All Roaming Free
I went vegan because,
I wish to be free.
If our situations reversed,
I hope some would see.
I get nature's game,
with both hunter and prey.
Seems as though both,
really haven't much say.
They still live a free life,
from beginning to end.
Not flocked in a herd,
for some owner to tend.
To see if it's right,
just imagine yourself.
Bred, owned and killed,
to be packed on some shelf.
No freedom to roam,
and experience life.
Your fate prematurely set,
to meet some sharp knife.
They cannot talk,
and say how they feel.
Only some owner,
who tries to conceal.
Imagine this spokesman,
to narrate for you.
Your owner and killer,
and what can you do?
'Humane' on the package,
free-range and grass-fed.
Enough for most people,
so long as their said.
Should companies who profit,
be our voice and mind,
on the standards of ethics,
and whether they're kind?
Factory farm or on pasture,
it's much all the same.
A prison for them,
no matter the name.
Whether max security,
or the country club type.
Surely no prison,
ever gets that much hype.
Prison is prison,
and for them it's much worse.
But they're all locked away,
with no way to converse.
If lucky, though rare,
they grow up outdoors.
Still short life then killed,
with their bodies in stores.
For the rest you can't fathom,
their tortuous lot.
Packed in by the thousands,
relieved to be shot.
That's the 99 percent,
despite what 'they' say.
For it's sheer economics,
however they may.
There's not enough grass,
so they pack 'em indoors.
Fatten them up,
then off to the stores.
It's an assembly line,
with fast speed the key.
But still illegal to enter,
and our world to see.
Their poor health is no problem,
no matter how sick.
With antibiotics galore,
from which they can pick.
What can they eat,
that's cheap and easy to grow?
GMO soy and corn,
as our forests do go.
Greenhouse gases immense,
from so many animals bred.
The unseen dark shadow,
from the food we are fed.
Their waste is obscene,
but a most brilliant notion.
With lagoons and spraying,
that only leads to our ocean.
Yes, factory farming's insane,
but seems it only distracts,
from more basic questions,
and those fundamental facts.
Is it right to enslave,
and dictate their life,
only to end,
in front of some knife?
Alive, killed and dead,
then eventually our meal.
To see the whole thing,
how on earth would you feel?
If cry, gag, cringe,
or shout in crazed laughter,
is that really the best food,
for us to go after?
We don't live off the land,
we've many foods to choose.
Is then our 'survivor' history,
the best menu to use?
Land and water needs great,
to make dairy, eggs and meat.
Are not then plants,
more sustainable to eat?
Obesity, cancer and the lot,
health epidemics the norm.
Is not plant-based food,
a much healthier form?
We disguise it anyway,
with cooking, sauce and spice.
Can't we do the same vegan,
for our food to entice?
Plant crops enchant,
in thought, smell and sight.
Is that not also a good standard,
to know what food's right?
It seems we can transform,
and let everyone win.
Earth, animals and us,
despite where we've been.
No need to love animals,
or change who you are.
But your food choices matter,
their impact goes far.
If they can live free,
or at least not a slave.
So much peace and relief,
with new paths we could pave.
The status quo's not for hunger,
nor necessity or health.
Simply just habit,
traditions and wealth.
Just 1 sale at a time,
turn to billions made.
We vote with our dollars,
as our world is then laid.
Without you it stops,
it is the only way.
We can't rely on another,
to come save the day.
It is not your fault,
just what we all learned.
But here we are now,
new page to be turned.
