Is it all or nothing? Or maybe it's just a little respect.

Yep. I did it all. Vegetarianism, animal rights, PETA, Greenpeace, the works. I was in college and I was in it 110%. I believed in environmentalism and animal rights like other people believe that the world began 2000 years ago (it may not make sense to some, but they would die rather than admit they are wrong.)

Then one day a professor of mine (a total hippie by no stretch of the imagination) told me about an animal rights group that was so determined to save a bunch of goats that were destroying San Clemente Island's native fauna and flora and were about to be taken out, that this animal rights group spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to round the goats up and take them to safety. Safety from a bullet between the eyes, yes, but some of them perished from the stress of being netted and then flown over the ocean via helicopter, others had broken limbs from trouncing on each other, others lost eyes etc.... Of course this was not what the animal rights group wanted I'm sure, but it started me thinking, and it literally kicked me off my high and mighty pedestal that I had issued myself. For the first time, I realized that not everything had an easy answer, that there was no black or white for any issue, but a whole lot a grey, charcoal, graphite, and even slate.

This made me stop and think about my positions. Ultimately for me, I decided I needed to be more informed about everything that I was believing. I began a quest to educate myself and become more pragmatic and logical, less emotional. Although I will admit that I cannot stand for any kind of cruelty to anyone or anything. It is beyond my comprehension.
The end result for me is that I do believe in preservation, conservation, and respect for all life. This is something that is not just a belief, but a part of who I am. Does that mean I don't use paper towels? Does it mean that I don't partake of the occasionally slab of steak? No. I do use paper towel, just the recycled ones. I do love to eat a steak, occasionally, and if I can afford it, I will choose a local, grain fed steak because it helps the local farmer and not some corporate farm that stripped the rain forest to make its steak. Additionally, I find adding a lot of respect for all that has been given to me takes away the need to be right, the need to be extreme, and makes it into something more meaningful and much more personal.

Now days all I have to remember is getting up at dawn with my grandfather while listening to the rooster go on and on about that pesky sun. Helping him feed the cows and pigs, collecting the hens eggs and then milk the cows. All before most people had their morning coffee. His love of the animals, the land, and all its offerings taught me about nature, hard work, and passion. I can only hope that from where I have been to where I am now, would make him proud.