Art & Veganism
For the past several days, my Facebook friends have been sharing this image. It is a sculpture by Chinese artist Liu Qiang that depicts our dependency on milk as masses of humanity suckle on the teats of a cow who is in great anguish.
This stunning sculpture by Liu Qiang is an accurate depiction of humanity’s use of, and utter dependence on other animals and, in particular, the savage and bizarre habit of consuming the breast milk from mothers of other species—milk that these mothers have produced for their own babies, babies that we forced them to become pregnant with only to kill shortly after birth so that we can take the bereft mother’s milk, milk that we drink as though we were the children that we murdered. Live vegan. There is no excuse not to. - Joanna Lucas
So this has long been a debate, as our population grows and our consumption of food grows it is getting harder and harder to maintain our need of meat and milk without consequences. As most of you know, I am not vegan nor am I vegetarian. While researching the food system of today, I am constantly reminded just how toxic our dependency on animals is – not only to our bodies but to the earth.
So this begs the question, why am I not vegetarian? Perhaps it is out of selfishness or comfort – perhaps it is because I like meat – perhaps it is because I believe I need meat to maintain a healthy body – perhaps it is because I am terrified of major change – perhaps it’s because most of my friends eat meat, including my husband or perhaps it is because it’s easy and convenient. In reality it’s all of these things.
I’m not sure where to go with this information. I guess you could say I’m on the fence. I do believe that our current meat and dairy industry is massively flawed, and in need of major change. And I also value and believe in our local meat and dairy farmers who make it their livelihood and mission to raise sustainable and healthy animals.
Overall, this is the beauty of art. It makes us think, it brings major issues to our attention and reminds us to be conscious. I’d love to hear your reaction to this sculpture. Does this make you want to change your meat/milk consumption?
Just do less. For my husband and I, it has been a gradual shift. We don’t usually eat meat at home, but we do have it when dining at restaurants that we know source sustainable meat.
For human health and the environment, it’s a no-brainer. Plant-based diets are best!