Vegan picture books about pigs can teach children to understand and empathise with the experiences of animals. They can learn that pigs, like all living beings, have emotions and desires, and that they deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. Reading these books can also help children develop a sense of compassion for animals and a desire to help protect them. They may learn that all animals have their own unique personalities and that they are important members of the ecosystem.
The cow is a powerful symbol in literature, representing a wide range of themes and ideas. The symbolic meaning of cows refers to fertility, motherhood, sacrifice, nourishment, generosity and life-giving qualities, and innocence and purity. The appearance of cows in ancient mythology is not only because of the importance they had as domestic animals and sacrificial beings, but also because they appear as teachers on how to behave and think.
Artificial intelligence (AI) does not have emotions or consciousness, and therefore does not have the capacity for empathy. ChatGPT is a model of artificial intelligence that is trained to generate text. In simple words, ChatGTP is a talented and versatile writer. It can write all kinds of texts on any topic. Although it does not have the ability to feel empathy, I gave to Mr. ChatGTP the unusual task: Write a letter to the cows! Mr. ChatGTP wrote the following letter without hesitation:
Do not judge a person’s character by how he treats those with equal or greater power than his own, but by how he treats the weak, the helpless, whose suffering will pass without consequence. Right and wrong are intellectual and subjective concepts. What is right for one person may be wrong for another and vice versa. Animal’s advocates find that it is objectively wrong to cause suffering to living, sentient creatures that we would never want to experience ourselves.
Talking about veganism with school-aged children help them to make informed choices about the food they eat and the products they use. It can empower them to think critically about the impact of their choices on the world around them and to stand up for their beliefs. It’s important to start this conversation early in order to provide children with the knowledge and tools they need to make conscious and ethical choices throughout their lives. With the right approach, children can learn about veganism in a way that is engaging and fun, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the impact of their choices on the world.
In the book “Reading Circle” (1910), Leo Tolstoy collected the most important thoughts of famous artists, scientists, and philosophers and arranged them in a calendar of daily and monthly readings. In this book, you can read inspiring thoughts about God, art, death, upbringing, love, peace, compassion, the meaning of life and more. I highlighted the thoughts that Tolstoy wrote regarding compassion for animals and the human habit of eating meat.
Carnism is an invisible belief system according to which it is natural, necessary, and normal to eat the meat of certain animals. Carnism is such a deeply rooted part of our life and culture that people do not question the morality and harmfulness of eating meat at all. The first step in changing an ideology is to precisely recognise and name it. The question therein is: what psychological and sociological mechanisms are built into that oppressive system to make it so effective?
Rudolph Steiner even knew at that time that plant foods contain all the proteins and fats that humans need. In his lecture “The Evolution of the Earth and Man” (1924) he said: “Healthy vegetable proteins are what our body has a lot of. When we put chicken protein into our body, our body can be quite a lazy, sluggish body; he will be able to destroy it easily because it is easily destroyed.”
The very idea of allowing unnecessary suffering, even more of taking life, was repulsive to Leonardo da Vinci. When he passed by a place where Florence birds were sold, he would often take them out of the cage with his own hand, and after paying the sellers the asking price, he would release them into the air and thus restore their freedom.
Pythagoras believed that everything that people do to animals comes back to them. He and his followers not only hated the religious sacrifice of animals but believed that man should not eat animals because eating meat makes him a war machine, aggressive, and murderous. He believed that as long as people kill animals, they will also kill each other. The Pythagoreans were of the opinion that man could live without inflicting pain or taking life.
One of the greatest minds in the world, Nikola Tesla, was a vegetarian who warned against the slaughter of animals and claimed that he would not harm or kill a single living being. Nikola Tesla fought for the liberation of animals, publicly standing up for their protection on many occasions. It’s no secret because he expressed his views in interviews for newspapers, but also in front of scientists and other prominent people of his time. That’s why we can rightfully consider him one of the biggest advocates of animal rights, who also left valuable advice to people for a peaceful and more healthy life.
The killing and eating of animals occur mainly because people were convinced that animals were destined by God for human use and that there was nothing wrong with killing animals. But this is not true. In whatever books it is written that it is not a sin to kill animals, in the hearts of all of us, it is clearer than in these books that animals should be pitied just like humans, and we all know this if we do not silence our conscience.