If you haven’t heard the news yet, Australia is on fire. The Australian fires have displaced many and have destroyed everything people have including their homes and everything in them. It has gotten so bad that people have had to evacuate into the ocean to escape the burning fires.

People and animals are being burned to death and there’s not a lot we can do to stop it. Or is there?

So far, the count of animals killed in the Australian fires is around 500 million.

This number is absolutely catastrophic and depressing to say the least. However, as I read the many posts about people’s sadness and anger to the lives lost, part of me is very frustrated. While it is sad that these Australian fires are taking the lives of so many, the amount of animals killed is only a small fraction of the amount of animals killed per year for human pleasure and consumption.

On average 70 billion animals are killed every year in slaughterhouses. Source Here Essentially, if you’re paying to buy animal-based products then you’re in fact supporting the mass slaughter of animals. You can actually actively watch the amount of animals that are killed every day here.

This is the third day of January and we’re already up to 413 million animals killed for slaughter. (Number will be greater than this if you look it up after reading this.) Why isn’t anyone outraged by that number?

Now, I know most of this will fall on deaf ears, but I’m hoping that maybe someone will read this is see it from my perspective. Possibly this realization will help even one person decide they don’t need meat on their plate anymore.

The truth is that we don’t need animals in our diet to survive and thrive. We kill them by the billions strictly for profit and to benefit our taste buds. I’ve gone more into the reasons to go vegan in other blog posts so feel free to check one out Here.

So how does being vegan correlate to the Australian fires happening now?

Cattle farming and agriculture is the number one contributor to carbon emissions (Around 51% according to the Worldwatch Institute. Riding your bike to work, recycling, and using solar power are like trying to dig a hole with your bare hands. Switching to veganism is the single most effective fight we, as civilians, can to do reduce carbon emissions and potentially turn around climate change – Which is the leading cause of the Australian Fires!

I’m not going to rant on and on about this, because I feel like I’ve already done that. Just wanted to share a small reminder that the reason these people and animals are dying are the fault of our own. Doing nothing, or sending “hopes and prayers”, isn’t going to help.

If you really want to help prevent catastrophic, climate-change fueled, natural disasters, then consider leaving meat off of your plate.

It also happens to be veganuary and it’s not to late to jump on the pledge that over 350,000 people have already vowed towards.If this is something you might be interested in, please check out the blog post below on 5 documentaries you could watch that would change your perception on everything you’ve been taught.

We have been lied to our entire lives, and now we’re paying the price of the meat and dairy industry’s mistakes. I’ve written an entire blog about the hypocrisy and how they’ve manipulated people to promote their products, using their large wallets. Check that out here. It shows how easily we as consumers are tricked into buying more meat even if it’s been proven to be unhealthy for us. All info straight from the American Heart Association.

Thank you for being here. I know it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. Something about these fires and everyone’s urgency when it comes to the animals that have died really “grinded my gears”. Yes, it’s okay to be upset about the fires, the animals lost, and the people who are having to actually live out this disaster as their reality. However, we as a human race are responsible for it. Unless you plan of doing something about it, posting a meme and saying “Thoughts and Prayers” is not productive and does not help the situation at hand.

I love you all. Please go vegan and stop thinking about your taste buds. Do your research, watch the documentaries I’ve listed and be conscious of where your dollar is going. Just don’t complain about it if you’re just going to keep paying for these events to occur.

/endrant

xoxo