Holy smokes! This is my second Easter as a blogger for all of our furry, and not so furry friends caught in all of our death for profit industries. And yes, all of these industries cause the death of the individual, whether it be for egg or dairy or flesh or honey, for farmed and wild fur, for wool, silk and leather, for vivisection and even for entertainment and sport.
One might think that the beings used for entertainment are not slated for death in order for their en-slavers to profit monetarily. I would argue this is not the case. These animals are living a kind of daily death, deprived of their natural habitat and families, often forced to perform tricks for our amusement and to give birth while being gawked at by humans. Some are killed because they do not fit the breeding profile of the facility at which they are held captive. And in the end they all die, never having been able to express their natural behaviors, personalities and raison d’etre on this earth. In my book, this is all pretty cruel, unbelievably sad and totally unnecessary.
But hey, Easter is supposed to be a happy time, a time of rebirth and renewal with lambs frolicking, chicks peeping, bunnies hopping, goats jumping and piglets oinking. We get out the pastel colors, the tulips and daffodils, the chocolate and we celebrate. We regale our children with stories of the Easter Bunny and help them decorate Easter eggs. We buy chocolate and goodies for their baskets and laugh with delight when they wake up in the morning to search for their hidden treasures.
When I was a little girl, before the time of electricity and the phone (LOL!), my mother would buy me a straw Easter bonnet and purse and I would wear them proudly and excitedly. Of course my mom is gone now, but I am fortunate enough to revisit my childhood excitement through the eyes of my grandchildren, especially my eldest granddaughter, who loves and revels in all celebrations.
For this reason, I am very happy to have found an American internet site that sells all things vegan. To my delight, Vegan Essentials has a grand selection of cruelty free and vegan Easter treats . I ordered up some of these treats and thankfully, the package arrived yesterday. No need to go scrambling around at retail stores for candy that does not contain any obvious and not so obvious by products of the nonhuman animal flesh and secretions as food industries. A word to the wise – watch out for shellac, sometimes gelatin, natural flavors, and mono and diglycerides , to name several of the worst offenders. These are usually not plant based ingredients.
And what about those frolicking babies? Here are some of them when they live in the best possible world-that of the farmed animal sanctuary.
But what about the not so lucky ones – those who are earmarked, literally, for enslavement and death for the sake of their entertainment value, their skin and wool, their flesh and secretions?
They might wind up in a petting zoo only to be slaughtered later for someone’s dinner.
Their story will most undoubtedly not have a happy ending.
Annie’s Vegan View
Dyeing beings for special occasions, or just because, is not cool.
Pictures of frolicking lambs marked for slaughter are not cool.
Stealing babies from their mothers is not cool.
Celebrating rebirth by enslaving and/or murdering and consuming the flesh and secretions of any being is not cool.
We can do better.
Celebrate with love, kindness and compassion for all.
Happy Easter to all.
May all beings be happy and free.
Looking forward to trying out all those Easter goodies! Caught the kids hiding plastic eggs in anticipation tonight, when they were supposed to be sleeping, so I’m guessing they’ll be pretty jazzed about the candies too!!
Hi Allison,
Those treats are for the kids – directly from the Easter Bunny, I might add. Easter can be a magical time for kids. Looking forward to all of it.
Mom
In the UK hotel chocolat have a range of vegan Easter eggs this year!
Hey Jonathan,
Good to hear from you and very glad to hear that businesses are becoming more aware and providing plant based options. I still read labels like crazy even if something is supposed to be plant based -always looking for those hidden animal by products. Happy Easter to you from Canada to the UK.
Anne
Hey Anne, I trust that your cold is way behind you, and that you’re having a lovely and magical Easter with your human grand peeps. You’re right that so many things are not cool, so thank you for sharing those uber sweet videos! A wonderful tonic indeed. 🙂
Hi Friend,
Nothing beats the enthusiasm and wonder of little kids, so yes, I had a wonderful Easter. Hope that you did, as well. I do love seeing the lovely things once in a while. They help me to deal with the not so lovely.
Take care.
Anne
Hey Anne!
What a wonderful place Edgars Mission Farm Sanctuary Looks. I wish all farmed animals could have this life. Those videos were heart warming to watch. Such a refreshing change from the conditions I normally see them in on social media. Those twin lambs looked so adorable experiencing all of their firsts together.
I wish that every Easter people could see the new life in these circumstances instead of having lambs on their plates. It sickens me to the core.
This year in the UK I noticed they had vegan Easter eggs for sale in a couple of the big supermarkets. It’s a good start and shows there must be a demand for them now. I was in TESCO the other day and saw vegan selection boxes and chocolate advent calendars. Things certainly do seem to be going in the right direction. I’ve never seen these things before in the supermarkets. Hopefully things are moving in the right direction now!
Take care
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
Yes, the happy stories are very important to share too. They help me in a myriad of ways, especially the pics and videos of babies and their mamas, if they have not been separated.
Good to hear about the plant based eggs in the UK. Every little bit helps.
Take care,
Anne