A 5-year-old girl fights back tears and explains exactly why she doesn't want to eat animals.
Every once in a while, it's good to have a reminder.
Here in the USA, most of us spent 4th of July weekend in a blissful, prolonged, delirious meat coma.
Must. Not. Stop. Or. Freedom. Dies. Photo by CxOxS/Wikimedia Commons.
But last month, across the pond in Ireland, one teary little girl threw down and schooled her mother's partner on why she doesn't want to eat animals anymore.
Fortunately, he caught it all on tape. And the Internet's collective heart exploded.
"I just don't want them to be chopped up ... If this is how we keep chopping them up there will be no more animals."
... Um, brb. Got something in my eye. It's, uh, really dusty in here.
The question of whether or not to eat meat has bedeviled humanity for centuries.
On the one hand, meat is delicious.
Photo by Jon Sullivan/Public-domain-image.com.
On the other hand, animals are adorable.
Photo by Giang Ho Thj Hoang/Flickr.
Not to mention animals are living, breathing, fellow travelers on this Earth and all that jazz.
For the great majority of us who struggle, the question remains:
What's a person who doesn't want sentient creatures to suffer but still loves BLTs to do?
One possible solution is to eat less meat. Not only would the various cows, pigs, and chickens that would potentially be that meat appreciate it, but cutting down on animal protein has been shown to have some pretty major health benefits, as well as massive environmental benefits.
Another is to support more humane farming practices when you decide to buy meat or meat products. Animals raised to be meat are generally treated quite poorly. Thankfully, many major restaurants and supermarket chains are moving toward more ethically sourced meat thanks to increased consumer demand. If it keeps paying off for 'em in the pocketbook, they'll undoubtedly keep at it.
This way, we can all feel at least a little more OK about enjoying turkeys in their natural, not-chopped-up state.
Photo by Steve Voght/Flickr.
Because that little girl is 100% right.
GIF via JonasSunshine/YouTube.
And if we eat meat or not, we can all do better by them.