A beautiful, rich life
We met in a theater class in college and became friends. Thanks to the friend who was a vegetarian, I became interested in veganism and began to read related books. I came to know how animals are raised and killed in the factory farming system, one of the major causes of ecosystem destruction. I gradually went vegan.
Some people may think that going vegan will limit their lives. Nonetheless, it can be a way to live a beautiful, rich life.
Two years ago, I stayed in Sinwol-ri in Inje, Gangwon Province. In the rural village, there was a sanctuary for five cows who were rescued from an unlicensed dog farm. Villagers and young vegan people were building a vegan community together. That autumn, I had an opportunity to experience rural life in the village with other vegans.
Our mentor in the village said, “You can harvest any vegetables in my field freely.” We sometimes cooked and ate the fresh vegetables together. All the participants and our mentor were good chefs. They made sprout bibimbap with lettuce and pancakes with yellow squash flowers. The dishes they made included but were not limited to perilla seed seaweed soup, potato stew, tomato cucumber salad, mushroom vegetable gimbap and "ssambap" (leaf wraps and rice).
On the day when journalists came to Sinwol-ri to report on the vegan village, all of us enjoyed a vegan feast together thanks to the villagers who cooked pan-fried tofu, "japchae" (stir-fried glass noodles) and various seasoned vegetables. We also made injeolmi (bean-powder-coated rice cake) together. Staying in the village, we experienced the joy of harvesting beautiful, fresh vegetables and eating diverse colorful vegan dishes.
Have you ever met the animals we eat, such as cows, pigs or chickens, as living beings? Like many other people, I rarely had such an experience. In Sinwol-ri, however, I met the five rescued cows. When I approached them, they came near to me with gentle eyes. When I gave them hay, they chewed it slowly.
We have thought that nonhuman animals’ suffering is separate from our suffering. Nevertheless, factory farming causes ecosystem destruction and the climate crisis, as well as the suffering of nonhuman animals. This ultimately leads to our suffering.
Going vegan means to see how we have treated numerous nonhuman animals and what consequences it has caused, and to change ourselves first in order to make this world better. I want to respect more living beings, living in harmony with them. Feeling connected with other beings makes our lives richer.
What if we end factory farming and the vast land where trees were cut down for feed cultivation and slaughter houses becomes green forests again? Humans can destroy the Earth but are also beautiful beings who can restore it with love. We can make a better choice both for ourselves and all the other beings.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote “Love without Hesitation” and translated “Little Lord Fauntleroy.”