I’ve mentioned previously that not all my jobs have been related to the translation and localization sector. I only started freelancing full-time right after I moved to the United States in 2016. Since securing a steady flow of work may take up to one year, I worked as a pet sitter to support myself during my first year here.
READ: Side Jobs
That experience allowed me to connect with several professionals in the Chicago area. One of them recently posted a link to an article about the new Impossible Burger. As a hamburger lover, this person likes the idea of a healthier alternative that looks very appealing. But, he asks himself: "Does it taste great?"
It’s been 12 years since I switched to eating plant-based. Although it can be helpful when you do the transition, I didn’t go vegan to eat meals that seek to imitate meat-based counterparts. While I certainly love that I can eat a vegan version of a Reuben sandwich, the reasons that led me to stop eating animal products were primarily not health-related:
I chose to become a vegan after learning about factory farming and how food gets to our plates. I decided I wanted to save as many animal lives as possible. Do vegan meals taste worse than non-vegan ones? People tend to believe that the healthier the food is, the worst it tastes. Being vegan, however, it’s not about taste. There’s a much bigger picture involved.
CHECK: A Decade Of Vegetarianism
Surely, veganism is not for everybody, and that’s okay. It involves significant changes in your lifestyle that go beyond what you eat. I like to think that if you care for animals, any small gesture counts. That’s why I’d like to discuss in this post the use of animal-friendly sayings. It all started weeks ago after seeing someone post a map of Europe showing how to say "to kill two birds with one stone."
You might think that using animal-friendly sayings won’t save lives automatically. But, why would we say "to kill two birds with one stone"? Although it’s likely not meant to be literal, it somehow promotes animal cruelty. If a language is a reflection of its speakers and we think of ourselves as animal-friendly, we can be more compassionate by saying "to feed two birds with one scone" instead.
Here are some more examples:
MORE: Animal-Friendly Idioms
Just like I’m mindful of my choices as a consumer, I intend to use language in a way that promotes these ideals. All animals can suffer in the same way and to the same degree that we humans do. Since animals can’t talk, I believe that we have the responsibility to be their voice.