The importance of voting

Yes, it's election day. And yes, I am a big proponent of voicing opinions and of keeping up with politics. But no, I am not here to tell you how important it is to participate in the country's elections today.

I'm here to tell you how important is it to realize that you don't just vote on ballots once every couple years. You vote with your wallets every single day. Many times per day, usually.

And with that, you have incredible power.

Our system is governed, more or less, on supply and demand. There are only iPods because people want them. There is only makeup because women (and some men, to be fair) want it. Sometimes demand is organic and real. Sometimes it is artificially produced by people who want to make money. But either way, demand begats (I'm inventing words, so try to keep up) supply.

This is the case with animal foods and other products. Joe Bob wants a cheeseburger. So business-savvy (read: greedy, evil) men hire illegal immigrants (and the occasional down-and-out American) to kill cows, and hire teenagers and elderly folks to make cheeseburgers for Joe Bob.

When one day Joe Bob sees a video, gets handed a pamphlet, or (ahem) reads a blog post, and decides to shorten his name to Joe and stop eating animals, the demand for cheeseburgers decreases. No, not very much. Not even noticeably. Yet.

When fifty, five hundred, five thousand Joe Bobs decide to stop eating animals, cheeseburger businessmen take notice. They have taken notice. That's why Kraft makes (and sells, sells, sells) vegan burgers. Same with ConAgra. And Kellogg (although their Morningstar Farms crap is mostly non-vegan). And others.

Companies produce and sell what consumers indicate - with their money - that they want.

When you buy a shirt from Target, you're voting. When you buy a dog from a large-scale breeder, you're voting. And yes, when you buy a cheeseburger from McDonald's, you are voting.

You are only one person, yes. But large groups.... revolutions.... are made up of a bunch of "one person"s.

You have incredible power.

Recognize it.

And use it wisely.