War doesn’t exist because of some moral dilemma; it exists because there is money to be made. The use and abuse of helpless animals for human consumption (animal agribusiness) doesn’t exist because of some moral dilemma or even because we have to eat them; the killing happens because there is money to be made.

Oil disasters, global warming, an unthinking Wall Street, pollution, slave/prison labor, the working poor, world hunger – these don’t exist by accident; they exist because there is money to be made. Wall Street gives new meaning to the idea of “making a killing.”

How do we stop it? Stop supporting it! Stop paying for it!  It exists because WE, each of us, helped pay for and build it.  WE, each of us, with every single consumer choice (using a credit card, using a corporate bank, the companies and products we buy/consume/support, the media we “consume” by paying attention to it, even the war tax we pay to our federal government without holding it accountable) — WE built the world we live in today.  WE did this!  And WE, with every choice from this moment forward, will build the world of tomorrow.

The good news is that WE (YOU!) can turn it around virtually overnight. There is humility and a great challenge in realizing that WE did this to ourselves and that each of us has the power to put a stop to it, to build a better world.

Take personal responsibility — consume less, and when you do consume (we must to survive) do it consciously, in an informed way, and in a way that is aligned with our shared values of justice, kindness, and compassion for other people, for the planet, and for the animals.

Live your values, change the world!

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