January 01 – Respecting Sentient Life: Today, do not eat, imbibe or utilize any animals or animal products. Bonus: From this day forth, decide to eat only animals that either you kill yourself or that you personally witness being killed.

This activity is not meant to be a condemnation of any of you who eat meat. And yet, it is meant to enhance your awareness of the consequences of that life-choice. The decisions we make are our own – we have a right to make them for ourselves, and we have the right to reap their consequences thereafter*. That having been said, if we are going to make choices, it is wise to be informed before making them and thereafter to make them consciously.

With that in mind, let’s talk candidly about animals …

Members of the animal kingdom have many character traits that we as humans admire.

They are our transportation …

and they are our laborers.

They are sources of laughter …

and they are our friends …

They inspire us with their kindness …

They inspire us with their generosity…

and they inspire us with their courage.

Maybe it for these reasons that every culture throughout human history has “drawn a line” somewhere between animals that were acceptable to eat and those that were not. And yet each of these cultures tends to draw very different lines.

Argentinians kill & eat cows, yet most in India find cows to be sacred.

Germans kill & eat pigs, yet many in Southeast Asia keep pigs as pets.

Americans have dogs as beloved companions, yet many in China eat dogs for lunch.

Maybe this discrepancy comes from differences in opinion as to which animals are “smart” and which are “stupid”, with the “dumb” animals being fair game for eating and the “intelligent” ones being off limits. I even personally tried to find my own such “line” for a number of years, and yet the more I researched the intelligence of animals, the fewer I found who looked to be “dumb enough” to eat. I had already ceased eating red meat, in part for health reasons and in part to do something powerful to assist the global environment*. I then found out that pigs are both smarter than dogs and that they have just as much “personality”, or self-awareness as well (I’ve helped raise pigs several times since then, and my experience has been consistent with these findings). Thereafter, I was eating a lot of turkey, until finding out that turkeys (especially the wild variety, and yet also those sub-species that have been bred to be “dumber”) are exceptionally intelligent as well. So I switched to eating lots of chicken, until I started raising them myself and realized that they have just as much personality, just as much self-awareness and just as much a will to live as many humans I know. Even the excuse I was using to justify the eating of fish proved to be vacuous (It has been recently proven that fish do indeed experience acute pain – both when hooked and while suffocating to death out of water) … One day, my quandary was solved when a beautiful little book fell off a shelf in front of me. It contained many of the teachings of Peace Pilgrim, a woman who walked the United States for 28 years with only the clothes on her back. I was deeply moved by her way of living and the beautiful simplicity of her words. And when I came across the following passage, my own life became much simpler as well.

“I have extended my pacifism to include non-harming of creatures as well as non-harming of human beings. Therefore for many years I have not eaten flesh – not meat, fowl, or fish. I also don’t use furs or feathers, leather or bone … I think most pacifists – in fact, most modern human beings – would not eat flesh if they had to kill the creatures themselves. I think if you were to visit a slaughterhouse it might encourage you to extend your pacifism to include non-harming of creatures as well as non-harming of human beings.”

We have become so distanced from the process that is required to put meat on our dinner tables. For the most part, the animals are raised elsewhere, killed by someone else, processed in a factory, and placed before us in neatly packaged chunks in our grocery stores. We are never confronted with the trauma and often the cruelty that goes into these processes. We simply head to the store, buy some meat and fry it up. Maybe Tim Carman summed it up best when he said, “I have no doubt that if I befriended a pig or cow or chicken, I’d never want to eat pork or beef or chicken again. This is why I never plan to befriend a pig or a cow or a chicken.”

And that seems to be the real issue here. Regardless of our differing personal beliefs related to the intelligence of the various species of animals, we seem to overlook the fact that, even if animals are “less intelligent” than humans, they are significantly self-aware and they have an intense desire to live.

Well make no mistake, even though you might not be doing the actual torture and the actual killing of these animals, it is your consumption of meat that is the inspiration for the same. You are just as responsible. Whether you cease contributing to the slaughter or not is your business, and yet if you do, it is good to be consciously aware that you are doing so.

Personally, I adopted the reasoning of the Peace Pilgrim, who basically stated that she didn’t want to eat any sentient being that she didn’t kill herself, and that she simply didn’t want to kill any sentient beings. Personally, as I get to know the various species of animals that we as a society so regularly take for granted (i.e. eat), I now find it impossible to believe that my life has any more worth than theirs, especially when eating them in these times is purely a matter of convenience — merely because they are “delicious”.

And yet there are still several arguments folks make to defend their animal-eating ways. Note that I personally do not care what others do. Now, each of us has your own choices to make in this life and each of us will have to live with the consequences of those choices. I do care, of course, about each of you, just as I deeply do care about all life forms on this planet (and the planet itself, for that matter). So, while it is not my intention to change anyone’s mind, it is my desire to provide you all with information that will enable you to make conscious choices as to how you sustain yourself.

With this in mind, let’s look at the three primary arguments folks make to justify their meat-eating ways:

1) “But I need to eat some meat to maintain my health.” … This is a myth. Eating regular doses of whole grains and legumes provides all the protein that a human body needs. In addition, most studies show that it is by far healthier to become a vegetarian. Vegetarians have a significantly lower risk of Type II Diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

2) “But killing is a natural and normal in the animal kingdom itself.” … This is indeed the case, and yet that does not mean that we as fully conscious beings must do so – especially when those beings do not need to do so in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A thing isn’t “right” just because others are doing it.

3) “But they are only animals.” … Believe what you will, but make no mistake: If other species are “only animals”, we would do well to remember that so are we. In fact, there is a large amount of evidence to show that our awareness is not much different from many of the species we regularly kill to wear …

or regularly kill to eat.

Essentially, we would do well to focus on our similarities with those in the animal kingdom, as opposed to our differences.

Indeed, we have the same basic fears …

we have the same basic desires …

we have the same joy for life …

we have the same ability to act nobly …

… and we have the same fear of death.

If we are going to arrogantly place ourselves atop the food chain merely because we can walk upright, use words to communicate and build intricate machines, then we have missed the point of what it means to be truly Human. Every species understands the domination of the weak by the powerful; the manipulation of the “dumb” by the “intelligent”. And yet this only makes the “intelligent” and more powerful animal smarter & stronger – It doesn’t make it Human.

We only become truly Human when we have the ability & the desire to subjugate another being, and yet we choose to respect its right to live instead. We only become human when we set aside personal desires in order to be humane.

And how can we do so?

We can respect the animals we currently eat by refusing to do so in the future.

We can respect the animals we currently kill for “sport” by becoming their champion.

We can respect the animals we currently torture in experiments by only using products from companies that do not do so.

We can respect the animals we currently imprison for our “entertainment” (e.g. most zoos & most circuses) by finding other forms of amusement.

In conclusion, the way we treat the animals in our environment is a direct reflection of how we treat each other. In essence, if we want Peace, Love & Kindness for ourselves, we must be willing to give the same to others – especially those who are “less evolved” or “less intelligent” than we; especially to all animals.

We only have this one world, and we only have this one brief lifetime to do something for it. Let us all forth and act accordingly today.

Indeed, if not you, then who?

“Vegetarianism is a powerful healing and evolutionary force for our society. Choosing to become more vegetarian or even pure vegetarian (vegan) not only benefits the health of the individual, but also sets an example of a reverence for life. Cruelty-free food choices are affirmations that reduce the violence in all our lives — especially the “unseen” violence of the distant slaughterhouses and factory farms.

Now, more than ever, is time for the clear, sane light of vegetarianism to shine brightly. Know that if you are one who affirms life and gentleness in thoughts, words, actions — and on the dinner plate — you are a valued member of a large “army” of peacemakers and earth-healers. These are the legions that will ultimately bring peace to our beautiful planet.” ~ Dr. Michael Klaper, M.D.

See You when I see you …

… and until then, Be Now!

Scaughdt

*Aside from the immediate emotional & spiritual consequences from killing other life forms as a matter of convenience, eating meat is contributing to drastic ecological repercussions as well. According to the head of Wuppertal Institute of Climate, Environment and Energy in Germany, contribution of cattle breeding to greenhouse gas emissions is about the same as that for all automobile traffic. Just another reason why meat-eating is a luxury that is clearly not sustainable.

Filed under: 366 Days of Kindness by Scaughdt