As a bit of an animal lover, I have been scouring the internet for some special occasion celebrating animals. I came across an international observance called a “day for animals,” but it wasn’t quite what I expected.

I was shocked to learn that nearly 99% of all domesticated animals are bred and raised for food. Unlike our cats and dogs, they get no compassion or respect from the meat and dairy industries.

Male baby chicks are suffocated in plastic garbage bags or ground up alive because they lay no eggs. Groups of laying hens are packed into small, wire cages that tear out their feathers. Breeding sows spend their entire lives pregnant in metal cages. Dairy cows are artificially impregnated each year, and their babies are snatched from them at birth, so people can drink their milk.

Like many others, I always thought of cows, pigs and chickens as simply “food on the hoof.” Now, I realize that each dollar I spend on meat and dairy products at the checkout counter subsidizes animal atrocities. I will be replacing animal products in my diet with the new healthful, cruelty-free, plant-based meats and dairy items offered by my supermarket.