The Most Important Choice of Your Life
August 10, 2012 31 Comments
Let’s LOVE animals.
Let’s stop killing them.
Let’s stop stealing from them.
Let’s stop hurting them.
Let’s stop believing that they are here to serve us…
[Photo by Jim Capaldi]
…because they AREN’T.
Animals do not want us to kill and eat them.
Animals do not want us to wear their skin.
Animals do not want us to treat their bodies like commodities.
Animals want to LIVE…
…just like we do.
Each and every animal is a unique individual being…
…with his or her own distinct personality.
And each and every animal needs you more than you could ever possibly imagine.
Because every time you spend your money you have a choice.
You have a choice to choose compassion…
…over cruelty.
You have a choice to choose justice…
…over oppression.
And you have a choice to choose life…
…over death.
Please make the choice to stop supporting industries that prey on those who are weak and unable to speak up for themselves.
Please make the choice to LIVE VEGAN.
I promise it will be the most rewarding and life-changing choice you will ever make for yourself,
our environment,
and most importantly, for the billions of animals killed every year in the meat, dairy, egg, and all other industries that profit from the exploitation of animals.
Let’s have our cake and eat it too.
Let’s live our ideals.
Let’s love with all our heart…
…as we once did long ago.
[Photos via Farm Sanctuary, The Beagle Freedom Project, Flickr (Creative Commons), An Unrefined Vegan, Camp Kindness, Get Fit With Cyn ]
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My name is Kara Kapelnikova, the author of Vegan Rabbit, and I would like to thank you for visiting my blog. I am a passionate animal rights activist, die-hard animal lover and vegan food addict. I believe all sentient beings have innate worth and should have the basic right to a life free from exploitation and oppression. 
I’m a vegan for 29 years. I save animals everyday by simply not eating, wearing and using them. I’ve saved thousand of lives and will continue until the day I am gone. When you are a vegan you see the world differently.
Mans need for domination over innocence, over life is his own downfall. There is no conscience there.
That’s right, as vegans we do see the world differently. There is a great quote by Albert Einstein that happens to by my favorite quote:
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ~ Albert Einstein
As vegans, I believe we have done just that.
Appreciate your information. The quotes you use are superb! The pictures are true to the article. Informative and true.
Mom, oh my gosh! Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment. I love you so much. I really believe that much of the reason I love animals so much is because you instilled that in me from an early age. Love you!
Linked to your blog here: http://animalblawg.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/4900
That John Stuart Mill quote just made my day.
And the photos really do explain it perfectly.
Thank you, Vegan Rabbit!!!
My pleasure, CQ. And making your day has made my day! Thanks for the linkage!
PS: Everyone, CQ has the greatest, most extensive collection of AR quotes in the history of quote collecting. Please take a look at CQ’s site!
Awwww … thanks, VR. Actually, I’m pretty partial to the pictures chosen to represent the quotes — pictures of innocent animals enjoying their lives free of human domination. (Sometimes I felt I had to choose a photo of an animal in a zoo — flamingos in one case, and giraffes, because I could find no quality alternatives of them in their natural habitat. The photo credits indicate their location. I’m not sure I would make the same decision today.)
Kara — The pictures are worth 31,000 words and the accompanying words are worth their weight in karats. A wonderfully graphic way of getting the message across! Just wondering, though –you have ads now??
Are you sure they aren’t worth 32,000 words? lol — Thank you, Robb! I wanted to create a contrast between the resulting outcomes of each choice between whether to go vegan or continue supporting cruelty. I wanted it to be more of a mild-mannered reality check. Most of all, I wanted people to get back in touch with their childhood fascination with animals, before we were taught to become speciesists and carnists.
Yes, I have ads now. I’m not a sell-out, honest!!! But I can definitely use the extra cash. You should apply for it from wordpress.com, it’s called WordAds.
*Advertisements on this Site do not necessarily represent the views of veganrabbit.com or Kara Kapelnikova.*
Being a Kroger customer, I like that ad.
Kara thank you for this classic post and for speaking out for the billions that are killed every year. IMHO, the only remotely valid reason for not becoming vegan is keeping peace in a family divided over the issue, and there, inroads can be made. The main reason is “I don’t want to think about it.” I know -I’ve been there. Keep up the good work!
LOVE this post! Thanks unrefined vegan for sharing it on FB so I could find it!
An incredible visual tribute. I just love this post.
Thank you, Rachel. That really means a lot to me
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HI! As always a thought provoking article. For those who have a dark sense of humor may I recommend listening to Tom Leher’s “Cows With Guns”? A bit of humor from the ’60′s I think but I myself would love to really happen.
This is my first time to your site and I must tell you: I love this post. It was so moving and so impactful. Thank you so much for this.
Thank you, Kristy! I hope it won’t be the last.
Great way to present the issues Kara.
Todah, BEH!
Nice ride! Some twists and turns with the good and the bad (images)… Still the message made the home stretch well worth it! Thanks for re-stating the absolute truth the being vegan IS the most important choice in your life!
Eating animals and their secretions is an addiction made worse by tradition. I’m so glad you showed people in photographs the two distinct paths they can take. As painful as it is to be awake, because being vegan is an awakening, I’m much happier knowing that I choose to live with my blinders off.
I agree, we vegans are truth-seekers. We do not subscribe to the belief that ‘ignorance is bliss’. It certainly cannot be bliss while we are destroying animals, the environment and our own bodies because of it. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil doesn’t apply to us. We know that this reaction to oppression not only doesn’t solve the problem, but actually allows it to become worse. The blinders are definitely off and there is no putting them back on.
Well done. It is obvious you spent time, care and thought on this photo essay. Thank you!
Thank you!
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I appreciate and agree with your respect for animals. However, I would like the same respect as a photographer. My photo of a horse drawn carriage in NYC’s Central Park is used without proper attribution – at least I could not find any. Just saying the photo is from flickr Creative Commons is not sufficient. While I do not mind people using my work at no charge, I do want credit.
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Jim! Please let me know how you would like it credited to you and where you would like it to link to. If you would like me to take it off my site completely, I totally understand. I’m very sorry. Your photos are beautiful, by the way, which was why I wanted to use them, and I definitely want to give you recognition for taking them!
No problem at all. I am very happy to share my work especially for such a good cause as yours. Somewhere near the photo, just add “Photo by Jim Capaldi.” It already has a link to flickr via the photo itself. Thanks for your prompt attention to this. Good luck in your work. Jim
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