish new buildings, monuments and stadiums that serve no altruistic purpose whatsoever. Look at all the new buildings and monuments being constructed in Skopje, Macedonia, for example. The money from one of these buildings could have been used to rid Skopje of its stray dog problem in a modern, ethical way. All this stems from one fact: The lives of these animals are not as respected as they are in countries where a more ethical treatment is the norm. To change this, one would have to implement a wide-ranging education campaign to change the way people see these animals, programs encouraging adoption, as well as laws to make sure abusers get punished. Since the government isn’t doing anything, you’d think that private organizations would step up (like they do in other countries). Although there are more animal protection and animal rescue organizations these days in the region than there were before, many of these are rather ineffective. Unfortunately, from what my sources in these countries tell me, a good number of these organizations are corrupt themselves.

As for the second measuring stick of empathy, things aren’t much better. Vegetarianism and veganism are not very popular in the Balkans. Many countries can be described as having a “meat-centric” diet, but this is doubly true there. Look at any menu board outside pretty much any restaurant in the region and all you’ll see is meat, meat, and more meat. For someone with a strong sense of empathy, this is a very sad phenomenon. The typical unethical, carnivorous tourist will praise the hearty local food, but what are they really praising? Tolstoy once said that “while there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields”. The more meat-centric a society is, the more suffering there will be in that society. Like I mentioned above, violence begets violence, so there will be some kind of repayment required for the suffering we cause these sentient beings. By engaging in cruel, violent, or even simply uncaring behavior towards other sentient beings, we are planting a very negative seed, one which will inevitably grow into a negative effect. People in the Balkans, like everywhere else, are proud of their traditions. But any tradition that involves causing others to suffer and die should be left behind for us to progress as humans and to build a more peaceful society. Showing kindness to animals is as important as showing kindness to other humans. An easy way to show kindness is to stop killing them for food.

I don’t want this to sound like I’m saying that all the people in the Balkans hate and/or abuse animals. There are plenty of people I’ve personally met there who truly love animals, and many who love them so much that (like me) they no longer eat them. Still, there is a lot to be done in that region to minimize animal suffering, more so than in many other places I’ve visited. Ultimately, how we treat other animals is a good measuring stick of how advanced we are as a society. The first step to a more civilized, compassionate society is to take care of our homeless animals; to lower their numbers in a humane way, and to implement a strategy to prevent the problem from resurfacing in the future. The next step in the evolutionary process is to come to the realization that, ultimately, we don’t need meat to survive. This is harder for most people, but it is a step that we should consider taking, one that we should be strong enough to take, both for our own benefit, and for the benefit of the animals with whom we share the planet.

Lab meat - how ethical is it?

In the past year or so, I've come across several articles about an incredible new discovery - the ability to cultivate meat in a laboratory. Instead of killing an animal to get meat, this new process "grows" the meat in a laboratory, so no killing is involved. Many have applauded this new breakthrough, and many of the same people have claimed that we have finally developed an ethical way of providing/eating meat. You no longer have to go vegetarian or vegan, people, you can now eat meat guilt-free. But is this really true?

First of all, there is something sinister about cloning. Whether it's a fruit, a live sheep (remember that one?), or a slab of meat, creating living things (or parts thereof) in the lab is generally disquieting. But let's say, for argument's sake, that we attribute this reaction to paranoia. Let's ignore the fact that this might be very hard to sustain (much harder than growing natural plant-based alternatives to meat). Let's ignore the fact that this is simply genetic modification (which itself is rightfully getting a lot of slack) taken to scary new levels. This still leaves us with my second (and more important) point: The fact that meat is created in a lab doesn't make it completely ethical. Sure, no killing is involved, but you are still eating the flesh of an animal, even though the animal never existed. Let me put it this way: would you eat the flesh of a dog if it were cultivated in the same way? Or a cat? A person like myself would never go back to eating meat for this exact reason. Why would I want to remind myself of the dead flesh of an animal, when I have so many natural plant-based products I can eat? Let's not forget the fact that this meat isn't created from scratch. The culture used to make it comes from the necks of living cows, and is then covered with the blood of dead calves... Yum. In my opinion, this simply reinforces bad habits, especially one of our worst habits - our addiction to meat. It reinforces (albeit semi-subversively) the idea that eating meat is OK or even necessary. This is contrary to what many people like myself believe - that transitioning to a plant-based diet represents progress for the individual and for the world in general. It'll be hard to progress if you still crave the flesh of animals. If you really want to change yourself and the world around you, focus instead on transitioning to a diet that is truly cruelty-free - a plant-based one.

So, no, I won't be trying the lab meat. Having said that, I do see some value in developing it. I believe that this could be effective as part of a greater strategy to get to all those hopeless cases that claim that they'll never even try a veggie burger as long as they live. While you can't force "ethical Neanderthals" to eat plant-based food, you can ban the killing of animals and then ONLY provide lab meat (at very high prices) to them. Sure, they'll complain a whole lot, but at least they'll have their "meat", and no animals will be killed in the process. This is something I would get behind.

Does vegetarianism/veganism cause psychological disorders?

There are many excuses that people give for eating meat, eggs, and dairy. Some of these focus on the supposed health risks to those who omit these items from their diet. One that I came across recently was that those of us who do not consume meat or animal products run a greater risk of becoming depressed, developing anxiety issues, etc. In other words: Veganism can lead to psychological disorders.

There have been several studies in the past little while done on this subject. Two that are often quoted are a German study from 2012 and an Australian one from 2014. There might be others; I'm not sure. The above-mentioned studies do show that there is a stronger incidence of some psychological problems, including depression and anxiety, among vegetarians and vegans.

Before you carnivores start doing a victory dance over the carcass of the poor murdered animal you're about to eat, consider the following points: Neither of the studies determined that a meat-free diet CAUSED the above-mentioned problems, only that there was a higher incidence of these problems in those who didn't eat meat. In fact, the German study concluded that "there was no evidence for a causal role of (a) vegetarian diet in the etiology of mental disorders." This study went on to state that many if not most of the participants had been diagnosed with said conditions BEFORE they switched to a meat-free diet. Does this conclusion mean that vegetarians are at least more prone to certain psychological issues? Possibly, but not because of our diet. Many people stop eating meat because they are sensitive, compassionate individuals. Is it really so strange that a sensitive person in a desensitized world would be more prone to anxiety, depression, etc.? Not really. Is it really so strange that a person who empathizes with the plight of animals could eventually break down when faced with the overwhelming lack of empathy from all around? Not really. It is easier to go through life with thick skin. I don't have scientific proof that people who don't let the evils of the world get to them too much are less prone to the above-mentioned ailments, but this would seem logical. But what about the folks who go vegetarian for health reasons? In relation to the study above, some of them might have done so because of an exaggerated concern about their health, something that could easily stem from a pre-existing psychological issue as well.

The truth of the matter is, there is no direct proof that not eating meat makes one more susceptible to developing psychological disorders. There is no proof because there is no direct causal relationship between the two. Some of my friends know that I had problems with anxiety a couple of years ago. Some might have even thought that this was because of my meat-free diet. Well, it wasn't. What most of my friends don't know is that I had the same problems in my mid-20s, back when I ate meat regularly.

To be fair, I'm not arguing that all vegetarians and vegans are perfectly healthy individuals. In fact, it is sometimes a challenge for some of us to obtain nutrients that are easily available in meat (things such as iron, B12, etc.), especially when we first make the switch. If someone is not careful, it is possible that a prolonged absence of certain nutrients might lead to physical and/or psychological problems. Thankfully, we live in times when a simple internet search will give you quick and easy ways to make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need. My B12 levels are through the roof, as are my iron levels (too high, in fact). I know a couple of people whose iron levels INCREASED when they went vegan. Whether you eat meat or not, a balanced diet is key, and a little bit of research goes a long way to making sure that your diet is balanced enough to ensure you're healthy.

Enjoying life

Recently, a friend wrote me with some bad news. Someone she knew had died, somewhat unexpectedly. After describing what had happened, she concluded with a "Life is short, so let's enjoy it." I completely agree that life is, indeed, short, and that we can never know what's going to happen. I also agree that enjoying life, and being able to appreciate what we have, is important. Having said that, it's also important to remember that, while enjoying life, we should keep our egotism in check, and that we should not enjoy it at the expense of others.

It would be a bit short-sighted if all we learned from life's sadder moments was "let's just have fun". Instead of taking a step towards hedonism, these types of events should remind us of the pressing need to engage in charity. For people like me, the meaning of life is very much connected to the act of helping others - other people and/or animals. A tragedy should remind us that other human beings and animals suffer a great deal as well, and that we should not put off actively helping whenever we can, while we still can.

This, of course, does not mean that we should abstain from any kind of mindless fun. Mindless fun can be quite enjoyable. From an ethical point of view, however, there is a difference between (relatively) harmless mindless fun and harmful mindless fun. If I wake up one morning, and decide that I'm just not spontaneous enough, it would be wrong for me to go and walk the streets and just start punching people in the face. Sure, this is pretty spontaneous, but there are countless other ways of being unpredictable without inflicting violence on innocent passers-by. If I suddenly decide that I need some excitement in my life, it would be wrong to go and become a bullfighter, since this, although exciting, promotes the torture and killing of innocent animals. Again, there are countless other ways to get our heart pumping and our adrenaline flowing that don't involve making innocent beings suffer. If I want to try a new food, it shouldn't be meat, because killing a sentient being for the selfish pleasure of eating his/her flesh should simply no longer be acceptable in our day and age. The meat, dairy, and egg industries are responsible for an enormous amount of death and suffering that occurs in the world, so you would do well to avoid these products.

Life is, indeed, short. We can use this as a pretext to focus on our own needs, and to pursue selfish gratification. Historically, this has been the approach of most people, and look where it's gotten us. Alternatively, we can embrace a less selfish approach to life. After all, we only have a limited amount of time to learn to live ethically, to learn to be good human beings, to learn to not use and abuse the other creatures that we share the planet with. We only have a limited amount of time to see beyond our immediate needs and to reach out to help others. We only have a limited time to see beyond our conditioning and to break the bad habits that are destroying us and the world we live in. If this is what we remember and act on every time we're reminded that we won't be here forever, we will have achieved progress and instilled our lives with true meaning.

Resolution suggestions for 2016

It's easy to be pessimistic looking forward to 2016. Climate change already beginning to wreak havoc on the planet, lots of anger, intolerance, and violence in the world, more animals being killed for meat and abused in various other ways by humans (the most "intelligent" life form on the planet) etc., etc... Is it even possible for a compassionate individual to see all this and still retain any kind of hope?

The thing to remember here is that a truly ethical person will not ignore an injustice, even when fighting against it seems (almost) hopeless. Sure, some injustices are harder to get rid of than others. One looks at the slightly lower levels of meat consumption in the US, and is encouraged, and then one sees the skyrocketing meat consumption in "developing" countries like China and can't help but have some of the wind knocked out of one's sails. There are two things that we have to remember here: 1) We cannot solve all of the world's problems, and 2) The fact that we can't solve all of the world's problems shouldn't prevent us from trying to solve some of them. And we should do this ACTIVELY. Posting "this is horrible" comments online is not really getting active. Instead, why not donate some of your time and/or money to organizations that truly help improve the world? Why not get political and start pressuring your representatives to start making more ethical choices? Why not get involved in creating more fair legislation? Why not stop eating meat? Or buying clothes that are made is sweatshops? Why not stop supporting corporations that screw the environment and make lots of money doing so? These are all examples of active helping. Why not make one of your resolutions for 2016 to become a more informed individual and to make more ethical choices?

Sometimes people get so overwhelmed by all the horrible things happening in the world that they end up doing nothing at all to improve things. They forget that some things can indeed be improved. Are you saddened by the fact that so many dogs and cats live (and die) in shelters? Why not make one of your 2016 resolutions to adopt a friend for life? Are you the kind of person that complains about violence in the world, but has no problem picking up that pork chop, steak, chicken thigh, or piece of fried fish? Well, there's a big problem there, because the meat (and other animal products) that you consume are directly responsible for a lot of the violence in the world, not to mention the environmental damage that the various meat, egg, and dairy industries cause. Hate violence? Want a peaceful world? Why not make going vegan (or at least vegetarian) one of your resolutions for 2016?

2015 was not a good year for people "coming together", and 2016 might be even worse if we're not careful. The refugee crisis was one of the issues that really polarized people. This was one of those "tests of our humanity", and, unfortunately, many of us failed that test by allowing our latent prejudices (and, in many cases, hatred) steer us away from a compassionate course. When we begin to fear other people, focusing on our differences instead of what makes us all human beings, there is a problem. When we allow the actions of a few extremists to blacken our view of a majority of people that want nothing to do with those extremists, there is a problem. When I visited Cuba many years ago, I remember a Cuban family inviting me into their home, and even though they had almost nothing, not even a real roof, they shared everything they had with me. Why not make one of your resolutions for 2016 to be more like them?

I wish you all a very good 2016. If you really care about this world of ours, I hope that you remember that, to paraphrase Gandhi, we can indeed be the change that we want to see. More importantly, I hope you have the courage and conviction to be that change. This year, let's all take a step away from selfishness, and towards a more empathetic approach to life.

Teaching kids to treat animals well

Kids are very impressionable, and we all know that it’s important to teach them right from wrong, to encourage positive behavior and to discourage the negative. When doing so, it's also important not to forget to teach them the correct way to treat the animals of the world, and to respect these animals' lives. Learning to properly deal with animals will go a long way to help a child blossom into a good human being, one who understands the importance of fairness and compassion.

If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you probably know that it’s possible to raise a healthy and happy child on either one of these diets. A quick online search will reveal many well-informed websites which will help you through any questions you might have about this. Don’t be afraid to go this route. I personally have several friends who are raising vegetarian kids, and all of them are perfectly happy. In some countries such as India it is completely normal to encounter individuals of all ages who have never tasted meat. If you’re not vegetarian/vegan, you probably won’t be raising your child this way. Still, be mindful of their natural empathy (which many kids have a lot of). Encourage it, and don’t stifle it. Many kids are shocked when they find out that the animals that they love so much are actually the same ones they eat. While it’s often easy to indoctrinate a young mind into believing that this is “right” and “the way of the world”, you should allow your child to not eat meat if he/she doesn’t want to. If you have a child like this, be thankful. – S/he is an empathetic individual who realizes the importance of all sentient life. S/he is someone who "gets it".

Another important thing to teach your kids, whether you eat meat or not, is that animals have feelings and can suffer and feel pain. You might think that your child would come to this conclusion naturally, but just like many kids have a lot of natural empathy, many others don’t really understand that animals can be hurt when mistreated. This is an important thing to teach your kid, one that can prevent him/her from harming animals while s/he is young, and to treat them better when s/he is older. Respecting animals and treating them correctly (both pets and other animals) should also be taught at schools, and in an ideal world this would be standard practice. If this issue concerns you, don’t be afraid to contact your child’s school and to ask them if they already have any kind of compassion-building lessons in place geared specifically at helping kids understand the importance of respecting animals’ lives. If they don’t, ask them to consider developing some.

When it comes to the unfair treatment of animals, whether it’s eating them or abusing them in one way or another, a lot of our bad habits stem from our childhood. Teach your kids to love and (more importantly) respect animals to make sure that they grow up with good habits instead.

Speciesism, the dos and don'ts

Speciesism as a concept has been gaining popularity of late, mostly among folks like myself who are into animal rights and/or veganism. The concept, as you can probably guess, refers to discriminating on the basis of an animal's species - ie. having one set of rules for humans, and another for other animals, or having one set of rules for cats or dogs, and another for cows. Many speciesists believe that it is OK for some animals to suffer simply because they happen to be cows, pigs, chickens, fish, etc. Many also believe that the above-mentioned animals' sense of pain, emotion, etc. is not as strong and/or important as ours, so it's ok kill them for food, or that, to put it bluntly, their lives simply matter less than say our pets' lives or our own. These days, whenever someone online makes excuses for animal suffering, there will most likely be someone who correctly calls that person out for being a speciesist.

In my mind, there are two issues worth mentioning regarding speciesism, - the first is how we as human beings see ourselves in regards to other animal species. At this point I'd have to confess, that using a strict definition of the concept, I too could be considered a speciesist. I do not believe that humans and the animals we share our planet with are exactly the same. For better or worse, it is much more special to be human. Although you'd never guess it from what's going on in the world right now, humans are more intelligent than animals, and only we have the capacity to change our planet for the better, or, if we continue down the path we're on, to destroy it completely. This is a lot of power, a lot of responsibility. Unlike other animals, we are the guardians of this planet, - and it is up to us to create a harmonious world in which we can all coexist.

The keyword here is "guardians", not abusers. This is a very important distinction, as it says no the arrogant abuse of animals that has been part of our daily lives for centuries. Those who feel that we have some kind of right to do with animals as we see fit should be reminded of the following: Yes, we are very different from other animals, but the things that we have in common are so important, that they are reason enough to respect these animals' lives, and to find ways to harmoniously coexist with them, instead of using and abusing them for our benefit. Cows, pigs, chickens, etc., although not human, have emotions, can get depressed, feel fear, and wants to live just like we do. It is therefore unethical (and, for most of the world's population, unnecessary) to kill these animals and to make them suffer. While someone might not embrace the concept of speciesism, they will most likely be able to understand this simple reasoning. This is how we build bridges to empathy.

The second issue worth contemplating regarding speciesism is why we value our pets more than we value other animals. This, in my opinion, is more important to discuss, and easier to fight. We, as a society, have chosen some animals to be on our "do not harm" list, - ones that we have gotten to know, and to love, and to share our homes with. There is nothing wrong with putting animals on the "do not harm" list, but we should indeed question why dogs or cats are on there, while other animals that can be equally caring, and as intelligent (or in some cases even more so), end up on the unfortunate "eat or ignore" list. While we can hypothesize until the cows come home, the truth of the matter is that this is fairly random. The thing to remember is that it really is as easy to bond and get attached to a loving pig, calf, rat, turkey, etc. as it is to a cat, for example. If you need proof of this, just do a simple YouTube search and you will see that there are plenty of people that are very happy sharing their lives with these animals. While you don't necessarily have to join their ranks and adopt a baby pig, this will hopefully make you realize the importance of not discriminating, of respecting all sentient life.

The last thing I want to mention is how some animals rights activists use racism and sexism as the logical precursors to speciesism. I have done this myself. When doing this, however, you can't just throw all these concepts out there and expect people to magically make the connection between them. You have to walk people through it, remembering that most people will initially not get the connection between the first two and the last concept. The fact that racism and sexism still exist proves that many people in the world can't even get around treating their own species well, let alone other species. Empathizing with the latter can be pretty hard for some, especially when someone still sees certain animals as food instead of sentient beings. This is why it becomes even more important to remind people of certain truths: 1) that animals do suffer 2) that a lot of this suffering is because of our diet, clothing, and entertainment, and 3) that switching to a plant-based diet can help end this suffering. Even if someone believes that humans are (in whatever way) superior to other animals, they can still embrace the above mentioned concepts and do a lot less harm.