Hi Everyone,
On Sunday, 21st April, my sister (
Vegan events are typically attended by vegans. Most people become vegan because they believe in animal rights, and several others become vegan for a healthy lifestyle. Most of the presentations at the events are about animal cruelty or the benefits of a vegan diet. Most of the audience already understands these points; it is like preaching to the choir. Hence, they are vegan. Most of these types of presentations are more suited to non-vegan audiences.
I wanted to present something that is not talked about as much in vegan circles. Two years ago, I discussed people’s reasons for reducing meat consumption. This considered a broader group of people that also included vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, pescatarians, and flexitarians. Each group’s primary motivations varied. I discussed these using different surveys. What were the implications for meat and dairy consumption as well as the consumption of alternatives to meat and dairy?
The initial plan was to present at the festival in 2023. However, this was not to be. We did not end up with a time slot to present. However, we had already decided what to present. The presentation was to be based on a post I wrote in January 2023. This post was titled ‘Manipulated for Us’. The post discusses how we, as humans, manipulate the world around us for our own benefit. This post discussed how we change our natural landscape to build huge cities, use various resources to build literally everything we use. The post continues by explaining how we manipulate animals for our own benefit. This part of the post was going to be the focus of our presentation at the Vegan Festival.
A few months after the initial post, I also posted a video in my back garden. The video and post were titled ‘Manipulated for Us: Introducing Hamlet and Lily’. In this video, I provide a very off-the-cuff discussion about how animals are manipulated for us. I pay extra attention to Hamlet the Happy Pig and Lily Goat. This was also a full introduction video to these two amazing characters.
Our presentation at the Vegan Festival was a combination of my post from a year earlier and the video I made with Hamlet and Lily. I included an additional section about plants. So many of our fruits have been manipulated to be bigger, or have fewer or no seeds. The bulk of my presentation was about how animals are manipulated through breeding to give us more of what we want. See examples below.
My section of the presentation ended by asking what would happen to all these animals if people stopped killing them for meat or using them for other purposes. They already occupy an enormous amount of land. This amount of land is far less than they need to have a decent quality of life. Even if there was sufficient land for them, they are not capable of surviving in the wild. They have been altered so that they are dependent on us.
So what is next? I strongly disagree with culling. I believe the solution is to gradually bring down the numbers. Eventually, the remaining animals can be moved to sanctuaries. People could even have them on their properties if they have the right environment to cater to them. We owe them that much.
My sister took over the presentation. She talked about Hamlet the Happy Pig and Lily Goat. She described what they were like and what was needed to look after them. Taking care of a happy pig has its challenges. Looking after a goat is not so difficult.
She also discussed a former factory farm chicken named Black Betty. She had suffered greatly from the days when she laid an egg a day. After being brought out of that environment, she only laid one egg a month. She finished the presentation off with a discussion about our adopted dogs.
Our presentation lasted roughly around an hour. We both presented for about half an hour each.
Before we could do any of the above, we needed some delicious food. Here is a sample of what we ate.
Thanks for Watching.
I have published an ebook on Amazon; it is titled ‘Sapien Loop: End of an Era’. The book is fiction. I do not normally write fiction. However, I felt it was appropriate considering what is happening in the world today. Freedom is the most important thing we have, but we are gradually losing it. I have covered this in many of my posts.
In the story, most citizens do not understand the concept of freedom because they have never really experienced it. In essence, the story is about an alien world that might represent our not-so-distant future. There are many other elements to the story that are an abstract and exaggerated version of our reality. I believe this book to be an important read, and I believe it has the potential to change the way you think.
This story is based on the fictional planet Sapia and its sole country, Sapey. Sapey is portrayed as a form of utopia for all its citizens. No poverty. No war. Almost no crime. Opportunities for all.
This was enough for most citizens, but not all. In one of the small regions, some of the citizens had become discontent. They felt something important was missing in their lives. Their discontent did not go unnoticed. Some of the Sapey elite wanted to weaponise this discontent to gain more power. This created more chaos than they anticipated. This led to further widespread social unrest.
On top of the chaos, ambition and greed provoked another enemy. This enemy was on a mission to settle both new and old scores.
If you want to buy a copy of the book, below are links to the relevant Amazon websites for each country it is available in. The book is priced at approximately US$5.08.
I am also running monthly contests where participants are required to answer questions based on the book. The prize is 30 Hive Power plus upvotes for the first twelve entries. You can recover the cost of the book with just one win.
▶️ 3Speak
