Page 10 - AzVEG Booklet

part 6 | animal welfare

Animal welfare

— making the

connection

Without question, the most important benefit achieved by following
a vegan lifestyle is the compassion you give to animals that will be
spared from living a tortured and horrific life in factory farms. Your
choice, along with the growing number of vegans every year, is
reducing the demand for animal based products. Still, more than 10
billion animals each year are raised & killed solely for meat, dairy,
and eggs in the US alone. This number does not even include the
billions more aquatic animals killed annually for food, nor the ani-
mals that are killed for fashion or sport/entertainment.

All animals are sentient beings, meaning that they are capable of
feeling pleasure and happiness, as well as fear and pain. There
are few, if any, that would debate this scientifically proven fact,
yet we still classify certain species as “superior” (e.g. human spe-
cies), some “loveable” (e.g. dogs and cats); and others as “food”
(e.g. chickens, pigs, and cows). This assignment of different values,
rights, or special considerations to individuals solely on the basis
of their species membership is called Speciesism.

The time is now for us to focus our attention towards an effort to
end Speciesism and acknowledge that all animals deserve a life
free from the misery that is so commonly afflicted upon them by
humans, not just the animals we deem worthy.

MAKE THE CONNECTION.