I wrote this on my Facebook page on my 21st birthday in which I reflected on my life thus far and the regrets that I have as a 21-year-old man.
I am ashamed of the 21 years of my life in which along the way I have contributed to unimaginable animal suffering and torture at some point through eating dairy and eggs, buying wool and leather, going to zoos and other entertainment venues which imprison animals and buying products without a second thought to whether an animal had to go through a lifetime of suffering in a testing lab for it to be made.
I am ashamed of the times that I didn't speak up for animals because I was too much of a coward or worried about what others may think. Ashamed of the times when I didn't have the guts to speak up for what's right. Ashamed of the times that I sat in a restaurant with cheese/yoghurt/butter on my plate without knowing about that mother who lost their baby so I could eat food with that babies' milk in it.
For years I thought that being a vegetarian was enough and that I wasn't causing any misery or pain but how badly wrong I was. When I found out the truth and learned about the suffering I was causing a few months ago, I changed instantly. The biggest regret of my life is that I did not make the change sooner and that it took me 20.5 years to realise my wrongdoings. I now realise that veganism is not only related to your diet but it is a lifestyle. It's not eating meat, fish, dairy, eggs, not buying leather, wool, suede and not paying to watch animals being used for entertainment. It is not buying products that have been tested on animals who have been enslaved in laboratories their entire lives. I can't do anything about the 21 years that have passed but I can speak up and fight for the animals that are suffering now and that will suffer in the years to come. I am not religious and so have no one to ask forgiveness from. I hope to be able to forgive myself one day when I know that I have truly done all I can for those that I and that the majority of us have wronged in the most horrific way, albeit unknowingly, the animals. The only birthday wish I will ever have is for someone to think about anything I have said and to start taking steps or continue to move in the right direction in their life toward helping to stop the suffering of innocent animals. They are being subjected to the most heinous and despicable crimes from being castrated without anaesthesia to having their young ones stolen from them to being gassed to death. We have to help them.
I hope this inspires you to work even harder for animals and to promote veganism as best as you can.
[Rishi J Patel works for the accountancy firm 'EY' (Ernst & Young) in credit control.]
