fast against slaughter

Tomorrow, October 2nd, I will be fasting. I've pledged to participate in #FastAgainstSlaughter as part of World Day for Farmed Animals. I learned about this event through Farm Animals Rights Movement (FARM). The date for the fast was chosen because it it Ghandi's birthday.

The purpose of my doing this is twofold. First, I want to raise awareness. Health and environment aside, billions of animals are killed for food every year. Billions. And I truly believe that most consumers have never really thought about that. If they did think about it, learn how the system works, look inside factory farms to see where their food comes from, they would make a change.

Second, I want the day to serve as a reminder to me that the choices I make, and the encouragement I give others, is important. This is not simply about eating meat or not. It's about a system that has devolved into something bad, where cruelty and abuse are all too common, hidden from the light of day, figuratively and literally.
_____________________________________________________________________

  " Most of these animals are raised on factory farms, where they are confined, mutilated, and bred to grow so large, so quickly, that many of them literally suffer to death."
_____________________________________________________________________

As a species, we have evolved to be able to control many other species. With that power comes responsibility. We are part of a system that is unsustainable. For our health and our environment we need to rethink the choices we make, mostly out of habit. But, tomorrow is about the animals. It's about our accepting that responsibility, and committing to humane treatment for all animals.