Sunday, March 15, 2009

Guilty As Charged

So its been quite a while since I last posted, and I feel like I have made waaay too much of these "sorry for not being very active" posts. Here's the scoop of whats happened with me:
  • Got inducted into the National Honor Society. NHS does lots of things after school that take up much of my precious free time.
  • Got dumped by one boyfriend, now I have a new one who actually lives less than four miles away so I'm not spending a lot of time at home any more.
  • Bought my own car, 2001 Toyota Camry LE, so again, not staying at home much any more.
  • My A.P. classes (calculus and chemistry) are really cracking down since the A.P. examinations are coming up looming in the near future.
  • I'm taking all honors classes and the papers/projects/homework seems to never end.
  • I do a myriad of other things after school, like Prom Committee, track and field, tutoring, and work (car payments and insurance aren't cheap).
  • AND (best one), I'm the President/Founder of my school's Students For Animal Advocacy group. Which takes up a considerable amount of time. Currently we're doing a fundraiser for our local shelter and we also are organizing the Great American Meatout (this friday) at the school.
So that's why I haven't really posted in a while. I've had this blog for 3 years now, it's hard to come up with new ideas for posts as well as report on "my life" when my life consists of no free time to set down and write. If you have any suggestions or things you'd like me to do/write about, I'd be more than happy to hear them!

Much love,
Allie

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Allie,
I stumbled across your blog, srt of by accident, but I'm glad I did--you are one smart cookie! Keep up the good work :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your induction into NHS! I'd love to see the reports/studies on the academic achievements of vegan/vegetarian students vs meat-eating peers. (Obiously, a connection full of fallacies, but still interesting). Good job!

Anonymous said...

Hi..sorry if you answered this a while ago in some other post, but I was just wondering--are you vegan due to "basic" animal rights (treating them humanely before death) or due to "pure" animal rights (not using or confining animals in any way--including pets--and accepting their universal right to freedom)?

Allie said...

I'm in between the two extremes. If animals are going to be raised for consumption (which I am against), I want them to be treated humanely. However, I think it is horrible for humans to eat animals when it is unnecessary and not what we are meant to do (yes, many of our kind have been omnivorous for a long time, but does any other omni/carnivore have to cook their meat with heat before they can safely consume it?)

I believe animals deserve basic rights, as in they should not be tortured or mistreated. But I think anti-companion animal is too far. I love my dog and my family takes really good care of her. She has doggy playmates, a dependable source of healthy food and water, a warm shelter, and a family who gives her lots of attention.

If humans let all our companion animals free, including those in shelters, they would not know how to survive in the wild since they have been domesticated for centuries and they are used to having their needs met for them. And I am pretty sure many companion animals are happy, all my pets are very affectionate and after a day outside exploring they run home to where they know they have food, a warm bed, and people to pet them.

Anonymous said...

(same person as earlier)

Hi, I first just want to state that I'm not trying to say you are wrong or anything, I'm just trying to understand what you have said, and asking you for an opinion on something.

Second, it's nice to see a vegan who at least promotes HUMANE animal consumption towards meat eaters as a resolute and realist approach for current times...I feel it is accomplishing much more than simply trying to turn people off from meat alltogether (which, is in truth statistically less successful in terms of alleviating business for factory farms).

However, I feel that you are being hypocritical in pushing this belief in others...and to be honest I BELIEVE I AM TOO.

I just want to get another vegan's opinion on this (you!).

We are pushing for more humane methods (personally, I push pure-freerange farming, not the USDA's f*cked up "free-range" definition with tons of holes in it), yet do not support the consumption or use of animals at all.

So, basically, if you and I had a choice, we would have everyone be vegan (right??)....hahaha...BUT SEE...if this were the case, then animals in the FARMING, HUNTING (actually manditory hunts already happen due to overpopoulation), ETC would become overpopulated JUST LIKE THE PETS YOU DESCRIBED would if they were set free.

Thousands of pets are euthanized daily because of no homes, so how many cows, chickens, etc do you think would suffer the same pointless fate??

Not only that, but at the current rate of 1. industrialization with 2. increasingly high rate of human growth in numbers with 3. the rate at which the human species is both destroying natural habitats and expanding suburban and industrial areas.

If you mix the previous three with the idea of not using animals for consumption, you will have them dying off in remarkable numbers...getting hit by cars (think its silly? It's really not), roaming in backyards, mauled by dogs, wolves, LACK OF FOOD due the fact that we destroy their environment and food source.

HOWEVER, if we do not allow these animals to roam freely without use, say we confine them on a FREE-RANGE farm where they live, are fed, die, etc. Sure, it's completely humane, they don't die of slaughter, etc.

But we would have to control them somehow...neuter and spay. But WHO would pay for this? WHO would pay for the care of these animals who aren't going to be pets on EVERY FARM? Taxpayers? Hell no! Sure, some people (I would) will care for them with donations and with their free time...but that woulnd't be enough. People would end up using animals for meat all over again...whether or not it is after they die naturally or after they die from slaughter.

The point is, the market exists (humane or not) because of MONEY. PETS are for aesthetic value....and if we treat all animals like pets, WE COULDN'T afford it either way....we could not. I mean....what, grow our own crops to save money? Yeah, okay, how many people want to do that? And then you still have to control the reproduction to make sure they dont give birth to more than you can handle...then you need a vet for regular care..We would not be able to afford it.

So this is kind of the tip of the iceberg...just a hint of what has been bugging me, and I'd like to know what you think.

Personally, I am an anarchist vegan, and am semi-primitivist, which means not only do I reject industrialization and capitalism, but also the use of technology in negative ways. Capitalism and rapid evrionmental expantion/destruction/industry revolution/ etc. has helped destroy nature and lesser species so much, when it could have been used to help them prosper (but hey, most humans are all about ourselves). Thus, I feel that vegans and vegetarians who thrive in capitalist markets and don't live in confines or self-sustaining communities are a bit hypocritical (not on purpose)of their ultimate cause in terms of animal welfare. And this is simply because with the current control humans have over the world in every aspect, either useless animal killings or animal consumption (humane or not) seems inevitable.

I dunno..I just, I struggle with it a lot. I'm a big fair-trade advocate and human rights activist too, so it all ties in...and really everything has to do with supply and demand, even on black markets. So the slaughter of animals is inevitable if a non-meat eater still supports a free-trade world.

What do you think? Pointless (kind of is I guess cause we'll all be dead before any radical change occurs but...), agree, disagree, unsure? Thanks for reading this if you read it all...sorry its so long! :/ And awesome blog, spreading the vegan word!

Anonymous said...

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jenny said...

Congrats on NHS!

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