Pig Out on Something Other Than Pigs, Please!

Okay, today I am going to talk about why not to eat pigs-- and the alterntatives to it. Long before I became a vegetarian, I felt uncomfortable eating salami, bacon, and hot dogs. I did sometimes, but it just seemed so grotesque to eat part of a pig. My family never ate much pig meat, so I guess that made it easier for me to connect with pigs than it was to connect with chickens and fish, who, unfortunately, I used to eat almost every day!
Pigs are fascinating, gorgeous, and completely lovable creatures. If you ever have the privilege of getting to know one, you'll (hopefully) never even consider eating him or her. In fact, some people keep pigs as pets, and there are many scientific claim that pigs are smarter than dogs! Contrary to popular belief, pigs are actually very clean, and they're fast. According to Dr. Donald Broom, pigs "have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly [more so than] three-year-olds". (http://www.chooseveg.com/pigs.asp)
So why would we eat a pig, but not a dog? Is it merely because dogs were domesticated first, long before humans thought of the "bright idea" to domesticate animals for food? Whatever the reason, it's not a good excuse. We've got to stop eating these fantastic, sensitive creatures.
In commercial factories, pigs are kept in pens with metal bars, where they often develop repetitive coping behaviours (hmm... just like zoo animals!), such as grinding their teeth, chewing on the bars, and rubbing against their water bottles.  Mother pigs, shown below, are kept in "gestation crates" for their whole lives, in which they can barely even turn around.

Courtesy of chooseveg.com

Still pining for a hot dog? Think again. You can satisfy your tastes with "veggie dogs" (vegetarian hot dogs, which, by the way, are NOT gross!), use vegan "mock meat" and vegenaise in your sandwich, and go to the grocery store to buy a tofu ham. Personally, I don't like the taste of meat, so naturally, I wouldn't like these things, but if you like the taste of meat, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.
If you worry about getting enough protein, opt for soy foods, beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts, nut butters, and whole grains, instead.
When you start to think of pigs as friends instead of food, you start to fully appreciate their beauty and uniqueness.
See you next week, everyone!

What do YOU want to hear about?

Hi everyone! I would like you all to briefly comment below on what sorts of posts you like the best. If you don't know what to say, here are some prompts:

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3. What have I done well on for my blog, and what could I improve on?

By answering this, you'll be helping me improve my site. Thanks!

Zoo: Compassionate or Killer?

Zoos are both environmentally-friendly and -harmful, and the same goes to how they treat animals. Since there is so much information on zoos out there, I've decided to make a pros and cons list:

Pros ("zoos are good")

• They save certain species from extinction, and through breeding, they can gradually release the animals back into the wild again.
• They teach people about wild animals and nature, while getting them away from a screen!
• They help injured animals get back to full health.
• They are great meeting spaces for conservationists, and a great way to encourage sustainable living.

Cons ("zoos are bad")

• They treat animals as "products". If one animal isn't wanted in a certain zoo, he or she is shipped away to another zoo-- surely a very traumatizing experience.
• The only thing they teach people about animals is how desperate any creature will act when confined to a cage.
• Many animals at zoos become so bored and upset that they develop emotional disturbances. They often have absolutely nothing interesting to do, so they make up movement patterns and obsessions to continually go through. Some people call this "stereotypic behaviour" or "zoochosis". This psychological torture must be abolished.
• Zoos rarely can get an animal back into the wild. The difference between zoos and the wild is far too big for a zoo animal to successfully be re-integrated back into a natural environment.
• Zoos sometimes even take animals out of the wild!

In my opinion, zoos are very often "bad", for the reasons I've listed above. They make me very angry, especially con #3; read more about it at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-zoochosis.htm. The following video is rather disturbing, but, well, it tells you a little more visually what I'm talking about.

Conservation is great, of course, but that should take place on wildlife reserves-- not behind bars.
If you do go to a zoo, take pictures and send them to me at:
rabbit-catATvegemailDOTcom. However, my best advice is to avoid zoos. There are so many better things you could be doing: taking a tour of real nature, for example!
Please share this information with everyone who you know. Thanks, and come back next Sunday for my next post.