By Dan Wilson
“No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.” – Yoda to Luke, The Empire Strikes Back
I have this friend. He’s a great guy, concerned about the environment, social justice issues, local and international politics, sustainable living, heritage preservation and so on. He has so much integrity, passion and commitment that he started an online newspaper, devoting most of his free time and energy to inform and educate the masses (and he doesn’t even get paid for it!). 
He’s also a huge animal lover. For as long as I can remember he’s written about issues concerning animals. He’s always condemned local and national acts of animal cruelty. He’s called for stronger laws to protect animals we call pets from abuse. He’s written against the insidious past-time known as sport hunting. And he’s been a relentless pain in the butt towards those who keep whales in captivity.
He supports local animal rights groups when they hold their protests and vigils, advertises and covers various lectures and symposiums to enlighten the public on animal issues, and even features animal adoptions on his website.
Yet despite all his concern and compassion for other living beings, he still supports the exploitation, suffering and slaughter of animals for food. He still EATS animals and animal products.
We’ve talked about it a lot, and I’ve even offered to take him out and treat him to a delicious vegan meal at a restaurant just down the street from his house. So far he hasn’t taken me up on it.
In a recent email, my friend wrote:
“please don’t ask me if I am vegan yet …. as much as I share your passion for all creatures great and small on this planet, that probably ain’t going to happen for me. …. not eating an egg is a bridge too far.”
It’s not the first time I’ve heard this. Many people I’ve spoken with over the years have expressed the same sentiments. But does this make my friend a hypocrite? Is it hypocritical to condemn those who exploit and kill animals for commercial gain or personal satisfaction, only to support other forms of violence towards animals?
What’s the difference between stealing whales from the wild (or breeding them in captivity) to live as slaves for human entertainment, and breeding cows, pigs and chickens to live as slaves destined for slaughter (yes, cows and chickens are slaughtered when they can’t produce any more milk or eggs) because people enjoy the taste of their flesh and secretions?
And what’s the difference between the family who buys a season’s pass to the marine park and the family who buys a ham for Easter?
I can picture my friend interviewing someone who kills animals for their fur. “Isn’t it cruel to kill an animal just to make someone else look good?” he asks. The fur trapper then replies:
“please don’t ask me if I am going to give up killing animals for the fur industry …. as much as I share your passion for all creatures great and small on this planet, that probably ain’t going to happen for me. …. not trapping animals is a bridge too far.”
Or how about the person who keeps whales in tiny concrete tanks?
“please don’t ask me if I am going to stop displaying whales …. as much as I share your passion for all creatures great and small on this planet, that probably ain’t going to happen for me. …. not displaying whales (and jeopardizing the success of my business) is a bridge too far.”
Cruelty is cruelty, and suffering is suffering. It is no less so just because it’s being done to a different kind of animal. That doesn’t mean I think my friend is a cold-blooded killer or cruel animal collector, but in regards to reducing animal suffering and ultimately the amount of unnecessary violence in the world, if you’re not part of the solution…
So what IS the solution for my friend? Put your money where your mouth is. Like Gandhi said, be the change you want to see in the world. If you’re against animal exploitation, slavery and cruelty, go vegan. Can’t give up eggs yet? Then give up everything except eggs. A little bit is better than nothing at all. But don’t write it all off because you’re too old or too set in your ways.
Or as Yoda would say, only in your mind is the bridge too far…
Dan Wilson is a Niagara resident and longtime advocate for the humane treatment of all creatures on the planet.
(We welcome your comments below and we very much welcome you to visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater Niagara region and beyond.)
Niagara At Large 
It’s always an honour to have Dan Wilson, a person I know is committed to speaking for the humane treatment of other creatures on this earth, contributing a piece to Niagara At Large. And on this piece, the person he is describing sounds awfully familiar. I jut can’t quite put my finger on who it is. Doug Draper, Niagara At Large.
LikeLike
Brilliant. Why do we love dogs and eat pigs? Protest marine parks and not slaughterhouses? It can’t simply be about taste. Most of us don’t know if a dog is tastier than a pig and even fewer would be willing to find out. We already accept that the pig is the smarter animal, so we can’t use intelligence as a guide either. It is the numbers? 98% of all the animals that will die this year at human hands will be animals deemed by our society as food.
I’ve been a vegan for 21 years and as far as I can tell it comes down to two things: our inability to accept that our actions result in the rape, mutilation and torture of billions of sentient beings, and a god-complex. We want to be different, better. Somehow we’ve got it confused that exploiting those weaker than ourselves gives us power and that butchering our way to top of the food chain has somehow won us security, when in reality we have created a culture of paranoia and indifference. But we can change. We just have to want a world that cares for all Earthlings and not just those called pets. Trust me, after 21 years I have learned another truth: save them and save yourself.
LikeLike
With the greatest of respect to Dan Wilson, Catherine Ens, and others, for whom I have much empathy: we all have to make these decisions slowly and carefully. Like our esteemed editor of NAL, one makes choices about Social Justice, Health, Animal and Human Rights, Abortion, many larger issues, slowly, and very carefully. Not all of us are at the no-doubt best stage of purity (that is meant without irony, pls) of vegans, but do admire those that have gone to that extreme. And it is an extreme. Many are making the small steps i our own way to that destination, but are not there yet…
I think of David Suzuki or Wade Davis, two important Canadian environmentalists, if you will, who, in order to take their message to the larger community of people, must also fly (yes, in airplanes) to their destination of accoyltes to give their environmental talk issues.
I do hope this remark is accepted with understanding, not a bad value in this complex world we inhabit.
I also praise Draper for printing it.
LikeLike
Dear Gail, with all due respect, and in the spirit of understanding, please explain what is so “extreme” about going vegan? Have you tried it?
I think it’s wrong to cause unnecessary suffering to animals, and to slaughter animals simply because they taste good, so I don’t eat them. How is this extreme? I also think it’s wrong to cheat on my girlfriend, so I don’t do it. Does that make me “extreme” in my relationship with my girlfriend?
We accept zero tolerance for many things in our society: child pornography, murder, rape, drugs, bank robberies, racism, even speeding, without considering ourselves “extreme” in regards to them. Why the double standard when it comes to the exploitation of other sentient animals?
I agree with you that Drs. Suzuki and Davis must burn greenhouse gas emissions to raise awareness of said emissions, but we’re talking apples and oranges here. Every day that you delay your slow and careful decision about going vegan, you contribute to the suffering and slaughter of innocent animals, no different than the cats and dogs we share our homes with.
Forgive my bluntness, but baby steps are for babies. As mature, enlightened and compassionate adults who know the difference between right and wrong, we need to do the right thing now, or at least start down that path.
Try going vegan one day a week, then two, then three, etc. These are the only acceptable baby steps, because they actually reduce the amount of suffering and violence in the world.
Need help? Niagara Action for Animals hosts a vegan potluck the first Friday of every month at the Unitarian Church in St. Catharines.
Need inspiration? Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUkHkyy4uqw&feature=youtu.be
I also praise and respect Doug for printing this. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve known a similar friend and I’d like to think, that in the same way he decided that whale watching might be a better option than going to Marineland …he might yet, cross that bridge…great article, Dan.
LikeLike
Watching these videos is probably a good thing. I’m sure I’m not the only one less inclined to eat meat after watching them. Added bonus: non-meat diets are better for the health, the pocket book, and the environment.
Maybe they should play that video as people line up for their daily dose of transfats at any number of fast food restaurant chains. Yuk.
LikeLike