Or, should I say, omnivore in transition? I've given a shot to being a vegetarian before, because my sister was picking it up for her health. A liberal guess is that I lasted a week. Who I am will become evident through my posts, and of course there are my other blogs, most of which are temporarily abandoned, but for now, I'm a female 22-year-old member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I'm transitioning into Veganism.
My thought the other day, coming home from church with my roommate was this: Which would be easier: converting a Mormon to Veganism, or a Vegan to Mormonism?
So, why my decision: It came to a finality when I watched Gary Yourofsky's speech to a group of university students, and saw the unjustifiable dichotomy of slaughterhouse animals and animals kept at the SASHA Animal Sanctuary.
I spent last Saturday in a daze, having viewed the video on Friday night. Since Saturday, I've thought to use all of the animal-based products I have, the harm having been done when I purchased the goods. I think I'll give them to my roommate, however. I can't stand the thought of having the product of torture pass my lips, or touch my skin. Even the smell of marshmallows, which contains gelatin (made from the collagen inside animal skin and bones), makes me feel physically ill.
Last night, while discussing the matter with a very dear friend of mine, I came across another video; the film, Earthlings, narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, is an objective and unemotional, detached view of the meat, clothing, entertainment, and science industries which use animals. I say, "objective", "detached", and "unemotional", because compared to Gary Yourofsky's speech, and the videos he shows, Earthlings is just that. "This is just the way things are", is a line that comes to mind.
I'm, well, nervous, to say the least, about how my decision will affect my relationships within the Church. The understanding of the scriptures is that we've been given a charge over animals, that they're for us to use. Use? Well, what we're doing to them is abuse. Church relationships... I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
