Its for the Animals..

I have always been a person who cared deeply for animals. Growing up I always had pets whom I cared more about than my toys; I was happy when they were and I felt their pain when they were hurt or sick.  However, until this class I only said I cared. I would donate money to the World Wildlife Fund or Defenders of Wildlife and then go about my carnivorous ways. I would drive by a pasture full of cows and say how cute they were and then eat a steak for dinner. After reading “Brave New Farm” realizing that 

“cattle may be dehorned and branded, and males are castrated, all without anesthesia” (Mason, 162) 

I found it very difficult to go home and eat that steak. Then the next day we read Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”, showing the reader a slaughterhouse for pigs and pointing out that 

“some were white pigs, some were black; some were brown, some were spotted; some were old, some were young; some long and lean, some were monstrous.” (Sinclair, 29) 

That day I decided I had cared too much for these creatures to let them die for me. I suddenly felt the way Mary Spears does in “Eyes of the Dead” when she says 

“there were tears in my eyes, I couldn’t understand, how could people be so heartless? How many have to die, for other people’s pleasure?” (Spears, 81)

            As a full time student with a full time job an hour away, I had a difficult time finding a volunteer opportunity. I wanted to do something with animals but all of the shelters require a volunteer orientation.

            I had been planning a trip to New York at the end of April, to visit one of my best friends who happens to be a vegan and very involved in the community. I found out that I would be in NYC the same weekend of the Third Annual Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. This year there was a bake sale at MooShoes (vegan shoe store) and all of the proceeds went to “for the Animals Sanctuary” in New Jersey.  “for the Animals Sanctuary” is a non profit organization that rescues animals from the “food-farming trade”, that Mason and Sinclair write of, and provide them with a safe, loving home to live out the rest of their lives. As someone who loves to bake, we decided this was perfect so I signed up to bake Vegan, Gluten-Free Brownies and volunteer at the actual sale.  

            The day of the Bake Sale I learned about this organization that I had never heard of until a week before when I signed up as a volunteer. “for the Animals Sanctuary” is located in Blairstown, New Jersey and provides a home not only to rescued livestock but domestic animals as well. They promote a vegan lifestyle to benefit “themselves, and the animals and the earth.”

            I took many things out of participating in this event. The first thing I gained is a deeper knowledge of the abuse animals experience in a factory farm, and knowing that there is someone out there who will take care of them if they can be rescued. The second, more superficial thing I learned, is that not all vegan organizations are psychotic and scream “meat is murder” which was a surprise. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to learn about volunteer, and raise money for this wonderful organization.