Is compassion the key?

Compassion: noun
a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Our nonhuman kin are not ‘stricken by misfortune’, but rather are the innocent and vulnerable victims of a coldly calculating, self indulgent species that causes unspeakable suffering that many are unaware of, while many more simply turn a blind eye.  The same species is bent on devastating the planet we all share and yet almost every member of the human species, if asked, will readily declare, without a trace of irony, that they do not support unnecessary ‘cruelty’.

Although some humans may be motivated by it, veganism is not necessarily a matter of ‘compassion’. In the same way as it is not ‘compassion’ that makes us refrain from brutalising other humans, it is not ‘compassion’ that necessarily should impel us to stop our atrocities towards other sentient beings.

Why should we stop?

Recognising the fundamental right of other sentient individuals to own their bodies, their families and their lives is a matter of justice.

Acknowledging that we have far more in common with our nonhuman kin than we like to pretend as we seek to justify our atrocities is a matter of respect.

And lastly, it is basic decency to refrain from causing suffering to others when we have absolutely no justification for doing so.

Humans are only one of millions of sentient species, one that can choose to protect rather than to harm. So why don’t we?

We need to stop participating in the horror and bloodshed and show respect for our sentient kin by becoming vegan. Why vegan? It’s the only way to opt out of the bloodbath.