Springtime here in Aotearoa, N.Z., is a beautiful time of the year with all the newborn animals and blossoming trees. But is it all it’s cracked up to be?

The new life blossoming around us reminds us that life ebbs and flows and seasons change regardless of what’s happening.

As a kid, I lived in a small town surrounded by farms. When the lambs and calves were out in the paddocks, we knew that summer wasn’t far away because it meant Springtime was here.

I would see lambs in paddocks and calves in crates at the farm gate. I never did know why the calves were there, but now these poor babies are kept away from the public eye while they wait for the truck to collect them for slaughtering. This year in Aotearoa, N.Z., two million calves will be slaughtered to keep the dairy industry alive.

The trouble is that the weather can still be quite wintery at the onset of Spring when these babies are born into the world. And it’s so miserable that mothers and babies are seen hunkering down against the wind, rain and cold.

Sadly, over the years since I was a child, farming meat and dairy has intensified. This has meant that farmers must keep to a program that ties in with the processing companies’ need for export products.

And with farming being so regimented, the advent of artificial breeding must have been a godsend to the intensive farming of cows for beef and dairy. (So far, this is not a practice done to sheep – yet.)

It is certainly within our power to change this. However, most of the older generation (and yes, I’m a baby boomer) are stuck believing that meat and dairy are necessary for calcium, protein and iron. A brilliant marketing strategy that has circulated for decades.

Have a heart for those babies born in winter destined for the abattoirs or milking sheds, and know that you don’t need to consume animal products for nutrition.

Plants work beautifully, giving you all the necessary nutrients, especially when eating whole foods. The more people who turn to vegan foods, the less number of lambs and calves we’ll see being born in production lines. Because that’s what it is. Let’s be quite clear: there is no thought for the animals. They are only there to satisfy the consumers’ tastes and corporate bank balances.

I challenge all to start eating more plants and fewer animals. Think of it as something other than what you will miss out on, but rather what you will gain. Make Spring a time to blossom your new life.

Here’s a tip to start you off: Take your favourite recipe, e.g. lasagna and google “vegan lasagna recipe.” you will be surprised how many great recipes will come back.

Until next time…