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About UsFormed in Northern California in 2008, Compassionate Living Outreach is an all volunteer organization working for a world where no animal has to suffer at human hands. Through outreach campaigns, educational initiatives and community building activities, Compassionate Living Outreach works not only to relieve the suffering of animals, but to show how we can build a more sustainable, just and non-violent world, one where we can all prosper in peace, good spirit and vibrant personal health. Re-Thinking AnimalsHuman beings are capable of great tenderness, compassion and mercy. Yet even with our generous nature, These animals present us with an exceptional opportunity. We can turn away from their suffering, or we can learn to express our own compassionate nature and experience the depths of our own humanity. We can ignore the obvious violations of all that is right and good for these animals, or we can become something new, something better, something more generous and noble. The choice is ours. Re-Imagining EnvironmentAnimal agriculture is compromising the integrity of our environment at every level. It is responsible for nearly a fifth of all global warming, more than all of the world’s transportation combined.[1] Our dependence on animal products has caused the loss of millions of acres of forest land and the irrevocable extinction of thousands of species of plants and animals. It is also the primary source of some of our most serious pollution problems. According to a recent U.N. report:
Please see our Environment page for more information on what we can do about the devastating effect animal agriculture is having on our planet. Animals and Human Hunger
It takes many pounds of plant protein to get a single pound of animal protein. When plant crops are fed to livestock, most of the plant's food value is metabolized by the animal and is therefore unavailable to the consumer of the animal protein. It takes, for example, 10-16 pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef. Animal foods also require much more fuel and fertilizer than plant foods. A burgeoning appetite for meat among wealthier people is driving up the price of crops used to feed both humans and non-human animals. This all too often puts staple food crops beyond the reach of hungry people who really need them for their survival.[2] It is also worth noting that working in a slaughterhouse is an incredibly difficult, bloody and often very dangerous job.[3] Animal slaughterers have one of the highest rates of physical injury of any profession. Understandably, slaughterhouse workers frequently suffer the effects of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) as well.[4] What About Nutrition?The majority of evidence shows that animal products aren't required for optimal human health.[5] Studies also show that many of today's most serious chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes are likely to recede and sometimes disappear on plant-based foods. The superior nutritional composition of plant foods is one of the keys to more vibrant human health and long term well being. Please see our Nutrition page and our Recipes page for more information on how to thrive joyfully on a plant-based diet. Feeding Our Spirit
When we speak up for animals, we may miss the usual thanks or validation we'd get in the human world, but we do receive perhaps the greatest gift of all: the experience of our own compassion and goodness. Through the artful expression of these qualities of our humanity, we elevate our own lives and lay the groundwork for real joy and meaningful happiness to blossom forth in the world. What Next?Please click here to get on our mailing list, sign up to volunteer, or to get more information. To sponsor our work, use the donate button below or visit our contacts page for our mailing address. The thoughts of some of the world's greatest authors are on the side-bars of this website. Please enjoy reflecting upon their ideas and bring us some of your own. Come to one of our potlucks, or start one of your own if you can. Please
contact us
about our volunteer opportunities. Together we can alter the balance of suffering on this planet and create a happier, healthier, more sustainable and loving world. For the animals, for the Earth and for ourselves.
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moral progress...“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated... I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”
evolution...“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”
things that matter..."Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”changing...“Changing the way we eat, from a meat-based to a plant-based diet, is the single most effective thing we can do for our health, for animals, for the environment, for human rights, and for the creation of a nonviolent and compassionate world.” |
we largely ignore the day-in and day-out suffering of the animals from which we derive our food. Sixty billion (60,000,000,000) land animals are now slaughtered every year in the worldwide food system. One sixth, or ten billion (10,000,000,000), are in the U.S. food system alone. Most of these animals live in huge factory farms where inhumane and overcrowded conditions routinely frustrate their most innate natural instincts and behaviors.
Our dependence on animal protein is also one of the primary causes of world hunger.
Examining our relationship with animals can help us experience what is most human about us. Our willingness to value another being's life shows we are more than just an ad hoc grouping of biological instincts. Responding to suffering with deliberate kindness often inspires creativity to flourish in others. Goodwill builds upon goodwill and brings more and more goodness, allowing us to exand into the future and spiritually inhabit our world.