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From Skeptic to Believer:
Why I Am a Teenage Activist

by Laurel Long , Rockville, Maryland, USA, Age 19

When I first heard the term “animal rights,” I was six years old. I assumed “animal rights” meant letting other species vote. (I wonder how the 2004 U.S. elections would have turned out had that been the case!) Images of a chicken pulling up next to the family car cruising down the highway pranced through my head. Maybe pigs would be declaring their unrequited love at the neighborhood Lutheran Church.

Thirteen years later, I see “animal rights” in a very different light. I now know the words to mean equal consideration for all species. An end to the immense suffering endured by billions of animals. But, animals aren’t the only ones who benefit from the work of the animal protection movement. The environment will suffer less soil erosion and have cleaner (manure- and waste-free) waters, and the air will be less polluted, giving us all fresher air to breathe. And humans will enjoy reduced rates of heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers, all of which are linked to animal-production consumption.

One might be apt to wonder how I made the leap from believing animal activists wanted ballots for pigs to acknowledging they wanted pigs to be pigs. Essentially, after reading an article in a teen magazine that included the website of a well-known animal rights group, I decided to check it out for myself. There I saw pictures so horrific that lack of voting rights were the least of inter-species problems.

Despite my initial repulsion to the graphic images of what goes on behind closed doors of factory farms and slaughterhouses, I was obliged to learn more. I read of pigs living in crates so small there wasn’t enough room to for them to even turn around. I learned that the average “broiler” chicken (the one dismembered for the chicken nuggets and sandwiches we eat) lives in a warehouse-like shed, never once stepping foot onto the grass or feeling the sun on their backs. I read of cows who were de-horned and castrated, and of pigs with docked tails and clipped teeth, and was dismayed to learn that none of them received painkiller or anesthesia. Most shocking to me, though, was that even dairy products and eggs were not as cruelty free as one might assume. Who would have guessed that dairy cows are in a nearly constant cycle of pregnancy and birth, often develop painful infections in their grossly enlarged udders, and are then slaughtered at only a fraction of their natural lifespan? Who would know that laying hens are kept in cages so small they cannot even flap their wings and have their beaks seared off with a hot metal blade? (At this point, it’s likely obvious that egg-laying hens do not receive painkiller either!)

This was how I came to realize that one of the most important steps each one of us can take is to become vegetarian. The next best thing we can do is share with others the sleekly covered realities of factory farming.

To learn more about factory farming, as well as environmental and health reasons to become vegetarian, order a free Vegetarian Starter Guide from www.TryVeg.com. The animals would thank you if they could.