What Can You Say?

I say  i'm vegan... they say, "it's impossible, what about protein?"

I say  it's been 8 years and I feel amazing... they say, "you're just young. No one can do it long term"

I say  check out these vegans since birth and people living past 100... they say, "who knows, it's just genetics"

I say  look at these people regaining their health... they say, "they're just lucky. My doctor says pills and surgery"

I say  look at what some of the most respected MD's and scientists say... they say, "they're biased"

I say  check out this NFL player, world champion boxer or guy who ran 166 miles in 24 hours... they say, "everyone is different"

I ask  them why food is so complex and unintuitive for us but no other animals... they say, "we've evolved"

I ask  them how the optimal diet can be something we hide from and disguise, lest it ruin our appetite... they say, "it's science"

I ask  them why most are so fat, sick and hardly able to move... they say, "but we live longer. Thank God for modern medicine"

I ask  them if they've ever seen where their food comes from... they say, "I don't have the time. The label says humane"

I ask  them what humane means... they say, "hormone free, grass-fed, free range"

I ask  them if prison and death by slaughter could ever be a good life... they say, "humans are different"

I show  them all the foods they can eat... they say, "that's extreme. I believe in moderation"

I show  them the trees being cut down and pollution... they say, "it's just lies"

I show  them the tortured and anguished faces... they say, "how awful, but I don't support that"

I show  them the multibillion dollar industry and lobbyists... they say, "but everyone needs to eat" 

I show  them the dead bodies of what they're eating... they gag, turn away, and say, "stop that, I'm trying to enjoy my meal"

I show  them happy & free dogs, chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys, fish and ducks... they say, "how cute, I love animals"

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A conversation, but not a conversation.

Like an individual reciting a speech, hearing none of the words.

No thought necessary, simply a loud enough proclamation from a large enough crowd.

Whether vague ambiguities, glaring contradiction or logical fallacy, the common response is sufficient.

You could carry the world on your shoulders,

Endow animals with the ability to speak,

Simplify environmental realities and health effects to basic arithmetic,

Highlight contradiction like the blueness in the sky.

When a conversation is not a conversation,

When distraction and disconnection reign and emotions shut off,

When self-awareness of one's inner world is lost in the conventions of the outer,

When fear consumes, habits worshipped, resistance solidified and systems entrenched,

What can you say?