转帖]「我为何吃素」作文比赛优胜作品
作者：翻译/阿胖 信息来源：番茄小屋
去年年底，美国人道对待动物组织(PETA)举办了一次「我为何吃素」的作文比赛，消息公佈之后，有超过1100位的素食者投稿，提出他们为何由肉食转变成为一位素食者的心路历程。许多人在文中表示他们无法从逻辑上一面爱着陪伴他们的动物，却又一面吃肉，因此决定成为素食者。除此一最常被提出的原因外，也有讨论到素食所带来的健康益处以及肉、蛋与牛奶工业对环境的破坏。
绝大多数的投稿内容关注在现代化工厂型农场的残忍行为，以及动物不是我们用来监禁与宰杀的观念。有些人提到因为看到生产鸡蛋的业者，在將小鸡塞入非常小的铁农笼子前，將牠们嘴巴烧掉的情形后，决定成为一位吃全素的素食者。也有许多人谈到猪肉制造业者用来装怀孕期母猪的笼子，在这根本无法转身的小笼子当中，母猪被装在里面达五个月之久。许多人引用PETA”被击倒的母牛”的报导内容，这是关于一只受伤的母牛，被牛肉制作业者无情地拖着走并射杀的故事。许多人说被关在农场的动物会感觉痛，且像猫与狗一样有感情，而且如果你还继续吃肉的话，你不配称为是一位”爱动物的人”。
有百分之四十的文章中讨论到吃肉与心脏病，中风，结肠癌，乳房癌及前列腺癌之间关系。另有超过100个人提到，在他们选择吃素之后，不但变得更有力量与活力，还减去了过重的体重。
其中不只80个人说对环境的关心是影响他们吃素的主要原因。一位来自北卡罗来纳州的PETA会员亲眼见到养猪工厂对他们所住社区的污染，从此不再吃肉。一位加州的会员谈到他父亲在一家制造牛奶工厂工作时，在一肥料沼泽中因为吸入有毒气体而沿生出健康的问题。也有许多人引用雨林受破坏、水污染，以及制肉工业使用低效率能源等，作为他们断绝吃肉的原因。
比赛最后由美国人道对待动物组织在1100多位参赛者当中，选出10位参赛者的作品，刊登在他们出版的新闻刊物上，10位作者并且可以享有一顿丰盛的素食大餐。蕃茄小屋在取得PETA同意之后，將分两期在这里介绍给大家，这10位获得优胜奖的朋友，他们是因为什么原因而吃素的。-----强力推荐
(1)堪萨斯州，David Potter
有许多原因让我选择吃素。在我很小的时候，我就是一位喜欢动物的人。我喜欢观赏在我家后院遊玩的鸟儿，也喜欢到附近的公园，看鸭、鹅、松鼠及其他小动物们。对于动物的爱，在我童年成长过程中一直滋长着，然而，我还是一面吃着肉。
每当我看到电视上揭露屠宰场负面影像的录影带时，我总会觉得可怕，然而，长时间以来，我只是简单的试着將这些可怕的影像与想法，从我脑海中移除，目的是为了方便继续我”正常”(儘管是没人性且不健康)的饮食。
接着，在我14岁时，整个变了。我逐渐了解肉类与其他动物产品应该为大多数人们的健康问题负责。除此之外，我眼中开始从过去所吃的汉堡、鸡翅、与燻肉中，看得到惧怕与无依的牛、鸡与猪。这些不是食物，而是有父母、有家庭、有感觉与权利的生情生命。
这些认知让我见到餐桌上的肉时，將叉子放下。很快的，不同于大众的认知，我发觉吃素既不困难，也不是一种对味觉的吹嘘。我在我们这里的健康食品店找到相关丰富的素食食品，包括口味很棒的仿肉食品。吃着”仿热狗”，但却不会对环境造成伤害或杀害其他活的动物，这种感觉真好。
几年后，我將注意力转到我所吃的蛋与牛奶制品上。我很高兴选择了吃素，且开始怀疑这些动物性副产品，对一个让动物免于残酷的生活型态是否是可以接受的。于是我决定做些研究，且很快的知道了人道对待动物组织(PETA)。
在本地一个展示会上，我拿了一份PETA的宣传单，并惊吓的发现这些动物副产品的制造环境。鸡的嘴被烤焦，牛被榨取牛奶至死，这些都只是刚开始。在PETA的网站上，我发现更多的讯息，于是我决定吃纯素，且不再回头。
现在我21岁，不但比以前健康快乐，每天吃纯素与运动，让我具有最佳的运动员身材。我的血压与脂肪指数均低，且比以前更有活力，每天晚上睡觉时我知道我过着在一个不再伤害地球上其他同袍的生活。毕竟我们是相系在一起。我希望在像PETA这一类人们的帮助下，能让我们这个星球成为它的子民(包括人类与非人类)一个更仁道、更慈悲的家。
David Potter, Kansas
I suppose there are several reasons [why] I became vegetarian. Even as a small child, I was an animal lover. I had always loved watching the birds in my backyard and enjoyed going to nearby parks to see the ducks, geese, squirrels, and my other small friends. My love for animals continued to grow throughout my childhood; however, I continued eating meat.
I was always horrified when I saw undercover videos from slaughterhouses (frequently [videotaped] by our friends in PETA) in investigative reports on TV, yet for a long time I simply tried to put horrific images and thoughts such as these out of my head merely for the convenience of maintaining my “normal” (albeit inhumane and unhealthy) diet.
Then, at 14, it became too much. I came to realize that meat and other animal products were to blame for the vast majority of humanity’s health concerns. On top of this, I began to see frightened, innocent cows, chickens, and pigs where I once had seen hamburgers, wings, and bacon. I realized these items were not food—they were sentient beings with parents, families, emotions, and rights.
These realizations led me to put down the fork when meat was on the table. I quickly learned that, contrary to popular belief, conversion to a vegetarian diet was neither difficult nor a blow to the taste buds. I went to my local health food store and found a bountiful selection of delicious vegetarian foods, including wonderful imitation products for the meat dishes I had abandoned. It felt great to enjoy a “hot dog” without harming the environment or ingesting another living creature.
A few years later, I turned my focus to another element of my diet: eggs and dairy [products]. I was very happy with my decision to go vegetarian and began to wonder if these animal byproducts were really an acceptable component to a cruelty-free lifestyle. I decided to do some research and soon learned about PETA.
At a local show, I picked up a pamphlet from PETA and was horrified to learn of the conditions to which these “byproduct” animals were exposed. Chickens with their beaks seared off and cows milked to death were just the beginning. After learning more at www.peta.org, I made the decision to go vegan—and never looked back.
Now, at the age of 21, I am as healthy and happy as ever. My vegan diet, along with daily exercise, has put me in the best athletic shape of my life. My blood pressure and cholesterol are low, I have more energy than ever before, and I can go to bed each night knowing that I live my life without harming my compatriots here on Earth. After all, we’re ALL in this life together. I hope with the help of people like those at PETA, we can all make our planet a more humane, compassionate home for all its residents, both human and nonhuman.
(2)德州，Laurette Timms
多年来我在吃素的路上，进进出出，只因为我不很喜欢吃肉。后来在芝加哥市树屋避难所(Tree House shelter)当兽医助手照顾病猫时，我远离了吃牛肉、猪肉、鸡肉与火鸡肉。我只是开始想如果猫有感觉的话，那么，牛、猪、鸡与火鸡也应当有感觉，因此就不想再吃牠们了。接着，我看到一条鱼在水霸上跳动，于是我想牠们也不会很舒服才是。2003年4月在德州大学听Garyv Yourofsky(PETA)的一次演讲后，我从一般素改成纯素，我先生则从一位肉食者成为一位吃纯素的素食者。从播放的影片上，我们真实的看到农场动物为了成为一片鲜美的肉味所遭受到的痛苦。当我们知道牛肉制品业的暴行之后，我们说，够了，够了，把起司抛掉，改买豆浆吧。
我们觉得我们可以与其他上百万的素食者发表一大篇声明，不让一个靠动物受苦来换取利益的工业获得任何一毛钱。市面有可口的仿肉、豆浆、蛋替代品，与便宜的合成鞋。也有不含牛奶成份的冰淇淋，所以我们有足够的东西了。在Wal-Mart或Kroger等超市，我们可以买到许多东西。此外，我们也可以开车到Whole Foods或Central Market买东西。
素食产品比以往更普遍了，整个大肉类与奶制品工业也在关注当中。Dean Foods买下了Silk soy milk公司。ConAgra，Kraft，与Kellogg也买下了仿肉制造公司。甚至Burger King也卖起素汉堡。麦当劳正在加州测试素汉堡的销售市场。Denny有素汉堡，Pizza Hut也在印地安纳州的Ft. Wayne测试黄豆起司披萨。
钱会说话。而我们准备为动物代言。
Laurette Timms, Texas
I was a vegetarian on and off for years, because I just didn’t like meat that much. I went off beef, pork, chicken, and turkey permanently, while working with sick cats as a vet assistant at Tree House shelter in Chicago. I just started thinking that if cats had feelings, so [did] cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys, etc., and I just didn’t want to eat them anymore.Then, I saw a fish flopping around on Survivor and thought it just can’t be too comfortable for him either. I went from vegetarian to vegan, and my husband went from meat-eater to vegan, when we attended a lecture by Gary Yourofsky (PETA) at the University of Texas in March 2003. We actually saw, on film, the way farm animals suffer, just for a tasty piece of meat. When we heard about the atrocities of the dairy industry, we said enough is enough, threw out the cheese, and bought soy milk.
We feel we can make a big statement, along with millions of other vegetarians, by not giving one dime to an industry that profits from animal suffering. There’s tasty fake meat, soy milk, egg replacer, and Payless synthetic shoes. There is also nondairy ice cream out there, so we’re all set. We can get a lot of stuff at Wal-Mart or Kroger. Otherwise, it’s a trip to Whole Foods or Central Market.
Vegetarian products are more commonplace than ever, and the big meat and dairy corporations are actually taking notice. Dean Foods has bought Silk soy milk. ConAgra, Kraft, and Kellogg’s have bought fake meat companies. Even Burger King has a veggie burger. McDonald’s is test marketing a veggie burger in California, Denny’s has a veggie burger, and Pizza Hut is test marketing soy cheese pizza in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
Money talks. And we plan on letting ours talk for animals.
搜索更多相关主题的帖子:
素食 动物
