Sorry for the loooooong rant- but this is just something I really need to get off my chest!
How do you cope when someone close to you has ridiculously different views to everything you believe in? One of my best friends who I love and respect very much pretty much has the complete opposite views as me in regards to animal rights. She is doing animal science at university and wants to be a beef farmer when she has finished. We are great friends and can talk about mostly everything, but when the topic of animals/ farms/ meat come up, it causes a lot of tension and a lot of debates which gets us both pretty upset.
My main ideals are that every living creature should have the right to a wonderful and happy life. We should be kind and treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated! I don’t believe in exploiting anything for human greed and profit.
However my friend looks at it as if animals are here to serve us. If it wasn’t for us, they wouldn’t be here and would become extinct. She looks at everything very scientifically and for our gain- rather than looking at these animals as living breathing creatures with just as much right to be on this earth as we do!
I generally like to keep the peace. I never force my opinions on anyone, but am not afraid to defend my views. However- I have never been the best at debating, and never seem to be able to get my point across as strong as I would like.
Tonight we were talking about cows- and my friends said that dairy cows have great lives, they are always happy to come see the farmers and they love being milked and often fight to get into the doors of the milk shed.
I tried to say that that’s because that’s what they have be forced to do their entire life- they don’t know anything else! I questioned the ethics of taking about their children and killing the male calves, making them produce abnormal levels of milk etc- but it was all flogged off and counteracted with them having great lives and that they enjoyed it. It was like talking to a brick wall. Whatever I said was just thrown back in my face. We then got onto the topic of milk not actually being very good for you anyway. I stated research about other countries that hardly drink milk having less cases of osteoporosis as Western countries. She just smirked, looking at me like I was an idiot- or brain washed and said-
“Yes, but there are a lot of studies out there- not just those ones.”
Which got me quite upset. I have already been told by her on a number of occasions that everything I read is bias- and there are always two sides to a story. I’m not a complete idiot! I know this! I am able to shift through the information and decide for myself what to believe.
She then went on to state that if we did not breed cows for milk/ beef than there wouldn’t be any cows in the world. I said I didn’t believe that, and that cows were probably doing fine before we got here- and what about wild cows in other countries?
Well according to her that it is very rare to find cows in the wild- and if they didn’t benefit us in any way- then we wouldn’t let them live and they would die out.
I just gave up at that point. She is just so opinionated and believes her views are always right….
We often stop the discussion when things start to get a bit to heated- but it’s the way she looks at me and shoots down everything I say as if I have no idea what I’m talking about. She thinks what I read is bias extremist crap and that I’ve been brain washed and that- “Oh, but you are watching stuff from America! It doesn’t happen here” as if that somehow makes it better??... Just because it isn’t happening here (which I explained that it is- but she doesn’t believe me- thinking that because she is doing animal science and has had firsthand experience/ knows people who work on farms, that she knows more than I do.) doesn’t make it any less horrific and terrifying that it IS actually happening out there! That us as humans are capable of inflicting such horrible and terrible things on another living creatures!
Don’t get me wrong, my friend is an absolutely lovely and wonderful person, and I get that she has differing views- but it’s just so hard when it’s so different to something you feel so strongly about.
She once told me that she bought caged eggs because she is gluten intolerant and has to pay extra for everything else so why should she pay extra for eggs!?.... I mean… Geez! What do you say to that!?...
I don’t know.. I guess I’m just feeling a little alone and sad at the moment. I don’t know ANY vegetarians or Vegans (except my mum who gave up red meat after listening to one of my rants) and the majority of my friends just do not understand me or where I’m coming from! They joke and call me ‘mother Teresa’, a hippy or even that I’m just conforming to the new craze of being Vegan. I mostly just take it. You have to be a little thick skinned, but still stick to you morals and know in your heart what you are doing is right regardless of what others think. It’s just a little lonely when there is no one you can really talk to about these important issues that you feel so strongly about. **sigh**
Anyways… That’s enough of my large rant….
I hope everyone is well and having a better time than I am at the moment!
I too have no vegan friends. 
Thats great! I have my sister now seriously considering going Vegan after she read some of my books!!
