The voice of god

On Saturday morning we set the alarm for 7:30 because we had to get up and get some things done. Most of you are probably not up that early on the weekends but if you are you may know that many radio stations broadcast public programming then. Sometimes it's idiotic but sometimes it's really good.

When the alarm went off this booming voice was talking. It sounded like the voice of god, but not in a scary way. It was Howard Lyman. Who the hell is he? That's what I thought too. We ended up laying in bed for 45 minutes just listening to him. It turns out that he's the guy that had to go to court with Oprah against the cattle ranchers in Texas. He's a fourth generation cattle farmer who is now vegan. This seemed crazy to me because the only other person who's lived on a farm that I've ever known was my step-dad. And he eats meat everyday, and he's killed animals and none of it bothers him in the slightest. I'd also like to mention that although he gets plently of exercise, has never smoked or drank, and is not overweight--he still got colon cancer, probably from all of the meat.

As soon as the broadcast was over I went to the computer to check out his website. It's packed full of info and helpful links and stuff. Yesterday we went to the bookstore and I bought his book-Mad Cowboy. I finished it before bed, I literally couldn't put it down. It's absolutely terrifying in parts. It talks a lot about Mad Cow disease and how cattle are basically ruining the planet through overgrazing and desertification. He also talks about rendering plants and how they grind up multiple parts and species of animals (including fecal matter) and then resell it as feed for cows, pigs and chickens who will be slaughtered in the future. And if you have a pet you might want to switch them to vegetarian food because they put this crap in dog and cat food as well.

There's so much more info that I couldn't possibly put it all in here. You should really check it out for yourself. All ethics about animals aside-- eating meat (fish included) is bad for our bodies and our planet. I was a vegetarian for the entire time i was at college. Shortly after I moved back to Phoenix I had begun eating white meat and fish again. I think that's about to change again.

So to Kevin and Shirl- feel free to tell me "I told you so."