Poetry With A Mission



...a thought provoking poetical exercise.

Meat? No Thanks

I’m a vegetarian because I believe that being so is wise,
Given that meat consumption (over the years) has seen ill health rise.
And therefore, I thought that via this poem I would mention a few facts
That partly led to my decision, and that my decision backs.

To begin:

The dental structures of humanity possess certain features
That convey beyond a doubt that we are herbivorous creatures.
We’re unlike the carnivore who seeks out and then attacks their prey,
Tearing their victim to pieces with those sharp fangs that they display.

Human intestines are very long, thus giving time to extract
All those nutrients found in plant foods, (which our hungry enzymes attack).
A carnivore's intestines are short, allowing quick expulsion
Of decomposing, putrefying flesh; which fills one with revulsion.

Flesh-eating animals far more hydrochloric acid secrete,
Which readily breaks down flesh, (which is the regular food they eat).
Such acid we secrete far less -- therefore, taking longer to digest
This flesh food never meant for us, and via which, trouble we ingest.

Any animal that is killed while it’s in a state of fear,
Will flood its system with adrenalin, which the meat-eater will share.
This strong stimulating agent a person's blood pressure can raise,
And when our blood pressure's raised, such invariably with our health plays.

When one eats an animal, they’re also eating its urine too,
Which is trapped in the creature's kidneys, for kidneys such passes through.
You see, when an animal is killed, their waste is halted in its track,
Which, via the likes of kidney pies, one’s body will badly attack.

By the way, it isn't just those kidneys that harbour toxic waste,
For each animal’s body with urea is generously laced.
Urea, my dear friend, is the halfway stage from waste becoming urine;
A very toxic energy waste I wouldn’t want added to mine.

Meat owes much of its flavour to this toxic waste that's produced
By muscles that (when activated) cause such waste to take up roost.
Thus, urea, uric acid, and urine are poisons to avoid,
Otherwise, given time, friend, you will see your health being destroyed.

In the liver or the fatty tissue of those creatures that folk eat,
Are many harmful elements, far too many to here repeat.
Therefore, meat-eaters eat in minutes what’s collected over years,
Which is why (sooner or later) ill-health painfully appears.

So many diseases are transmitted from animal to man,
Which a lack of care and hygiene can epidemically fan.
BSE, (also known as mad cow disease), and the swine and bird flu
Are warnings that all should be heeding lest worse scenarios brew.

Animals and animal products are clearly making folk sick,
Hence why a non-flesh (and vegan) diet is a better one to pick.
Why invite high blood pressure, arthritis, and atherosclerosis,
Or gallstones, heart disease, cancer or osteoporosis?

Yes, I’m a vegetarian, and have been so for many years,
Despite receiving some opposition, some pressure, or some jeers.
For I have seen so many people whose great love for meat has led
To many years of misery and their last days spent in a bed.

By Lance Landall

You might like to read "Why I'm A Vegetarian" where the dangers of a flesh diet are covered.




Addicted?

I can’t help feeling that many are addicted to meat,
Hence why this injurious food they’re continuing to eat.
And why they’re sometimes hostile to those who’re saying, “Refrain,”
Embracing instead the meat industry’s misleading campaign.

The proof? When forced to go without their meat, they find it hard,
Like smokers who cigarettes and smoking try to discard.
They still hanker for their meat, and over its loss complain,
Which, in my eyes, reveals how hard they find it to refrain.

You see, they’ve acquired a taste for meat, which has taken hold,
A habit, perhaps addiction, unwilling to be controlled.
One that attempts to justify a need for meat -- a lie,
For meat isn’t needed -- plus, it kisses good health goodbye.

Yes, old habits die hard, but as they say, “No pain, no gain,”
’Though in this case — breaking such a habit — frees one from pain,
For there’s evidence that shouts that flesh food isn’t healthy,
And that it’s flesh food’s worst properties that make it tasty.

Well, tasty to some, that is — who seem held within its grip,
And who via their strong resistance an addiction let slip.
Well, so it seems, for if it weren’t so, they’d hardly act as they do,
But rather, weigh the evidence, and then what’s best pursue.

By Lance Landall




Love Them, Eat Them?

Please don’t tell me that you love creatures, if you eat them, because surely those who truly love creatures, wouldn’t,
Let alone the fact that if you have absolutely no reason to, one could rightly say that you shouldn’t.
And no, we don’t need meat in our diet, for such is a perpetuated myth, and an advertising ploy,
For not only has it been proven that we don’t need meat, but also, that one’s very health, meat will destroy.

And likewise, please don’t speak of your love for humanity, if you’re prepared to up and take somebody’s life,
Or for that matter, (and when it comes down to your fellowman), indulge in any violence, abuse or strife.
For just like saying that you love creatures, yet eat them, such surely amounts to an untruth, or hypocrisy,
Not that I’m implying any intentional wrong on your part, but that one can’t escape the irony.

And the reason why is, because you’re saying one thing and doing another, something that can never gel,
For such is behaviour that quite the opposite to what you’re saying is sure to tell, and why all’s not well.
You see, what we say is either correct or it’s not, and if it’s not, then we have actually misled,
And this, knowingly or not — but hey, what must children think if they’re told to love creatures and yet such are fed?

Yes, such is somewhat like trying to legitimise stealing from the rich to give to the poor, which we can’t,
For stealing is wrong full stop, and why saying we’re not thieves and yet stealing, will clearly show that honest we aren’t.
And hence that hole in the “I love animals” statement when such is accompanied by the eating of them,
And why an even bigger hole appears, when at the same time, such folk untruths and hypocrisy condemn.

Love them, eat them? How could I, and yet remain honest and consistent?

By Lance Landall


You might like to read my poem: "Something Just Doesn't Gel".