You know those heart-wrenching SPCA commercials with Sarah McLachlan where they show images of malnourished and abused cats and dogs? The ones that send us scrambling to find the remote to change the channel as fast as humanly possible?

Yeah...those suck, to say the least.

Until the fall semester of last year, I was completely unaware...maybe blind is a better word...of the fact that the suffering of animals reached much further into the animal kingdom than just cats, dogs, and other domesticated species. In my philosophy class, we discussed a piece by the philosopher, Peter Singer, which dealt with utilitarianism in regards to animals' rights. This discussion was one of the most mind-opening discussions I've ever had before. I realized that as humans we held a disgusting double standard for which animals we chose to oppress and domesticate.

I went vegetarian immediately after that class ended, and I now try and eat a mostly all vegan diet.

Trust me, it isn't exactly an easy lifestyle change to make. Especially living in Nebraska. But, to me, it is well worth it.

I am in no way trying to convince my readers to go vegan immediately after closing out of this article, but I would highly recommend looking into which companies you buy your meat and other animal byproducts from. But, if you feel inclined to do so, try and eat a little less meat or dairy from time to time, and save some animals along the way.