Recent decades have seen an undeniable drift away from rural towns, as corporate intervention and domination has forced unrealistic efficiencies onto family farms. What once represented financial opportunities for Aussie families has been transformed into heartache and heartbreak - as Mum's & Dad's in their thousands, encourage their kids to get a degree or a trade, and leave the family farm, move to the towns or cities...where financial opportunities now reside. So dramatic has been this transition...that today only about 1% of Aussies produce all the food you eat!!
The endless migration from the country to the coastline is putting increasing pressures on infrastructure, and big cities are playing the never-ending catch up game - with transport, roads, schools, and hospitals. Rural and regional centres have become ghost towns, where existing infrastructure has effectively been made redundant.
The hugely negative impact of these trends (which are global, not just national), is the byproduct of this mass scale development...pollution!! People en mass have unintentionally become CONSUMERS rather than PRODUCERS. Job opportunities and lifestyle choices have seen the human being drift towards a life of excess. The requirements to 'power' our modern daily life are quite simply depleting our planet of resources...while giving nothing back. Pollution is poisoning our soils and waterways, in which our food grows, causing our air to become toxic, and unquestionably creating Climate Change. Back at farm level, the environment is putting ever increasing pressures on farm management, animal welfare and crop production. It's like the big fellow upstairs is effectively applying the blow torch - we'd better start paying attention!!
In an ironic twist, as people ARE paying attention, some sectors are quoting selective science - and condemning ANIMAL AGRICULTURE as the biggest culprit of Climate Change. To them the solution is simple...all Animal Agriculture must be stopped immediately!! Of course these minority groups feel strongly about their cause, having personally made lifestyle choices in alignment with their own beliefs. Much like a religious argument between a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist or a Hindu...prove to me who is right and who is wrong?? Having a different faith does not make you superior or inferior - and I'm sure we'd have seen a lot less death and destruction over the centuries if humans could just acknowledge and accept our differences, and be okay with them.
Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against individuals making decisions that align with their beliefs...as long as it doesn't hurt other people, or negatively impact my life. Unfortunately the group I speak of, Vegans, have zero acceptance for people who's beliefs do not align. I'm yet to be convinced whether Veganism is a trend or a fad. I do know from some basic research that 86% of Vegans are 44 years or younger. Hmmm, so do they die young? Or maybe they kick the unsustainable habit? I have been told by many people, of their friend or family member who 'was' a Vegan, but couldn't maintain physical or mental health and stability. I've also been told by numerous GP's that Vegans are their unhealthiest and crankiest patients!! (Okay - not very scientific...but a genuine observation).
Veganism (not to be confused with Vegetarians - who are regularly more relaxed with their food choices) is not a new thing - it was founded in 1944. Despite this year celebrating it's 73rd birthday, only about 1% of our population are true Vegans. Incredibly though, they are a very VOCAL minority, and their online presence is fierce. Sadly by tugging on emotional heartstrings, they prey on people at their most vulnerable stage of life - teenagers. Not surprisingly teenage and twenty-something girls comprise a huge percentage. I don't tell Vegans what they should eat, or how they should live their life - but it's getting to a point where the other 99% need to exercise our rights as fellow human beings, and say enough!! We need to rise up against the uprising!!
Much like some of the religious cults of the 70's and 80's, there is a level of propaganda and brainwashing at play here. Half-truths and straight lies are infused with emotional trauma - leaving new conscripts powerless, succumbing to the Vegan way. Science is selected to back their position from a logical perspective, videos go viral to reinforce the animal cruelty claims. The tricky part of this challenge, in sharing an alternate truth from an omnivore's perspective, is to do so respectfully - not lowering our actions to the levels of condemnation of any person who's belief or mantra differs to our own.
A balanced counter argument must be presented. Only through BALANCE can equilibrium be maintained - as throughout documented history, we are taught over and over and over again...that extremist views are neither healthy or sustainable!! The level of hypocrisy surrounding the Vegan lifestyle is mind-boggling. If we look a little deeper into their philosophies, beyond the immediate choice to boycott ALL ANIMAL PRODUCTS (food and clothing), they are very much about inflicting minimal damage to the planet they hope to save. OR ARE THEY?? Google DEEP ECOLOGY...as that is one of their core mantras. I am not taking this definition out of context - "Deep ecology's core principle is the belief that the living environment as a whole should be respected and regarded as having certain inalienable legal rights to live and flourish, independent of its utilitarian instrumental benefits for human use."
Now I didn't write the Vegan handbook...I didn't play any role teaching their principles...their motives appear black and white - don't they?? Then how have they become so selective of what behaviors they apply, and which perceived problems are worthy of human intervention?? Why is so much of what a Vegan does during their daily existence in complete conflict with their commitment to effect change??
Let's for one moment forget about their dietary choices...and reflect on a few modern day dilemmas the average Vegan might be contributing to -
1. What are the cars, buses, trains, motorbikes, pushbikes, aeroplanes that Vegans use for transport built from?
2. Where are all these transport vehicles manufactured?
3. What are these vehicles powered on? (pushbike excepted!!)
4. What is used to construct the purpose built roads and highways that all the above vehicles travel on?
5. Have Vegans ever shown concern for the collateral damage inflicted on native animals, or held protests and vigils roadside? There is more 'roadkill' every year, than farm animals slaughtered for our dietary requirements...thanks to our choice of transport, on the roads that we built!!
6. Were there ever trees growing on the site of the Vegan's house/unit/appartment/workplace??
7. What is the Vegan home or workplace built from? Timber? Steel? Concrete?
8. As overactive online warriors...what materials were required to build the mobile devices (smart phones, tables, laptops) they use on a daily basis?
9. Where and how is all of this 'modern technology' manufactured?
10. Is a Vegan's cat always locked inside, so that's it's natural instincts to kill native animals are not fulfilled?
11. If a Vegan owns a horse and feeds it hay, are they aware of the loss of life in the production of that hay? (frogs, toads, little birds, mice, hares, snakes, lizards...)
12. Soya beans make tofu/soy milk etc, cereal crops make bread/pasta etc - daily staples. How are these crops grown and harvested? What was the land prior to being reclaimed as agricultural land??
Now honestly, I could go on and on - because the more I think about modern life...the longer this list will become. So I've just quit with an even dozen hugely conflicting enterprises and products that Vegans support and enjoy during routine daily life - seemingly guilt free! A true Vegan will not likely have read this deep into my blog, because logic and common sense are their enemy. They have been brainwashed by propaganda - some may yet be saved...some never will. While non-vegans like myself can present a balanced, rational argument to the merits of our choices, and the flaws in theirs - Vegans seem incapable of doing likewise. I am regularly called 'too smart' or 'so stupid' in the wonderful world of social media...where people can hide behind their profile pic, parading to be 10 foot tall and bulletproof. When they do venture out in groups, and publicly protest about the perceived atrocities to farm animals - they almost always prolong the stress levels and suffering of animals destined for slaughter anyway! So much for truly caring!!
As a non Vegan...and proud of it - I have little to no intention of attacking their way of life or belittling them personally (even though they specialise in those actions against us). To be honest I've got much more important things to do with my time! The truth is they brought the fight to me, and all of my hard working, law abiding, good living farming friends, and the wider meat eating, milk drinking community!! We have done nothing to deserve the victimisation we are today experiencing. They won't be defeated overnight, they will never be defeated. That is okay, because I (and we all should) respect differences of opinion, and differing lifestyle choices. I do feel compelled however to bring balance to the dinner table, presenting the facts I've uncovered from my thorough research. There is no need to fight fire with fire...that only makes things become more heated. I'm pretty keen for us all to throw water on their fire. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer - sound familiar? In this case, know and understand their motives as some of their concepts around agriculture in general are quite sound. Best management practices and sustainability will play increasingly important roles in any kind of future farming. Knowing what they stand for also draws attention to the many levels on which they are failing their founding fathers, and ultimately themselves. Their actions should reinforce their beliefs...but as you see they have a fundamental problem.
The Vegan argument is as flawed as their will to convert the masses. Science is strongly backing the position that Animal Fats are a vital part of the human diet. We have recently learned that in fact for proper BRAIN FUNCTION, the consumption of animal fats is essential (not recommended). So next time you get tangled up in an uncomfortably irrational argument with a Vegan, online or in real life, spare a thought for them...having not eaten animal fats for some months, or possibly years, they are quite simply not thinking straight!! Their brain has quite literally 'checked out'. Sadly they are also completely oblivious to their current reality :( Until they walk the talk - they won't be showered with adulation by me!!
As a collective society, we can only achieve harmony through sustainability and balance - not condemnation and bitterness. By make healthy choices and supporting ethical food production businesses, like 4REAL MILK, you can become a part of the solution - rather than perpetuating the perceived problem.
Cheers,
Farmer Gregie ;)
https://www.facebook.com/FarmerGregie4Real/posts/1230943576992010
