Going Five Animals More by Philip Wollen

This is an extract from Philip Wollen's recent conversation with World Peace Diet author Will Tuttle as part of the Veganpalooza celebration.

Going Five Animals More

Many years ago, as I traveled around the world I noticed the vast number of animal species that other people ate. 

And it dawned on me that here were literally thousands of animals I didn't eat. . . . . . dogs or cats, bears or bats, tigers or turtles, horses or hamsters, rosellas or rats.

Nor did I drink the milk of goats, yaks or donkeys, giraffes, or cats.

I decided to go only five animals more. . . . I simply added cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and fish to the list.

It was a breeze.

I didn't crave lamb any more than I craved lion; I didn't miss beef any more than I missed bandicoot. I didn't miss chicken any more than I missed chimpanzee. I didn't miss pork any more than I missed porcupine.

I replaced dead animals with an astounding variety of colorful, delicious and healthy plant foods.

The consequences for me were astonishing. I immediately felt better. It was instantaneous.

Today, I sleep peacefully and deeply. I now have boundless energy, more than people half my age.

My memory has improved rapidly. I remember what an unexamined life I had lived.

And I care more deeply:
For my family, my friends, my colleagues and associates.
For strangers I have never met.
For causes I have only heard about. 

For ideas. For the arts – music, poetry, theatre, literature, painting, the ballet. 

Everything of beauty seems to come alive. More vividly. More subtly. More completely.

I didn't know what I had been missing.

My greatest regret in life was that I did not do this earlier. 

What madness could infect us so profoundly that we justify the murder of weaker innocent living beings? 

Adding only five animals to an already huge list was the easiest (and wisest) thing I ever did.

Try it. You won't regret it. Not for a second.

The animals will thank you for it. 

The planet will thank you for it.

And the farmers, the taxpayers and your family will thank you too.

Good things will come to you. You can’t miss. You can’t fail.

You will have a rich life. It is inevitable.

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The Purpose of a Butterfly - We Too Can Morph... We Too Can Evolve

Folks who use animals, justify doing so by claiming that nonhumans exist for this "purpose": To be of "benefit" to man.  They say that as humans, being "The Crown of Creation", we can utilize and dispose of their precious lives in anyway we desire.

In a conversation with a woman, she told me that it was quite acceptable that millions of animals are tortured in experimentations because "that's what they were bred for."

At a Ringling Circus protest I was told that elephants were put here "By God" to be of value to "us."  Rodeos defend the brutality inflicted on calves, bulls and horses because their purpose is a matter of tradition.

Same goes for the "purpose" of minks, foxes, raccoons, rabbits and other "fur" animals. It's always the same... For food, fun or "science."  For fur, wool or feathers... It is we who define what can be taken, regardless of the cost to someOne else.

So it is no surprise that even butterflies can be sacrificed... Even for the purpose of art:

From this book "How To Draw Cats Kittens" by Leslie B Demille the caption says:  "As you might have guessed, the butterfly wasn't there, on the table.  I had to run around my yard and take a photo of it!  Chase one around your backyard with a camera like I did.  It's fun! Better yet, catch him with a net and preserve him with alcohol - no, not the kitty - the butterfly".

Now using alcohol on the butterfly might "preserve" his body... But certainly it does not preserve him.  Even so, this butterfly, in order to "serve his purpose" had to be killed.  And just like the meat industry has their purposeful systems that kill purposeful cows, chickens and pigs.  Killing insects and butterflies also require purposeful equipment:

Aka a "killjar". As the name indicates, these jars are used to kill the insects you've captured. You can easily obtain these jars from the kitchen. Any kind of wide mouthed jar (such as pickle or salsa) will do. Usually, a layer of plaster is poured on the bottom of the jar and the dried platter is saturated with a liquid chemical. Any kind of cyanide can be used but they can be very dangerous and I would strongly discourage it's use in killing jars. I prefer less toxic and dangerous chemicals such as ethyl acetate or even rubbing alcohol.

And most people would say that the death of a butterfly is of no great consequence.  After all, his tiny brain could probably fit on the head of the pin used to mount his body on... Yet, regarding butterflies there is the wondrous miracle of metamorphosis and the puzzling mysteries in their migration habits.  These things certainly seem to trump the want or purpose of being an art studio prop.  Indeed I say that each butterfly, cow, pig, mouse and toad, all have their own purpose... And it is beyond what our boastful and self indulgent flatteries allow us to see.    

Most people that claim nonhumans have a "divine" role to play (suffer and die) under man's dominion, do so under the guise of great "spiritual" edicts... But the truth is that the duties they impose on each animal is quite Earth bound and anchored in material utility and pragmatic gain.  There is nothing "sacred" about their interpretation of their murderous "circle of life."  There's nothing "holy" about capturing another living creature and defining his or her significance according to human physical desires and whims.  That ideology is hooey!  

In fact, I say that nonhumans, can impart gifts, far greater than what most animal users could comprehend.  It is to teach us how to live... How to extend to everyone their rightful due to their own existence.  These doctrines of fairness cannot ever be had by seizing the weak and creating victims.  It cannot be had by placing chains around elephants, or using whips on "stock." It' can't be had by ripping the skin off of electrocuted animals. It can't be gotten by ruthlessly injecting creatures with poisons. It cannot be embraced if we harden our hearts, as life in a jar (or kill box), struggle to survive.  This is not the way to compassion and justice! It is not the way to fairness or kindness...

I say that anyone who designates a "purpose" to anyone but himself, is the one who places himself in an unearned position of authority and grandeur!  It is they who steal the meaning from Goodness and Supreme Nature.  And such thieves who knowingly offend these sacred rules of Life, should be given no sanctuary, either through law or culture, to do so unchallenged.  For it is they who violate everything critical to the evolution of man.  It is they who delay and confound the purpose of us.

If we are ever to rise to our own exceptional potential, we must do so un-armed... We must cast down all nets of violence and exploitation... In respecting everyone's autonomous destiny we will honor our own purpose as well:

Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.  

~Bradley Millar

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