Wait. I'm Eating What?

Pop-Tarts, candy, nail polish remover, and many other food and non-food items contain something called gelatin. What kid doesn't grow up eating gummy bears and Jell-O? I didn't know what gelatin was until a couple months ago. So what is gelatin? Well according to PETA, "gelatin is a protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water." Now I don't know about you, but I think if kids, and even grown-ups, knew what was in those gummy bears they love so much they wouldn't want to eat them. I mean, you just read what gelatin is, and it's gross!

I think if young kids actually knew what they were eating, they wouldn't want to eat a lot of things. No kid growing up is fed chicken and told, "son, that food that you're eating is from that sweet chicken that we saw at the petting zoo." Because if kids actually knew they were eating animals,  naturally they wouldn't want to eat them! Young kids instinctively love animals and want to protect them and be friends with them. Kids don't know that they're eating part of a cow, chicken, or pig. They're just told it's "food." Here's "lunch", "dinner", "breakfast." If they knew the cruelty that comes from producing milk and eggs, or if they actually knew what eggs were, they wouldn't want to eat eggs or drink milk.

I get that people who don't know the truth think that giving their child meat, eggs, and dairy is healthy and beneficial for their children. They are only doing what their parents did for them, and don't know any better. But if parents actually allowed their young children to know what they are eating, I think their children would choose to eat differently. So many people will continue to eat meat, dairy, and eggs because they don't know the truth about what happens to animals, the effects of meat, dairy, and eggs on their health, and the impact factory farming has on the earth.

"If a kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming, they would never touch meat again." --  James Cromwell

With veganism on the rise young kids have the opportunity to find out the truth sooner, as do their parents. Truth that, if acted on, will have an incredible impact on our Earth.

At the Smithfield Pig Save yesterday, it was so awesome to see young kids standing out there on the corner of the intersection holding stuffed pigs in protest. As kids we saw animals as our friends... at what age did we lose sight of that? Don't turn a blind eye to the cruelty; instead, think of your actions and how you can change them to better help the animals.

              -- Joy




Copyright 2016 by Dee Dee Wike and Joy Wike. All rights reserved. www.feelingveggiegood.com