Janez Drnovsek on Vegetarianism and Animal Rights

In the entire history of mankind, one can remember not so many vegetarian statesmen and animal rights activists. One of these politicians is the former President of the Republic of Slovenia – Janez Drnovsek. In his interview, he calls for thinking about what unimaginable cruelty a person inflicts on an animal.

In my opinion, plant foods are much better. Most people eat meat simply because they were raised that way. As for me, I first became a vegetarian, then a vegan, eliminating eggs and all dairy. I took this step simply by listening to an inner voice. Around such a variety of plant products that can fully satisfy our needs. However, many still feel that veganism is too restrictive and, in addition, very boring. In my opinion, this is not true at all.

It was at this time that I began to transform my diet. The first step was to cut out red meat, then poultry, and finally fish.

I invited them mainly to try to get the message out to the general public together. We do not always understand and realize our attitude towards animals. Meanwhile, they are living creatures. As I said earlier, we grew up with this mindset and hardly ask questions to want to change anything. If, however, for a moment to think about what impact we have on the animal world, it becomes scary. Slaughterhouses, rape, conditions for keeping and transporting animals when they don’t even have water. This happens not because people are bad, but because they do not think about all this. Seeing the “end product” on your plate, few people would think what your steak was and how it became what it became.

Ethics is one reason. Another reason is that man simply does not need the flesh of an animal. These are just ingrained patterns of thought that we follow from generation to generation. I think that this state of affairs is very difficult to change overnight, but gradually it is quite possible. That’s exactly how it happened to me.

I do not agree with the priority of the European Union in XNUMX% support for agriculture, especially the meat industry. Nature hints at us in every way: mad cow disease, bird flu, swine fever. Clearly, something is not going the way it should. Our actions unbalance nature, to which she responds with warnings to all of us.

Of course, this factor has some influence. However, I am convinced that the root cause is people’s awareness. It’s about opening a person’s eyes to what’s going on and what they’re a part of. I think this is the key point.

A change in “minds” and consciousness will lead to changes in policy, agricultural policy, subsidies and future development. Instead of supporting the meat and dairy industry, you can invest in organic farming and its diversity. Such a course of development would be much more “friendly” in relation to nature, because organics presupposes the absence of chemical fertilizers and additives. As a result, we would have quality food and an unpolluted environment. Unfortunately, the reality is still far from the picture described above and this is due to the interests of large manufacturers and conglomerates, as well as their huge profits.

However, I see that the awareness of people in our country is starting to grow. People are becoming more and more interested in natural alternatives to chemical products, some are becoming indifferent to issues related to animals.

Yes, this is another hot issue that is being actively discussed in the UK, in Europe. Each of us must ask ourselves if we are ready to be the subject of such testing. During World War II, my father was a prisoner in the Dachau concentration camp, where he and thousands of others were subjected to similar medical experiments. Some will say that animal testing is necessary for the advancement of science, but I am sure that more humane methods and solutions can be used. 

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