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YOU MAY HAVE seen posters like the above example dotted around train stations and bus shelters over the last few weeks.
Well, they’re all part of a campaign by an Irish animal sanctuary for vegans to get people thinking about how animals are harmed by people’s “lifestyle choices”.
“Most people believe it is wrong to unnecessarily harm others,” says Sandra Higgins of the Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary.
“Yet we live in ways that contradict that belief, hurting and killing innocent animals through our lifestyle choices, and harming other humans, the environment and our own health in the process.”
The message from the GoVegan.ie campaign is that people simply aren’t aware of the processes that are involved in animal farming and slaughter.
“Few are aware that when we choose to eat eggs, for example, we are paying for day old male chicks to be suffocated or ground alive,” says Higgins. “Most people would not eat eggs if they knew that.”
Higgins adds that humans are also harmed by the industry because most people would not necessarily choose to work in a slaughterhouse, for example, and only do so out of a lack of options.
The Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary takes in animals that would otherwise have been used by humans and also provides advice for people who want to become vegan.
The new campaign also seeks to give people interested in veganism a free kit to help them get started.
“It’s just a very simple introduction to animal rights and veganism to get people started,” says Higgins. “There are people who want to go vegan but don’t know what to do next. Like, if they turn vegan they don’t know what to do when they’re next buying a jumper.”
Asked whether she sees any difference between harm inflicted on humans and harm inflicted on animals, Higgins says she doesn’t but understands why other people might:
“People see it differently because we live in a speciesist culture which means that we discriminate against animals because they are in a different species to us.”
The GoVegan.ie campaign makes reference to the dairy industry and explains that cows can only produce milk after being pregnant, most of the time after being “raped” to produce calves:
Like humans, cows produce milk only following pregnancy and birth, and only for the purpose of feeding their babies. Unlike humans, dairy cows are forcibly impregnated by a process that, were it done to humans, would be termed rape. Following each birth, a mother cow is separated from her infant so that her breast milk can be consumed by adults of another species.
Asked whether she felt the use of the term “rape” in this context is insensitive, Higgins said she would “withdraw it immediately” if it caused offence but added that it’s a very accurate description of what happens to the cows used in dairy farming.
“They are being raped, it’s called the rape rack in the industry,” she says.
The GoVegan.ie campaign was launched at the beginning of this month to mark World Vegan Day.
Higgins says that funding for the billboards and advertising was provided by “an anonymous donor”.
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How do you know if someone is vegan? DON’T WORRY THEY’LL F@CKING TELL YOU!!
For anyone that knows me. My landlord has just phoned and I am not getting evicted. I am also getting a new 2 year lease.. Time to unpack.
Never thought I would get that news.
Thanks to the Journal and Journal contributors for all your support..
No where else to put this.
There is a Santa Claus
You can also tell by the frail figure, gaunt faces, and generally poor health
That’s great news Fred, you can relax now and enjoy the foreseeable future :)
What was it Homer said. Lisa If God really wanted us all to be vegitarian then he wouldn’t made all the animals out of meat.
What a load of ignorant nonsense people talk – I am neither pale nor gaunt – I wish I was!
Fred, I don’t know your back-story but I’m happy for you. Must be a big load off. Enjoy!
I’m 40 and I don’t eat any dairy or meat.. Just some fish and guananteed I’m healthier than most of the morans that slag off people for not eating meat..
You Don’t make friends with salad..You Don’t make friends with salad..You Don’t make friends with salad..You Don’t make friends with salad..You Don’t make friends with salad.. and so on and so forth.
@cosmo you look it.
Gabby… it’s “You don’t WIN friends with salad”
Scarlih for yih
@joe indeed i am scarlet – interesting fact – humans are the only ones that blush. (and the only ones that need to) : not my quote. i nicked it. and i’d do it again…. TO THE BEEMOBILE
There would be no cows or chickens if everybody was a vegan
Pale and gaunt? Could be a vampire. Best not to take chances.
Hey guys,
I chatted to Fred a couple of months ago about his situation, great news that he’s not moving. He wanted to thank TheJournal.ie contributors for their kind words. Here’s the context if you’re interested: http://www.thejournal.ie/housing-homelessness-dublin-2343577-Sep2015/
Some good news.
I’m a level 5 Vegan. I won’t eat anything that casts a shadow
If a vegan does crossfit which one do they tell you about first?
Someone starts having a heart attack
Person: is anyone here a doctor
Vegan: Im a vegan
I ran 2 marathons last month as a vegan. Take a look at Brendan Brazier, Patrick Baboumian or Rich Roll and tell me they are frail and unhealthy. I’m willing to bet there are more unhealthy people with a standard meat eating diet than a vegan one.
Not so sure about that you are very yellow looking…don’t think that’s normal.
Cosmo, you are eating fish meat . You’re no vegan nut.
Deadly news Fredo. Christmas come early.
Yes, judge me on one filtered picture. Very mature :)
Woops, that wasn’t directed at me. Nothing to see here!
Delighted for you Fred, the end to a lot of undue stress and hassle I imagine!
You ran as a Vegan ? how smug
youve obviously never tried my chicken slad, mate
Thanks everyone: Be back later , seems everybody knows who I really am now.
Thanks again to Ronan at the Journal……
Rory I never said I was a vegan… Read my comment before you start slagging me off…
Carrot juice constitutes murder
I sure hope you ran in paper/cardboard runners or else animals had to die to provide your footwear. Do you shave? Do you have a shower? Do you wear clothes made from natural fibre or synthetic? One way or another, we’re all doing something that either causes animals to be slaughtered to feed, clothe, shoe us etc or we’re doing something that has an impact on their environment.
Nice to hear a good news story Fred. Hopefully the new year will make up for the stress of this year
James that makes no sense. If you want to minimize your impact on the enviornment then stop supporting the breeding and slaughter of billions of animals each year.
Eating produce derived directly from animals causes the killing of animals directly. If you can do without, why wouldn’t you?
Cosmo genuine question why do you eat fish but not meat or dairy?
and non vegans can be identified by their muffin tops, high cancer rates, high colesterol, numerous health issues and incredible lack of morality.
Great news Fred don’t know you but delighted for you! Feet up and relax now!
Darren, that is not true. My Indian colleagues were discussing this yesterday, they can tell the guys who don’t eat meat by their weight. Vegans have high levels of obesity and health problems, whereas the ones who convert to eating meat products are the skinny healthy guys. In fact, all of the conditions you mention are a result of overeating cooked vegetable oil on non-meat products or general overeating, nothing to do with meat.
@Cosmo, good for you. I eat about 30 eggs a week, steak, pork, beef, and may other types of meat, and I bet I am also healthier than most people. see your point is pointless :P
@alien8, so vegans are obese? Cos the others say they’re all gaunt and skinny. Which generalisation is more incorrect?
How do you know if someone thinks they are a supposed nutritionist /dietician or evolutionary biologist —
Put up an article on benefits of vegan diet article and they swarm around comment section like flies to a meat eaters shite!
Vegans love eating seeds, but did they ever stop to think that they are eating the young of plants?
#eating seeds is murder
#flower power
So you are concerned now about the welfare if plants – perhaps you would like to expand on that?
Won’t someone please think of the chickens.
Ethical reasons are not the only reasons people give up eating animal products. . Have you ever considered your longterm health while your eating red meat and consuming another animals milk that’s ment to bulk up baby calf’s… Is it any wonder that half the men in this Country have Man Boobs…
Fun fact: Banana plants move up to 40cm in a lifetime. Maybe they are sentient beings too and are trying to run away.
So meat & milk makes you fat ??? :-) :-)
This guy. :-)
How about grains, breads, carbohydrates which are a very recent introduction to the human.
Band of Brothers soldiers lived on high fat meats in cans for 6 months at a time. Carbs were only introduced as a, now proven wrong, source of energy.
Doubt caveman on high fat diets no carbs were just lying around with no energy
Milk is full of a cows hormones who are constantly pregnant so they can produce milk.. Those same hormones can cause certain type of cancers like Breast and Testicular because there hormonal cancers.. And those same hormones also cause humans to get fat…
Lack of exercise contributes to making people fat…….it’s not all about what you eat.
Actually what you eat contributes more to you getting fat than the lack of exercise..
If you’re worried about cancer you would do well to look into all the pesticides snd weed killers used in producing the crops in your vegan diet
Fun fact: bananas and humans share 50% of their genes….
DH ever hear about organic vegetables…
Fun fact: A cluster of bananas is formally called a hand, also interesting is that a single banana is called a finger.
Plants have hormones too…
Fun fact: I picked bananas for a while. The plants don’t move, but the new plant sprouts from a root sucker. That’s how they “move” (they are not trees, just a tight bunch of leaf stems which are cut down after the bunch is picked)
@Cosmo Vegans claim feeding the planet a western meat diet is unsustainable. So is feeding the planet an organic plant diet! Also you can use chemicals on organics anyway (just some of the older ones that need to be used in higher quantities!) Also there is no proven link between cancer and milk. Look up the cancer societies website. So your just wildly speculating.
@Cosmo, again you can eat a lot of meat and be very very healthy, as I said above I eat tons of it. Also def have no man boobs (I go to gym a lot). Best of luck with your food choices, I will continue to eat meat. Sure animals could be treated better, lobby the governments to do that, stucking posters up wont really do much.
I’ve never heard of inorganic vegetables.
I really want a fry now
Omelette for supper. Mmmmmmm!!! Ground up chicken foetus with dead pig, solidified baby cow food and fungus…… Can’t wait.
Not a vegan btw. I’m actually having omelette for supper.
Photographs or photoshop???
Something fishy about those photos of the adverts
The grinding up in the ad refers to chicks, not actual eggs. Male chicks are either gassed or thrown alive into mincers
@hans why so the make chicks get ground up?
Because they are of no use to the egg-laying industry. There’s some videos on Youtube if you want to see it for yourself but they can be hard to watch…
I doubt that Hans… they wouldn’t put the feathers, cuts or heads into the Mincer! ;-)
Guts not cuts
They’re not looking to make mince for human consumption. They’re looking to dispose of the unwanted chicks as cheaply as possible. The remains are most likely sold on cheaply for pet food or something. Like Ruaidhrí says there are videos on youtube. Look them up
I’m all for better treatment of animals, and perhaps this campaign might prompt people to be more aware of animal rights, but overall it will not make me go vegan
they could have got the message out without using the term “Rape”. The article and campaign had me interested up until I read that bit and then it was roll eyes time. Not that I object to people using the term however they like, no-one owns it. It’s just OTT.
The reason I’m interested is because I’ve read very convincing papers over the years from scientists adamant that the only way we’ll be able to sustain populations going forward is by many of us turning vegan or vegetarian. 40% of the Indian population are vegetarian now and much of Europe hovers around the 10% and under mark. The US is at close to 15%.
Same. I try to buy ethically sourced produce but it’s not always possible and often quite expensive. People are always going to eat meat but the treatment of farmed animals needs to change.
Animal rights is one thing in a farmers son and I deplore unknown warranted cruelty in the handling and slaughter of animals but year fvcking morons think they can liberate them/ watch them run in the meadows etc, love to see the state the planet would be in with loads of starving animals who were liberated, ( almost all domestic animals with the exception of cats will die without human patronage)
How many vegans does it take to change a lightbulb?
Two, one to change it and one to check for animal ingredients.
No one, not even the hardcore animal activists, seriously wants to simply open all the gates and let them all run amok. We have all these animals because they are being bred to feed the meat industry. If demand drops then there are less animals bred, a situation that is happening at the moment, slowly but surely.
Stephen…..it was hardcore animal activists in 2010 that released 5000 Mink into the wild in Donegal….I seen a Mink in April this year in my garden, I live in Cork. They have spread far and wide causing untold damage.
What papers? Would be interested in reading it.
They were idiots alright, like the guys who liberated lobsters from a chinese in Dublin, only to throw them in Dublin bay to almost immediately die.
Al CA, before mink were ever ‘liberated’ they were escaping in small numbers from the fur farms that brought them in to the country. Ridiculous that the govt at the time allowed farming of an invasive non native species to occur. If anyone should take the blame its the agri minister who gave the licenses
Ross, you are an uneducated APE.
Learn how to spell “licence” before you write it.
And your response Aidan to the issue being discussed is?
Should the American mink have been brought here for this purpose or should this disgusting industry continue to be licensed in this country? The mink should not have been released but nor should they have been bred OR brought here OR continue to be exploited for the same unnatural purpose.
This shite makes me want to obnoxiously eat a very large burger in front of any vegan I find. Be vegan, that’s cool, whatever. Stop feckin pushing it on everyone. Jesus. They are literally the worst.
I think Isis and cancer are both worse than vegans, but that’s just me.
It’s like that lovely meme about religion. Religion is like a penis, it’s a perfectly fine thing to have and to be proud of, but when you take it out and shove it in my face, we have a problem. Same goes for veganism.
Very true. Keep it to yourself, unless of course, someone asks! haha!
Do McDonald’s ads make you want to go vegan? They’re far more aggressive about pushing a (demonstrably unhealthy) dietary choice on people than vegans are.
Derek not really, mcdonalds ads just remind me how nauseating their food is and make me go find a burger somewhere else
Brilliant analogy Socrates – had me howlin . . . just thinking of all that money spent on build boards, how many vegan Christmas dinners it could have provided for some homeless people, twisted priorities me thinks.
billboards* for all typophobes :)
“This shite makes me want to obnoxiously eat a very large burger in front of any vegan I find” Obnoxious indeed. You might compare such a trivial exercise to whipping a slave in the face of an abolitionist during the 1800s. Perceptions change quickly. In a few dozen years it is very likely that meat eating will be in significant decline and the comparison may no longer seem such a stretch.
*Eats burger obnoxiously in front of Grektek*
Lola…I don’t know why the adverts upset you or why you would want to eat a meat burger in front of a vegan…How silly does this sound to you…Those Denny adverts, make me want to obnoxiously eat a falafel wrap in front of Lola. Vegans are the worst? Really …I always thought I was liked by my friends and that..even captained the hurling team for a season..and the football, obviously taking the piss here, but if an ad campaign upsets you so much that you anger eat…I’d maybe start a protest to have them taken down…it just isn’t fair on your good self
enjoy your falafl, nobody here will get offended by you eating it. If me eating meat offends you I don’tcare.
Jaysus…You didn’t get the point bud, I couldn’t give a crap what you eat.
The word “Vegan” is actually an old Hindu word which loosely translated t I English meant “crap at hunting”.
***tumbleweed***
What’s wrong with them putting up billboards promoting veganism? There are billboards all over the place telling us to cook a fry up, drink milk, eat eggs, drink our fish gut filled pint of guinness…….mmmmmmm fish guts
“Dad,” said my son, “I don’t know how to break this to you: I love you and I don’t want to hurt you, but I have to be myself and I can’t live a lie any more. I’m gay.”
“Oh my God, thank fook for that, son!” I replied. “I thought you were going to say you were a vegan.”
If all were vegan most of these animals would not even be born
Ha. Hardly a strong argument. They are born simply to kill and take produce from. Not like they are being born to live a fulfilling life.
Humans are closed to the top of the food chain.. Chickens, cows, and pigs aren’t. That’s life.
Closer*
Maybe so Supernova. But we are producing Dairy at a level that is unsustainable for the world. We continue to mow down forests to create space for agricultural land to farm animals. We use ridiculous amounts of water and feed to bring them to maturity. The amount of crops we use to feed animals could feed the world ten times over, but we use it to breed, and kill animals so we can have a piece of meat multiple times in a day.
Your definitely right Stephen, the world does consume to much meat. Fast food restaurants play a massive part in the over use though. Huuuge part.
So what’s wrong if someone is vegan in an effort to combat this?
@supernova.. closer to the top? whats above humans? u are scaring me now
My problem with Vegans Stephen is that they tend to pontificate about how crap the rest of us are, in my personal experience. Other than that more power to them. I don’t think I’d like to be a vegan myself though.
Brendan,
Because the animal industry slaughters 50,000,000,000+ animals every year?
Because the animal industry causes the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions (one-third of Irish GHG)?
Because the animal industry generates more waste than the human population and the principal cause of sea dead zones?
You don’t think you’d like to stop contributing to these planetary effects?
This is not pontification, this is science.
They “pontificate” because they recognise the torture and murder of 60 billion animals a year. Animals that feel fear and pain and connection to their offspring. It’s horrifying and without exaggeration, a holocaust. When you recognise that then yea there is an inclination to want to shout it from the roof tops but it is not to be self righteous or “better than anyone else”, it is to help animals and stop all of this unnecessary suffering. To be honest it’s a bit of a self sacrifice to campaign for a vegan lifestyle because the abuse, stereotyping and ignorance you face into is absurd sometimes.
I’m going to start a campaign against eating non meats as the pesticides used to produce fruit, vegetables and cereals are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.
Matty, do you actually engage in the issue or just copy and paste the same comment (including typos) each time?
Steak for dinner it is so.
Fûçk off vegans I’m off for a bacon sandwich and a pint of milk yum yum
” Unlike humans, dairy cows are forcibly impregnated by a process that, were it done to humans, would be termed rape.”
Maybe somebody should show these vegans how these cows are artificially inseminated as they seem to think that the AI man comes out, takes off his pants,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
How about you explain the steps involved then Brian?
Well Rusidhri, it starts like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2MuWAibbj0 ( I wonder what he tells people what he does for a living!) and ends like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDtYNfDGb-o
OK, so the artificial insemination process begins by inserting one hand in the anus to grab a hold of the cow’s sexual organs internally, then inserting a needle in the vagina, followed by forced impregnation??? Yep, sounds pretty legit to me!
So, other than the use of the term ‘rape’, do you have any other issue with the campaign? Would it be more appealing to you if ‘sexual assault’ was used instead? What are your views on the substantive points raised?
There’s an add for a 10inch stonebaked meatball marinara pizza in the middle of this story, well played.
I hate product placing
Always totally amazed at how aggressive people get when they are faced with some facts about their life styles and how defensive. Eating animals is not necessary it is not good for the environment, not good for human health and certainly not good for animals. Go educate.
Also… There is no such thing as humane slaughter and if you think there is you are fooling yourself. Maybe these posters might just make some people think of the endless suffering and wanton cruelty that goes on day in and day out just because you like the taste!
Vegan’s have their right to protest. We are top of the food chain for a reason. I like’s my meat, chicken, eggs, milk and ain’t gonna feel bad by vegans that is for sure.
There’s no humane way to slaughter an animal? Really? I suppose when your family dog needs to be put down the vet will just beat it with a shovel till it stops moving? Seeing as there’s no humane way to kill him.
Vegans are surprisingly aggressive.
We are? Maybe our tribal ancestors hunted their way to the top but do you think you could survive in the wild? Try telling a wild boar that you are the top of the food chain and see what happens.
These billboards aren’t exactly a fantastic way of marketing veganism but I am actually surprised at how vicious and crude most of the reactions here are.
The truth is that it is perfectly possible to be healthy and happy on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Eating less meat is good for your health, the environment and of course for the animals. If anyone is curious they can check out some great movies on the issue, all on Netflix etc. Forks Over Knives (health), Cowspiracy (environment) and Earthlings (animals)
Why are they spreading lies though?
Probably taking a leaf out of the book of all major meat producers and their agressive advertising and lies (McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC)
Where are the lies? Male chicks are grounded up alive. Calves are taken away from their mothers. The use of the word “rape” isn’t a smart one in my eyes but female cows are hardly hanging around voluntarily.
Early Hominoids put the extra energy they got from eating their meat in to developing larger brains. This development allowed us to become smart enough to create a civilisation which can deliver out of season fruit and vegetables to our shops year round. Creating conditions which allow smug vegans to exist and preach to the rest of us why we shouldn’t eat meat..
Stephen D. While it is true that talk of rape may not be the best claims-making (social movements are seen as claims-makers in society), the word became to be used in the animal advocacy in 1982 when The Animals Film came out. The farmers talked about “rape racks” in relation to breeding pigs and that was reported in the film.
The term is now often used in relation to artificial insemination (there is a huge AI plant in Enfield, Co. Meath).
My partners sister works in Ai and was in The Irish AI in Enfield, lI just asked her about what your saying she never heard of that term…
Hi Mark. I believe that industry has taken steps to encourage people not to use this term in recent years, for obvious reasons – it is a bit of a PR own goal. Similarly, industry tends not to like the term “factory farming” although they originated the term – there are lots of old B&W industry films where the term is used.
So, they believe cows are ‘raped’………that sums up these nutters.
Has anybody actually had a look at what this girl is actually talking about? I seen a video about eggs some time back and that was enough for me to stop eating them. The problem being here is that most people would rather remain oblivious to how they food gets on their plates and they attack anyone who tries to highlight these issues. If a person can stomach what they’re eating knowing how it got there then that’s with their own conscience. I fail to see how cruelty to some animals is ok though and not to others. P.S I’m not a vegan.
Evan, most people actually do know how food is produced, especially in Ireland. I take it the video you seen was produced by the anti-meat crowd, with a soft piano and humanising views of the animals. The thing that gets up peoples noises it the vegan preachers who ignorantly assume that people don’t know (like they didn’t know), and will share the same epiphany. When they don’t, they claim that we are ignorant. We’re not, we just eat meat like humans and their ancestors have done for millions of years.
I’m going to start a campaign against eating non meats as the pesticides used to produce fruit, vegetables and cereals are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.
Matty, do meat eaters not eat any vegetables, fruits or grains?
I can’t agree with you on that point,I don’t think many people truly do know how their food gets on their plates. A sticker on the packaging in the supermarket or a clever marketing campaign with a picture of a friendly farmer standing in his field is not the same as walking around a slaughterhouse or seeing a newborn chick mechanically pulverized. I couldn’t stomach it, nor could a lot of people I know, yet they eat meat unquestioningly and are happier not knowing. Does it matter who makes an expose video once it’s based on facts? The common good rely on such recordings. The meat industry or any other with something to hide is hardly going to be forthcoming with one now is it. Your last point doesn’t hold water, just because things have happened historically does not mean that that’s the way things should always be done and really doesn’t have much in common to what’s occurring in the present day. The meat industry is one of the biggest environmental threats, but there’s so much money involved and lobbying on its behalf that there is unlikely to be much change unfortunately.
I for one welcome our new vegan overloards
If it is not immoral for a bear to hunt and kill, why is it immoral for man to do so? Granted we mostly don’t hunt and kill in the literal sense but isn’t it the same ending for the animal that becomes meat. We have evolved the biology to consume and be nourished by meat so we can’t be accused of something that is abhorrent to nature when we eat it. There should of course be animal welfare standards and I do put put some effort towards choosing higher-welfare produced meat and dairy. There are also good scientific reasons for why we should eat less meat as the production of meat can be harmful to the environment. But the vegan stance that animals have the same right to life as humans isn’t logical.
Wise words oh great Spaghetti God~
Our serengeti plains are in aisles of the supermarket, where we successfully all manner of carved up animal carcasses
Some ridiculous comments there Cathal… do you judge yourself by comparing your actions with those of bears?
If we can live without slaughtering others, why wouldn’t we? Is that illogical? Where has anyone said that animals have the same rights as humans?
So you think its logical that humans have a right to life over animals, presumably because we are more cognitively developed, technologically advanced and capable of much deeper senses of emotions, negatively and positively. And yet you base your moral justification for the slaughter of a sentient life based on that of a carnivorous wild animal. Very logical. We are not hunter-gatherers anymore, we are not wild animals, we live in a modern society with access to any food we desire, without the need to take life to sustain ours. Time to evolve. Research how its completely healthy, ethical and far more sustainable to live strong on a vegan diet.
Actually bears, like humans, are omnivorous. And my point was it is natural for humans to eat meat, regardless of what food modern society has made available to us. We are part of the animal kingdom. Would it be more ethical if we did literally hunt and kill wild animals for meat?
Would it be more ethical? No it wouldn’t, unless we were in a position where to survive we must do so. But none of us are in that position. We are exploiting other sentient life for no other reason than ‘ I like the taste’. Liking something is not a sufficient moral reasoning for doing something.
As for ‘natural’, none of the animal products that are used today come about ‘naturally’, so if you’re relying on natural law then you wouldn’t buy at the supermarket because the things there did not come about naturally.
The Iona Institute of the animal world.
Lol! So so brainwashed by an industry – you actually think that it is a dietary requirement to drink another mammals milk. Hello! It’s meant for baby cows not humans! For the lulu who thinks that mama cow says goodbye to baby calf in a natural way – go educate yourself. Baby is thrown on the rubbish heap at birth. Also – no you do not need meat to survive in fact you are contributing to environmental damage on an enormous scale – go find out the facts. OR just keep your head in the sand
Grew up on a farm… The babies are not thrown out.. Maybe educate yourself!
…on your farm. Production factories are a different story.
Esther if choose to be a Vegan, that’s cool, best of luck to you. I however choose not to. It’s nothing to do with burying my head in the sand, I know animals suffer as a result of mass producing meat to eat. Thruth is, I do not care! And no I do not like seeing animals such as cats or dogs suffering. I love cats and dogs. Am I showing hypocrisy and double standards? Absolutely 100%. Do I care? Not a bit. Do well over 90% of the population feel the same as me? Yes as evidenced by the fact most people eat meat yet love animals such as dogs and cats. My point is nobody cares about your self righteous thoughts. It is vegans like you who preach from atop their high horse that drive people mad. And the irony is you are doing promoting your lifestyle no favours by recycling the whole “anyone who eats meat is a monster” argument. To prove this I am going to eat a steak tonight, even though I had not planned to and I will think of you and smile with every juicy bite.
There is good market in Ireland for buying calves at cheaper prices from large farms and raising them for meat or milk production…
Why do you start your argument by pretending to laugh out loud?
@brian Brian a well thought out and honest answer. One of the more sensible comments on this thread. Personally I don’t eat meat and haven’t for many years. My pets are treated like royalty and I do what I can to help any animal I can. In saying that if I see a mouse or rat in my house or garden am i going to say “ah leave him he is just living” I am in my bum! My hubby and son are two huge meat lovers and that’s ok that’s their decision. Both live animals also and the fact they are meat eaters doesn’t take from that. I can’t stand people shoving their ideals down other people’s throats be it the vegans or the meat eaters. There no need for it.
There is a name in psychiatric journals for your type of personality disorder… you should really get help.
I have several free range chickens, which provide me (and others) with lovely fresh eggs, every morning.
Yummy
And a roast once a week.
“Dairy takes babies from their mothers”, nature takes babies from their mothers. Cow’s don’t strive to have a nice field near their sister and her kids, they have the necessary maternal period and that’s it. I hate these stupid arguements that try to get you to empathize with the animals as if they are just as human and aware and full of hopes and dreams as we are with the exception of being able to speak. Not only is it completely natural for us to eat meat it’s a dietary requirement. If we were part of a cows diet they’d eat us just as fast.
‘If your mother had balls she’d be…’ you know the rest. If we were part of an alien’s diet and they were here now… so what? They’re not and they don’t.
So meat IS a dietary requirement, is it? Where did you read that? How long would someone survive without meat then?
The rest of your drivel I can’t understand… is intensive animal farming a natural process now? Nature removes calves from their mothers and takes the milk too?
Yeah “so what” is exactly the point I was making, I’m not seeing how it works as a counter. Yes it IS, where did I read it? Do you remember the food pyramid from school at all? Ever talked to a dietition? It’s common knowledge to be honest. It’s a requirement for a balanced diet, you know well I wasn’t for a second implying you would die without it. If you actually need an answer for that it, you’d survive just as long as you would without carbohydrates or any other food group. When did I say it is a natural process? If we left cattle to roam and be free they wouldn’t stick together in families, “nature removes the young of bison from their mothers” is that a bit easier for ya? The point I was making is that the above billboard attempts to liken a calf being taken from its mother to a baby being taken from its sentient human mother. The common theme I’ve noticed among people that view the world this way is an inability to accept hard truths. Life is cruel, animals kill animals, people kill people. If it wasn’t for eating meat we wouldn’t be where we are today, it’s a vital renewable resource. It’s fine for your kind to rise above the ‘heartless murder’ and preach how wrong it is to eat meat from your white tower, what about José in El Salvador and his families chicken farm, what do they do? Switch to farming quinoa?
Yes I do remember the food triangles… is the basis of your argument some random memory from school? If it is a dietary requirement as you say, then how do those that do not consume animals survive?
You equated the removal of the calf from its mother in order to take the milk produced for the calf to (I presume) the natural separation of roaming wildlife. I was asking if you considered both of these processes to be natural? If we’re not doing what occurs naturally then why compare them? a calf taken from its mother is also sentient, so you’ve gotten the right – does that mean you agree or disagree with the poster? Life may be cruel but that doesn’t mean you should engage in (or fund) said cruelty.
Eating meat is not a lifestyle choice, it’s an essential component of a healthy diet. Veganism is a lifestyle choice that harms everyone who has to listen to the pontificating.
There are many vegetarians and vegans out there who live a healthy and happy life without meat. No human needs meat to survive and prosper provided they get the right balance of nutrients, which is very possible on a plant based diet.
Ye, not a vegan myself but I know plenty of vegans who are living healthy through their diet. Some have even had blood tests to check their progress and everything is normal, and in some cases better than normal!
@richard eating meat is not essential. Humans don’t NEED to eat meat if they did All vegetarians and vegans would be dead.
So buying bottles of vitamin B12 (and plenty of other critical compounds) supplement pills is a better way to go?
Better than what Richard? Breeding and killing billions of sentient beings every year and then giving them the B12 that meat is supposedly so ‘rich’ in? If that’s the case then I would have to say yes!
You realise that B12 comes from bacteria, don’t you? Neither fungi, plants, nor animals (including humans) are capable of producing vitamin B12 so we’re all getting it from somewhere else!
Excellent article, certainly food for thought.
I hope the paste they use to put up those billboard ads doesn’t contain glue.
Because…. ???? I think it uses an adhesive all right!
Neal, this isn’t 1920. Most glues are synthetic these days
Cow rape!! Well that’s put a damper on my cuppa and beef sambo.
Veganism is the future, growing in number ever day
Vegans are annoying yes, though I highly recommend watching the documentary “Cowspiricy” as it gives a mans journey to why he eventually becomes one. (Animal Agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than all transport combined, something to think about.) P.S Im not a vegan x
Funny how meat eaters only have stupid jokes and poorly researched (if at all) facts to spout.
When you’re done with your jokes and rhetoric, maybe it’s time to act like a grown up and face up to the unfathomable and unnecessary 60 billion lives a year slaughter you finance. Do some genuine research and stop believing everything the lucrative meat and dairy industry tell you (smoking was once regarded a good for your throat!). You are in for a shock as to how bad meat and dairy are for you and how plant based diets resolve so many health issues.
Stop knee jerking and just take a look… what are you afraid of?
So ms Higgins – do you really think that by you going vegan that it is going to change anything for animals?
We are carnivores and you won’t change that with billboards
Omnivores. Not carnivores.
Carnivores can catch and kill their prey and eat them on the spot. They have much stronger intestinal lining to deal with the acidity involved with eating raw flesh. Humans need their meat cooked to a very specific degree of suitability for it to be safely edible. I hear a lot arguments against going veggie but the “carnivore” one just doesn’t hold up.
So if all the farmers retired and opened their gates and let all the animals and birds roam freely around the country who is gong to look after them….oh yeah the vegans are! Lol
Do you mean if all the farmers stopped breeding these genetically modified animals and they disappeared of the face of the planet? Is anyone looking after them now?
I don’t know about you, but I love animals. They’re delicious.
Eating meat is how our species got to be here today
No poxy vegetarians or vegans a this and years ago.
Saturated healthy fats from meats avocados is vital for brain development and lack of is linked with the huge rise in Dementia
Turkey chicken Tuna all provide wonderful levels of proteins for your muscles.
Eating meat is an instinct not eating it is a daily decision you have to then ram down everyone’s throat and feel arrogant about even though you’re a complete moron.
Let’s break that down.
-We got to be the dominant species through our superior intelligence. We hunted and gathered as a unit and yes thousands of years ago we did need to kill animals to survive and to eat. That’s not the case anymore.
-Some of the oldest civilizations around survived on plant based foods. The gladiators of ancient Rome had a vegan diet of rice and beans, as did those who built the Egyptian pyramids.
-No denying you need proper nutrition. ie the right balance of vitamins, iron, protein etc. All those nutrients can be obtained without causing suffering and death is the vegan argument.
-Leafy greans, beans, lentils, legumes, tofu, grains and even some fruits all provide healthy levels of protein. And unless you’re a hardcore athlete or body builder most people don’t need as much as people seem to think we do.
-Eating meat is an instinct? Does your mouth start to water when you see a cow in a field? Do you get overcome with the urge to hunt it down and kill it then and there? It’s a choice, one heavily influenced by subsidies, marketing and tradition.
I have nothing against you personally Aidan, it’s just that these are a lot of the common arguments against veganism and vegans and I feel they deserve a response. This “arrogant, complete moron” won’t pass any judgement on you and I think it’s fair to expect the same from others.
@stephen d your wasting your time trying to discuss things rationally with them. As per every other article on the journal if your views differ to theirs the o my way they can respond is by being aggressive and insulting. I blame all the chemicals they are consuming in the meat myself :)
The largest consumers of herbicides and pesticides in Ireland are those growing vegetables and grains
There should be a greater emphasis on local produce. Importing food when we can feed ourselves totally from our own island just doesn’t make sense
That is factually incorrect Cormac – according to the Department of Agriculture, 88% of agricultural land is used to feed animals. Are you saying that the other 12% (which I understand includes forestry) uses more herbicides and pesticides than the 88%?
No I meant per acre under production. There are no stats available for spray use yet. there is a formal scheme starting next week search Sustainable Use Directive for more info
OK, so producing wheat or potatoes (say) takes more nutrients per acre than growing grass. Then what? It takes exponentially more land to feed a meat eater so not eating meat or animal produce still uses lest land and less herbicides and pesticides.
And even if it didn’t, so what? The amount of pesticide usage is hardly a reason for slaughtering animals, is it?
Do these fools not know they are all bred for the food chain!!no one has 1000 hens in their garden as pets same with lambs etc ! It’s a huge industry that keeps the country going
Great news Fred..been noticing your posts and story..you’ve had a tough old time..glad its working out.
Christ first militant Feminists then social justice warriors now these bloody lunatics, what do they all have in common? They’re cause is based on ‘feelings’ and professional victimhood. We’ve evolved over thousands f years to eat our tasty farmyard friends, we genetically modified then from they’re ancestors we chased with spears across the African plains, we just got fatter and lasher so bred hen more timid so we could get close enough to slaughter them. I see nothing wrong with that.
You can get vegan runners, most brands do them
two thirds of the grain Ireland produces are to feed animals. Guess you should go vegan if you are that concerned about all the animals being killed as a result.
Link
Why are all the photos in the article Photoshopped mockups of the posters? Are billboards animals that shouldn’t be harmed or exploited?
Had this group donated the cash used on this campaign to an animal charity they could have help save quite a few animals, especially in the run up to the Christmas season which is traditionally very difficult for those charities. These billboards really serve no purpose other than make those behind the campaign feel better about themselves. As you can judge by the reaction here the feedback towards them is usually highly negative.
Ah you just don’t understand smugness.
What makes you think the group aren’t already in fact supporting an animal sanctuary? And lo and behold yes they are. Turns out that this is funded by a particular individual who specified how he /she wanted the money spent.
Truth here is that’s what’s more telling is how defensive and upsetting it can be for general population to have truth behind their lifestyle choices explained. And more than that. If people are brave enough to face up to this truth the website featured on website actually provides all the info you could need to make this change in your life.
By definition I couldn’t think if a more appropriate link between the message bill board and charity go vegan. Ie check it out
Nutjobs
I like vegans but I could never finish a whole one.
Great all this talk made me hungry… It’s going to be the Aussie bbq meatbox for my dinner today
Meeeeeeeaaaattttttboxxxxxxxx
Our lifestyle choices don’t make people harm animals, the people breading them etc do this,
Your purchasing decisions have an effect. Buying that bacon because its cheaper causes a race to the bottom in pricing, something has to give in that scenario. Unless we all switch to ethically farmed meats we all play a role. We’re voting with outlr wallets every week
People can’t be held responsible for every god dam thing they buy with the wallet, put the laws in place to bread animals for food consumption and let the price reflect that,
“People can’t be held responsible for every god dam thing they buy”
Why not, though?
Why not? Because it’s hard to know the supply chain and the individual processes involved in a pack of rashers or a bar of soap. If a production process is cruel, dirty or damaging then it is up to governments to regulate it.
By the time you’re breading them, the harm has already been done.
I would argue, if it is cruel, dirty or damaging, and you are against it it is up to you to stop buying it instead of just waiting for the government to step in. Even if it’s difficult to find out, you can try to educate yourself.
Money talks very loudly these days.
I’m not even vegan, but I do try to only buy products I know to be fair trade, free range etc.
We purchase product in good faith, if suppliers are producing the product within the law well that’s fine by me, if the law needs to be changed well let the vegans deal with the law if it means that much to them, I myself personally will not take responsibility for the actions of what suppliers are doing outside of the law,
“The law” used to allow slavery in the United States and “the law” prohibited women from voting, gay people from marrying etc. The constitution is hardly an accurate barometer of social values.
We are talking about food, if that’s the case let them go over and put there posters up telling the IS to stop killing
Mick I can tell you that if you buy animals products, an animal was slaughtered for that. More often that now, an animal was bred for that purpose too. You don’t take responsibility for those you financially support because..??? They wouldn’t do it if you didn’t pay for it, therefore you are directly responsible…
Do you eat animals because Islamic State are killing people? I don’t understand your logic there.
An animal sanctuary for vegans ??
That’s the best idea ever, ship ‘em off so us normals don’t have to listen to them.
Antibiotics are feed to animals we consume them, we get sick take antibiotics they don’t work ,get it!
We’re animals, we have incisors and we do no different than what animals from which we evolved do, apes. Watch ‘the Hunt’ narrated by David Attenborough. It is perfectly natural for one animal to eat another. Life is, after all, about survival of the fittest.
Survival of the fittest, eh? And yet we have care homes for the elderly, sick and infirm… we judge ourselves by higher standards than catchphrases.
We’ve got incisors, we’ve got canines, we’ve got molars… so what? So to do herbivores and carnivores.
You base your justification for the slaughter of a sentient life based on that of carnivorous wild animals. Very logical. We are not hunter-gatherers anymore, we are not wild animals, we live in a modern society with access to any food we desire, without the need to take life to sustain ours. Time to evolve.
Early Hominoids put the extra energy they got from eating their meat in to developing larger brains. This development allowed us to become smart enough to create a civilisation which can deliver out of season fruit and vegetables to our shops year round. Creating conditions which allow smug vegans to exist and preach to the rest of us why we shouldn’t eat meat.
To be honest Matty, from reading your comment on here and the fact that you’re unable to engage in the points being raised, I think all forms of ‘early hominoids’ (as you describe them) haven’t gone away!
And somehow i can’t see you running around on all 4s jumping onto a cow or pig and using your nails and teeth to kill him, eat fur flesh and cartilage raw. We rather someone else done all that for us so we don’t have to think about it. At least hunters have the balls to do it themselves. Enjoy the chase and carnivore living
Excellent to see these posters about , makes my day . Great initiative
A lot of heated chat. Might need the vegan police on the scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLpCZ8g5uK8
with out meat most of Europe would of not survived without thekilling
and eating of animals which provided much need nutrients, to help us through the cold winters. Place like Indian had the right weather and the right fruit and veg to provide them nutrients.
That’s possibly true. Without eating human flesh, those guys in the plane crash wouldn’t have survived. It doesn’t mean that we should do it here and now though.
It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t either. My front teeth are perfect for eating meat.
Again, what is your argument for the exploitation of sentient life? Your front teeth are perfect for eating apples too – so what?
Anthropmorphise much?
What now? Point being made here?
with out meat most of Europe would of not survived without thekilling
have your say