Take a few minutes and watch this video. And then think about what you've eaten today. I rarely like to get preachy about my personal habits, but this needs to change. It detrimental to our environment and disrespectful to the animals who give their lives up for us. A really spectacular piece of documentary film making.
Holocaust on a Conveyor Belt
Reminds me of this passage from 365 Tao by Deng Ming Dao:
Day 277
WHOLE
I hate the way this chicken comes
All bagged in plastic
Without head or feet;
Neck, heart, liver, and gizzard
Stuck into its cavity.
No wonder people feel unconnected.
Traditional people like to see the whole animal when they shop for
their meals. In cultures where personal contacts are more meaningful and
closeness to the earth is a way of life, it is no surprise that people
are interested in a complete relationship to their food. They buy it or
raise it, they harvest it, they clean it, and they cook it -- all before
they eat it in gratitude. They don't become sentimental over their food
-- practicality is to understand that we kill to survive -- but they do
give thanks for what has died to sustain them.
Today we have a very incomplete relationship to our food. We don't
see where something grows, we eat foods out of season, we buy prepared
foods made by someone we don't even know. There is a great power in
knowing your food, knowing where it came from, preparing it with your
own hands. This food, whether vegetable or animal, died for us. The
least we can do is partake of it thoroughly and with respect.
Nowadays it is quite common for people to feel isolated. They
lament not having friends, not having genuine experiences, not having a
sense of who they are. If even the food that we eat and the way that we
eat is lacking in wholeness, then how will we feel completion in the
rest of our lives?
It's your body, and we have the power to choose what goes inside of it. The only way to change this is with thoughtful, progressive movement towards what is right. If things don't start to change for the better, it is only going to get worse as the population increases.
and what are we going to do when every tree is chopped down, every animal farmed, every river polluted?
Holocaust on a Conveyor Belt
Reminds me of this passage from 365 Tao by Deng Ming Dao:
Day 277
WHOLE
I hate the way this chicken comes
All bagged in plastic
Without head or feet;
Neck, heart, liver, and gizzard
Stuck into its cavity.
No wonder people feel unconnected.
Traditional people like to see the whole animal when they shop for
their meals. In cultures where personal contacts are more meaningful and
closeness to the earth is a way of life, it is no surprise that people
are interested in a complete relationship to their food. They buy it or
raise it, they harvest it, they clean it, and they cook it -- all before
they eat it in gratitude. They don't become sentimental over their food
-- practicality is to understand that we kill to survive -- but they do
give thanks for what has died to sustain them.
Today we have a very incomplete relationship to our food. We don't
see where something grows, we eat foods out of season, we buy prepared
foods made by someone we don't even know. There is a great power in
knowing your food, knowing where it came from, preparing it with your
own hands. This food, whether vegetable or animal, died for us. The
least we can do is partake of it thoroughly and with respect.
Nowadays it is quite common for people to feel isolated. They
lament not having friends, not having genuine experiences, not having a
sense of who they are. If even the food that we eat and the way that we
eat is lacking in wholeness, then how will we feel completion in the
rest of our lives?
It's your body, and we have the power to choose what goes inside of it. The only way to change this is with thoughtful, progressive movement towards what is right. If things don't start to change for the better, it is only going to get worse as the population increases.
and what are we going to do when every tree is chopped down, every animal farmed, every river polluted?
JAN 27, 2013 01:04 AM
JAN 27, 2013 05:22 AM
JAN 27, 2013 06:38 AM
For some reason, the link does not work for me. 
