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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Everything in Moderation? – 14 December 2006
By Mary T. Hoffman

I’ve noticed that some people who find out that we are vegan end their conversation with the catch-phrase “everything in moderation.” It happened again yesterday. The person we were talking to asked why we were vegan; I answered “compassion.” She also made it very clear that she didn’t want to know anything about the way animals used for food are treated. Then she went into a long discourse trying to justify her eating of animal products – the typical “I love animals and give to the humane society,” etc., etc. I told her that she sounded the way I did at one time, years ago. After her “everything in moderation” gibe, the subject was dropped.

Afterwards, I began to think how senseless it is to think that “moderation” can be applied to the production of commercial flesh, egg, and dairy products. How can “moderation” be applied to industries that are intrinsically evil, with such common practices as skinning alive, scalding alive, beating, slamming “runt” piglets on concrete floors, crowding, stealing “veal” calves from their mothers, trashing male chicks, masturbating male turkeys, artificial insemination (raping female animals) – the list is endless.

To think that the atrocities committed round the clock to billions of animals can be “moderated” is wishful thinking taken to an absurd degree. How can people kill or have others kill for them “in moderation”? And how can animal agriculture ever be called “humane” when, for example, animals are killed and cows are kept pregnant to keep producing milk and have their calves stolen from them to supply “humane veal”?

Frank and I thank God that we had the guts to stop fooling ourselves, face the truth, and move on to the only way of life that makes sense – vegan.

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