I’ve been studying the idea that cruelty is a learned behavior. When we are young, do we treat others badly by an innate desire to hurt them or is it something we learn as we grow older? Young children can quite happily play with each other regardless of the color of their skin. So where does racism come from?

How about cruelty to animals? As children we gained happiness and enjoyment just from watching animals. Most of us were also fed animals by our parents. This was the normal way of life for most people living in the U.S. The question I would ask is, does eating animals mean that we are being cruel to them? My suggested answer is that yes, it does.

We have enslaved all kinds of animals such as chickens, pigs, cows through to marine animals that we “grow” as food. The way we treat these animals is that they serve no purpose other than to become food on our table.

Human massacres are condemned, rightly. But where is our compassion when it comes to the massacre of animals? Do they too not have a right to life?

I’ll admit, meat tastes good. In fact, I stopped eating meat, not for ethical reasons but on health grounds. What I then discovered was the massive trail of suffering that we inflict upon the animals we consume. My contention is that it’s wrong. This is something that I believe should be discussed in learning institutions, indeed I now do discuss it with my students. Of course, I have my own opinions. Rather than wanting to make my students think in a certain way, the most important issue is letting them think for themselves about the issues.

It’s easy to enjoy our foods without having to eat animal products. Creating health drinks with the best juicer is just one option. There are all kinds of great tasting vegan/vegetarian dishes that are not only tasty but cheap too.