“The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That is the essence of inhumanity.” ~ George Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856 to November 2, 1950)
Shaw was an Irish playwright and author, and the co-founder of the London School of Economics. According to Wikipedia, he was the “only person to have been awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) (for contributions to literature) and an Oscar (1938) (for work on the film ‘Pygmalion’, based on his play).” Shaw was a Socialist.
[Source of dates and biographical information: Wikipedia, accessed August 10, 2010].
While Shaw was a vegetarian, notice that in the above quote he didn’t say or write “eat” fellow creatures.
While I am not advocating vegetarianism necessarily, it is clear to me that a diet with less meat products is a healthier diet. The environmental costs of meat production are very high and generally not acknowledged.
I am advocating more humane treatment of all animals, and the ending of indifference toward animals. Indifference toward animals allows for unspeakable carnage on land and in the oceans.
We are in the middle of the Sixth Great Extinction. We are losing approximately 40 species a day to extinction. Curious that we rarely hear about this any more. Our indifference toward animals is enabling this Sixth Great Extinction, at least partially.
I am also an advocate of more humane treatment of livestock. Factory production of animals as food is inhumane; animals are often housed in small spaces, force fed, given antibiotics and steroids, and killed in inhumane ways. Often processing of animals begins while they are still alive.
Additionally, I am an advocate for no kill animal shelters. More about no kill shelters later.
Andrew Shattuck McBride, Writer's Blog 