2019 Essay Winner
Vegetarianism: A Means to World Peace
By Aren Wang
Age 14
When you think of Cesar Chavez, you probably recall his revolutionary achievements in championing justice for farm workers. You might have heard about his recipience of the 1994 Presidential Medal of Freedom, his organization of nonviolent protests, and his rise to labor leadership from near poverty. Most modern biographies of Cesar Chavez focus on these events of his life. However, one intriguing but important aspect of this man is often overlooked: his unwavering commitment to vegetarianism.
You may be astonished that a vegetarian like Chavez would advocate to improve conditions for farm workers, some of who were probably involved in the slaughter of animals. However, advocating for farm workers is not necessarily synonymous with advocating for the slaughter of animals.
While some laborers do kill animals, other farm workers cultivate only plants. Furthermore, it is possible to support a person or a group of people without wholly agreeing with their job responsibilities. Chavez' larger vision was to combat mistreatment and utilize nonviolent protests to cultivate a better world, both for humans and animals. In this process he was entirely informed of the plight of animals during his crusade for farm laborers.
Cesar Chavez did not merely cease dining on animals; he encouraged others to follow his lead, including countless companions from the farm labor movement.
"Cesar took genuine pride in producing numerous converts to vegetarianism over the decades. You're looking at one of them," United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez proclaimed in 1996 during a speech at a farm conference.
"He felt so strongly about it that sometimes I think he took as much personal satisfaction from converting people to vegetarianism as he did to trade unionism."
Being a pacifist, Chavez believed vegetarianism to be essential for ensuring world peace.
Said Chavez in 1992, during his acceptance of a Lifetime Achievement Award from In Defense of Animals, "We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to make all people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect them and love them as we love ourselves. And that's the basis for peace. The basis for peace is respecting all creatures. We cannot hope to have peace until we respect everyone — respect ourselves and respect animals and all living things. We know we cannot defend and be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them — exploiting them in the name of science, exploiting animals in the name of sport, exploiting animals in the name of fashion, and yes, exploiting animals in the name of food."
Chavez's words summarize why all vegans should feel proud of themselves. By not eating animals, we are indeed sparing them from certain death. But the bigger picture is that we are also promoting world peace. The fundamental basis of world peace and respect is closely interlinked. A respectful person acts on the assumption that all living beings bear genuine, sensitive feelings, and are observant, and are important contributing members to the ecosystem. To show respect, you must acknowledge their presence and value their existence. Respect is a vital component of treating these creatures peacefully, which in turn means approaching them in a nonaggressive manner and not killing them for food. As Chavez boldly implied, it is impossible for world peace to prevail unless every living being, including animals, is respected.
Following in the footsteps of Chavez may not immediately precede world peace, but it is indeed a good beginning step. Ultimately, many small steps are the fundamental building blocks to larger and more long-term goals.
Being vegetarian is itself an achievement to share with and inspire countless people, just like Chavez did. You can bet that your efforts will be greatly appreciated by fellow creatures big and small. You will also propel the world one step closer to world peace.
The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group Essay Contest for kids is May 20, 2020. For details and information about the contest and previous winners, see: www.vrg.org/essay.
