“Animals are God’s creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God’s sight.” -- Rev. Andrew Linzey Oxford University, Animal Theology

Believe it or not, animals have feelings too. We feel pain, sadness, happiness, grief, joy and disgust. We can be mischievous and irritable. We experience humiliation, pride and love. Most humans don’t see it, but we are emotionally a lot like you. Would you eat your friends?

“The decision that has led millions of people to stop eating other animals is not rooted in arid adherence to diet or dogma, but in the desire to eliminate the kinds of experiences that using animals for food confers upon beings with feelings,” said a wise human, Karen Davis, PhD, Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs, 1996.

This information is from the website, VegOhio.com, which has lots of reasons why humans should stop eating animals . One good reason is to stop the suffering. As quoted on the site, “U.S. society is extremely naive about the nature of agricultural production. [I]f the public knew more about the way in which agricultural and animal production infringes on animal welfare, the outcry would be louder,” said Bernard Rollin, PhD, Farm Animal Welfare, Iowa State University Press, 1995.

The following info is also from www.VegOhio.com:

Competition to produce inexpensive meat, eggs, and dairy products has led animal agribusiness to treat animals as objects and commodities. The worldwide trend is to replace family farms with “factory” farms: warehouses where animals are kept in crowded pens or restrictive stalls. We know this too well in Ohio, with Buckeye Egg Farm and other factory farms skirting laws by abusing animals, polluting the environment and creating hazardous conditions only for more and more profit.

The Food Marketing Institute’s (FMI) Animal Welfare Program guidelines do not require that a sow (mother pig) have enough room to walk or turn around, but rather that she actually has enough room to fit in the cage without being forced against the bars. The transportation of livestock bred for slaughter is also inhumane, causing injury and fear to the animals.

USDA APHIS’ Wildlife Services and livestock producers kill wildlife to protect farmed animals. Having eliminated native populations of wolves and grizzly bears, federal government hunters now kill about 100,000 coyotes, bobcats, feral hogs, bison, and mountain lions each year. They are shot, caught in steel-jaw leghold traps or neck nooses, or poisoned with cyanide.

Animals in slaughterhouses can smell, hear, and often see the slaughter of those before them. As the animals struggle, the human workers, who are pressured to keep the lines moving quickly, often react with impatience towards the animals. Common mammal stunning methods:

Captive bolt stunning — A “pistol” is set against the animal’s head and a metal rod is thrust into the brain. Shooting a struggling animal is difficult, and the rod often misses its mark. A large number of slaughter plants must shoot at least 2 out of every 100 cows more than once to achieve unconsciousness.

Electric stunning – Electric current is used to produce a grand mal seizure, then the throat is cut and the animal bleeds to death. In a USDA survey, Professor of Animal Sciences, Temple Grandin, PhD, states, “Insufficient amperage can cause an animal to be paralyzed without losing sensibility.”

Ritual slaughter – Animals are fully conscious when their carotid arteries are cut. This is supposed to cause unconsciousness within seconds, but because of blood flow through the vertebral arteries in the back of the neck, some animals can remain conscious as they bleed for up to a minute. Additionally, Temple Grandin, PhD notes “Unfortunately, there are some plants which use cruel methods of restraint such as hanging live animals upside down.” This can cause broken bones as the heavy animal hangs by a chain attached to one leg.

Environmental damagecaused by tearing down forests and ecosystems to breed cattle for food affects the health of the whole planet. Vegetarianism is a healthy way to live

According to the American Dietetic Association’s position paper, vegetarian diets are associated with a reduced risk for obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and kidney disease. Antibiotics and other drugs given to livestock enters a person’s body when they consume an animal and can either make you sick or your body immune to the effects of antibiotics you may need to save your life. If you don’t eat meat, you don’t really have to worry about getting mad cow disease!

Log on the VegOhio.com website to find vegetarian groceries and restaurants in your area and for savory vegetarian recipes. And don’t believe the lie about the Other White Meat. I’m not meat, I’m a columnist, and your friend!