The Rural Voice, 2019-05, Page 18 Are you following all the stories
in the news? Farmers survived
another Veganuary, followed by
animal rights activists targeting two
dairy farms in March, the OSPCA
backing out of its enforcement role
and an unfortunate collision on the
401. And to top it all off, but this
never made the headlines, my best
friend just told me she’s becoming
vegan. All these stories re-open the
debate and renew a stand-off between
us and them.
Can I be honest? And you must
promise to keep reading if I tell you,
OK? It’s just that I don’t know if I’m
on the “us” side or the “them” side. I
mean that I don’t really have a side.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand
both sides, and I do care. It’s just that
no matter one’s stance, I could argue
or agree with them depending on my
mood that day and if I felt like
keeping the peace or disturbing it.
Obviously, the activists in March
were trespassing on farm properties,
so if I really had to make someone
“wrong” then that’s the easy target.
But I can also see where they are
coming from, you know?
“One’s destination is never a
place, but rather a new way of seeing
things,” says Henry Miller. It is one
of the travel quotes on my wall that
I’m only beginning to understand. I
caught the travel bug in my 20s when
I went to South Africa on a solo
missions trip for three months, then I
worked in South Korea for three
years and traveled Asia and India, a
few weeks in Peru as well.
I’m grateful that I traveled
because it brought me out of context.
I traveled to places where my truth
was irrelevant and I struggled against
whole countries that, in my mind,
were just plain wrong.
India, for example, is a beautiful
country with rich colours, spicy food
and generous people. But, goodness,
I couldn’t get a steak for the four
months I was there because of the
holy cows. They wander around the
streets and drink from sacred bathing
ponds. People put flower necklaces
on them and feed them chapatis and
dahl. They crap anywhere they want
but you’ll never step in a patty
because old women pick them up (by
hand!) to burn as fuel. To the people
I met there, I was wrong because I
wasn’t a vegetarian.
Side bar, though. India also spent
200 years under British rule – that’s
200 years of being told their beliefs
and culture were wrong. In that time,
the British took $45 trillion from
them. Was that wrong? I guess
whoever is in power gets to decide
what is what.
Facts are facts, but they are hard
to handle objectively because they
are covered with our sticky
assumptions and stories about what is
what.
And we don’t have to go to India
14 The Rural Voice
Travelling
brings you out
of your context
Mel Luymes
works in
agriculture
and conser-
vation and
blogs at
headlands.ca
Mel Luymes
“Every time we meet
someone that
disagrees with us is a
golden ticket to
travel to a new
perspective.”
~Mel Luymes