I started "Vegan Everywhere!" with ambitious intentions to blog more days than not and increase my presence in the blogosphere. Well, as you can see that has yet to occur. I am trying to finish my second book Pieces of Her in my horror fiction series.
In the midst of this I am still a great wandering vegan. I did, in fact, go to the fair and found it less than met my expectations. A lot of the craft exhibits were downsized for expo areas that sell wonder mops and ladders strong enough for elephants. This time the agricultural exhibits rang too true for comfort. These animals, even when well treated, are part of a broken system of servitude, slaughter, and pain.
The final nail in the state fair coffin was the epic stretch of food vendors. With the exception of an apple and a big pickle, there was nothing there that a vegan or sensible person might eat! The only vegetables to been seen were dredged through egg batter and deep fried in the same oil as meat. The possibilities to eat meat heavy foods laden with calories and trans fats were however, endless.
If you are an adult I guess you can decide what you eat, but if you grew up in a culture of conspicuous consumption can you make an educated decision? The visuals of heavy, already unhealthy people shoveling in more toxic food than their bodies can bear was a bit overwhelming. What was worse was seeing them give these same foods to their children, setting them up for a lifetime of the same health problems until someone shows them there is another option.
I'm not sure I can manage another fair? Ugh, no... Instead I will direct my fall adventures to farm sanctuaries like the one in Watkins Glen, NY (http://www.farmsanctuary.org/) and organic, produce-only farms.
We cannot continue to value one animal over another. If you won't kill and eat your own pet, why do it to an animal you don't know? Meat does not come from the store!
