by Jordan Reichert
AAEV Candidate - Victoria B.C.
If I said that Canada had a population of close to one billion, few if anyone would believe me.
If I told you that 99% of that population would be killed this year, I
would probably get a visit from CSIS as a terrorist threat to the
nation.
However, this wouldn’t be a deception or threat.It would be a factual
account of the number of non-human animals killed in Canada every year;
and yes, I refer to ‘animals’ as “non-human animals,” so as to
recognize that we, as humans, are animals too.
To break it down, approximately 700 million animals will be raised
and killed for food in Canada this year. The dairy industry exploits
close to 1 million animals each year, and then there is the untold
numbers of fish and marine life killed each year at nearly 1 million
metric tonnes. When you take into account the 15 million companion
animals, all the animals killed to feed them, and the wild animals
killed by hunting, trapping, fur-farming, and beyond, my estimate of
Canada’s population being one billion begins to look a bit more
reasonable. This is the 99% of Canada’s population that have been made
disposal by the industries that exploit them for profit and by our
government that fails to recognize them as citizens worthy of
recognition and protection in our society.
If I said that Canada had a population of close to one billion, few if anyone would believe me.
If I told you that 99% of that population would be killed this year, I
would probably get a visit from CSIS as a terrorist threat to the
nation.
However, this wouldn’t be a deception or threat. It would be a
factual account of the number of non-human animals killed in Canada
every year; and yes, I refer to ‘animals’ as “non-human animals,” so as
to recognize that we, as humans, are animals too.
To break it down, approximately 700 million animals will be raised
and killed for food in Canada this year. The dairy industry exploits
close to 1 million animals each year, and then there is the untold
numbers of fish and marine life killed each year at nearly 1 million
metric tonnes. When you take into account the 15 million companion
animals, all the animals killed to feed them, and the wild animals
killed by hunting, trapping, fur-farming, and beyond, my estimate of
Canada’s population being one billion begins to look a bit more
reasonable. This is the 99% of Canada’s population that have been made
disposal by the industries that exploit them for profit and by our
government that fails to recognize them as citizens worthy of
recognition and protection in our society.
Let’s not forget the 35 million people who make this all happen either.
It is important to talk about the 35 million people, because right
now about 23 million of them are the only ones in the upcoming federal
election who may vote on which party will have power over how all 1
billion lives in Canada will be affected. It may not seem very
representative to have 23 million individuals decide the fate of 1
billion, but that is exactly why there is a need to raise awareness of
the tremendous number of lives taken each year and the social cost of
this indifferent, systemic, and unbaiting violence against non-human
animals.
Now, someone will read this and thinking to themselves, “They want to
give animals the right to vote!” Absolutely not. What Animal Alliance
Environment Voters Party of Canada wants to do is to give these 1
billion members of Canadian society representation at the federal level.
We want those who are able to vote to be able to make an informed
choice when they are deciding which party to vote for. Right now, none
of the mainstream parties are talking about animal issues in their
campaign. Why? Because these issues are considered dangerous for
political parties – protecting those who can’t vote from those who
can. Yet, we know that people care about non-human animals.
There are other good reasons why we should be concerned that the
mainstream parties are not talking about the lives and plight of
non-human animals.
One, is the environment. Any political party who says their priority
is the environment, but does not talk about or take seriously the
impact of the animal agriculture industry on climate change or the
environment as a whole is pandering for votes. I have heard every
mainstream party in this election support the animal agriculture
industry in one way or another and I have not had a straight response
from any of them about how they will address this issue or why they are
not talking about it. It literally feels as though we are living in a
cowspiracy, and that every political party is stepping around the issue
whenever it is brought up.
We have to ask ourselves as citizens if these parties are
representing our interests first or those of the meat, dairy, and egg
lobbies that are subsidized to the tune of $6-8 Billion dollars a year
by our government to keep them in business. If they aren’t putting our
interests first, what other social justice, environmental, and public
interests are they willing to compromise for votes and potentially
financial support.
Compromising the integrity of the lives of other animals for profit
and power directly compromises the integrity of our own as people.
Thousands of people in Canada spend their time, energy, and money
providing an essential service to the hundreds of thousands of cats and
dogs, and other non-human animals that are disposed of by those
responsible for their care. This places a huge burden upon civil society
that do their best to treat the symptoms of the problem, with little to
no support from the government to treat the root issues of this form of
homelessness that constantly overwhelms shelters and rescues with lives
to care for.
Furthermore, our human health is under attack by the propaganda of
the meat, dairy, and egg industries that promote their products as being
essential or beneficial for our health. As a vegan for the last 5
years I can tell you that being healthy has nothing to do with eating
other animals. Meat, dairy, and egg products are not only destroying the
environment we depend on for clean air and fresh water, but also our
bodies directly and perhaps even our health care system. Diets high in
these products have been shown to lead to increased risk of cancer,
diabetes, and heart disease. In many cases, high protein diets
associated with these foods are shown to make humans four times more
likely to die of cancer. These products all have negative health
consequences which in turn undermine the integrity of our health-care
system to provide care for all those who become ill due to the effects
of meat, eggs, and dairy. Yet, we don’t hear the government take
measures to educate people about the harmful effects of these foods and
the benefits of a plant-based diet and lifestyle. Are we that
disposable to the government as well in the interest of profit?
Animal Alliance Environment Voters candidates are in a powerful
position when it comes to serving the health, environment, and
protections of all individuals in our communities because we are led by
our values first, not by trying to be the most popular vote. I do not
see any of our citizens as disposable, because I know every individual
has their own set of needs and interests that are deserving of
recognition and representation. I also do not see the lives of non-human
animals as disposable, which right now our current government does by
inaction on the violence against them in our homes, in the wild, and in
the institutions that abuse them for profit.
A truly inclusive government gives a voice, even if it is through
representatives, to all those under its care and leadership. I see my
role in this election as giving a voice to the over one billion
non-human animals that are silenced in the shadows of slaughterhouses
and processing plants each year, live in our homes, and free in the
wild. I don’t know how any political party or representative could take
the representation of their constituency more seriously than starting
by protecting the most vulnerable in our society and working up.
No member of our society should be disposable for profit or for
private interest. If we do this, we set the moral standard of what is
acceptable treatment for any vulnerable individual in our society at a
deplorable level.
It often discomforts people to think of themselves as animals in a
continuum of unique manifestations of that concept. However, I am
asserting we are all equal even if we are different, which I believe is
indispensable in an inclusive and compassionate society.
