I used to be a vegetarian, now I do eat meat but I pay a lot more for it because I only buy it from sources I trust. I get my milk from a local organic farm where the calves are allowed to stay with the mother cows until they are weaned, then the calves are slaughtered for “rose beef”. I don’t have a problem with death, I have a problem with torture. The cows and calves at this farm live their lives in the sunshine and fresh air and enjoy each others’ company. So I am spending three times as much as I normally would for milk, but it’s worth it for me because it’s cruelty-free. I also buy pastured eggs — you can tell the hens were well treated because the shell is hard to crack. Factory farm eggs have a paper thin shell. The hens suffer incredibly. Hens that are well treated and happy, who eat bugs on pasture, will produce eggs with sturdy shells and dark yolks.

If I could not get humanely treated animal products I would be vegan. In fact, when I eat out, I am vegan simply because I do not know the source of the meat. Why take the chance?

I realize some people will be angry with me because I’m OK with killing animals, but I’ve got pets, and I have had pets put down when they got old. In nature, animals kill each other. I have fed my pets meat. Death is not the issue for me. Innocent suffering is. Animals are innocent. They don’t deserve to be tortured. The reason agribusiness exists is that people are unwilling to pay what it costs to raise an animal in a humane way — it’s cheaper to stick them in a tiny container vs. letting them peacefully graze. Just like it’s cheaper to stick office workers in cubicles or to cram children into classrooms and so on…