.:Animal Rights/Animal Wrongs

A rough guide to veganism!>> So, as the world continues to fuck itself up what changes can we make to help out our dying planet? Shit, I sound like a hippy! Well, my contirbution to all this is being vegan. Being a vegan means to give up ALL meat, be that a horrible great steak or the gelatine that everybody knows about in sweets.

As well as meat we don't eat dairy products either, this means that we have given up milk, eggs, cheese and everything derived from the dairy industry like lecthin, again found in sweets but also in lots of other food like some crisps (chips to everyone else!). We also don't eat honey - what about those poor hardworking bees?! All for nothing, it is just stealing!

You may ask why does that change anything. I get asked this question heaps, you know, "You're not making a difference, you're just one person" To be honest, yeah you can take that view but isn't wanting to make a change in the music industry by being punk a waste of time? Are the corporations really going to stop producing mind numbing crap because a bunch people think it's wrong - No, but we'd love to think so, so by making the decision to be punk we are fighting against it and I do believe that there will always be some chewing of the toes (if you will) at the majors, we fighting back for the masses who can't see they are being delulded by a bunch of old men in suits . It's the same with being vegan, as I am rejecting the animal products that the whole world seem to force on me I'm making a stand for the creatures that cannot shout back (but I often wonder why I still get shit on by pigeons when I'm their friend!) I am joining a league of people who I have the upmost respect for and I am being part of a movement of caring human beings that are "The Vegans!"

But, I guess you don't really just wake up one day and go "I'm gonna be a vegan! This is true and I guess it would mess your diet up or something. People convert for loads of reasons I know that I became vegetarian all those years ago because I didn't like the fact that I was playing and having a fun time with a dog and then eating a cow just because it was bigger and didn't chase slippers, it just didn't seem fair. You start getting into it and sometimes I'd get disappointed that I couldn't eat my favourite sweets or whatever. You get deeper and deeper into vegetarianism until you realise there is soooo much wrong with a lot of the food that you expect to be vegetarian. The next step??? Veganism! I know that I felt really good about myself and I was very happy that I had made the decision myself (when I became vegetarian I had a LOT of help from a friend - cheers Elle!). Veganism seemed right for me (and still does!) and as I look deeper into the subject many different stones are turned. Facts like, less livestock grazing on land and more arable land would mean more cereal foods for developing countries. Less people eating eggs would lead to the end of thousands of hens (put in the equivalent of a shoe box to hatch eggs) dying each year because they wouldn't be inhumanely bred and the male chicks wouldn't be made into animal feed to feed the poor cows who who have to be sucked dry of their (artificially) produced milk twice a day and the bullocks (yes that is bullocks!) who are sent to the slaughter houses to be put on a plate somewhere and their hooves be crushed up so that Extra Strong Mints can be made to keep breath fresh - DISGUSTING ISN'T IT!!!???

Another question I get asked a lot is "What the blue hell do you eat!?" There is loads of vegan food on the market today. You only have to pop into your local health food shop and look around. It maybe more expensive but you usually find the food goes further and you are punks aren't you!??? You DO support INDEPENDENT companies don't you?? Well your consuming some independent company now my friend!! There are loads of things that you can eat which are on the shelves of your local Co-Op! You can use cruelty free products from places like Lush, who have shops all over the world. And many supermarkets (well in Britain anyway) have chosen not to test on animals and a lot also make sure that the ingredients aren't tested either! There are government stamps you know! The big chain stores have even started to help us out now! Sainsburys and Marks and Spencer in th UK now write on the back if there is any milk or egg in most of their products and the Co-Op have been doing this for years!

So, what excuse do you have?! Change your life today and help the animals that are less fortunate than you!! :)

Ben Example