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Living
a conscious life literally begins in the kitchen. It is
in the kitchen and its stand-in, the restaurant, that
the decisions we make have the greatest impact on other
lives. Yet it is here that we are often the least conscious.
Most of us do not want to know where our food comes from
and how it gets to us. We eat out of habit. We make food
our parents made, order food we have ordered before. We
only think about the origin and nature of our food when
we are confronted by the diets of others: We are shocked
to learn that some Asians eat dogs or some Africans eat
monkeys or some South Americans eat guinea pigs. “Ugh!”
We shudder when we think of eating dogs, yet most of us
eat cattle, pigs, and a variety of birds and wild animals.
In the United States alone 9,000,000,000 animals are slaughtered
every year.
What is the difference
between our habits and those of other nationalities? None!
Some Koreans may eat freshly slaughtered puppies at their
local restaurants; we eat lobsters boiled right from their
tank. We eat cattle which are sacred in much of India
and allowed to roam freely. We have no moral advantage:
even vegans eat life to live.
The idea of eating a dog shocks and awakens us to the
true nature of eating: we eat life. And because it is
life, whether plant, fungus, or animal, it is honored
by our proper use of it as food when –
•
we properly and humanely grow and raise our food or
purchase such food;
• we provide food to the kitchen in the most
humane manner possible;
• we waste little and what waste there is we
recycle and compost;
• we savor and appreciate our food;
• and, above all we enjoy working with these
foods. |
A simple change
of diet – choosing to eat organic, humanely raised
food will have an impact by reducing demand for factory
farm raised animals; genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
especially corn and soy; and through conscious purchasing,
the demand for organic foods will help spur production
and reduce costs. Today, organic food costs more but it
is an investment in the our health and that of our families
and the planet.
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