meet your meat

I am in a state of shock.
I have been sitting staring at the same space in front of me for ages, wondering how on earth I have managed to get this far in my life by being so ignorant.

You read articles, and definitions in passing conversation about vegetarian this or vegan that , and never give it more than a casual thought..

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a Buddhist friend who put into a totally new context for me. He said, “we choose to live an existence of non violence”. I was taken aback, how can a food choice be a question of living without violence?

His words have been working through me over the last 24 hours, until this afternoon, I went to the PETA site. Just out of curiosity.

I am now officially a changed person. And though it has been a process of awakening for a few weeks now, the curtain fell when I read PETA’s documentation of the facts, and watched their video “meet your meat”.
AAggghh. I am so disgusted right now, that my consumer choices have lead to so much pain and suffering.

And my children…… some might say I have no right to choose for them. I say, hell yeah! It is my duty to help them make the right choices. How can I lie to them about where there food comes from, or how cruelly and viciously they were bred and then slaughtered? How can I take them to the bunny park in the afternoon, and show them the cute piggies, and baby goats, and say “don’t throw stones at the geese, you may scare them”, only to bring them home and serve them a plate of food that consists of petrified, fear laden flesh?


And as for dairy? Do yourself a favour. You may think I am going off on a tangent, but find out for yourself. Go to the website. Read for yourself. You cannot call yourself human, and condone treatment like that.

Before you say it, what about halal? I researched that too….. even the Jewish community are moving towards vegetarianism as a part of their religion. It is all totally inhumane.

If you can go out on your own, and kill an innocent animal with your own two hands to provide meat for your family, then I say, go ahead. But for me? Looking into another pair of eyes, and seeing the light dance off them, watching mothers nurturing their young, my answer is no. I could never do it. As long as God is providing me with the seeds and fruit bearing trees that he promised in Genesis 1v27 ( yes, the bible promotes vegan diet, did you know that?), I have no need for meat.

As with all my choices that I have made in my life, I will respect any choice you decide to make for yourself, but I remain of the firm belief, that they must be informed choices. It is never too late to make a difference.

If every person stopped eating meat, do you realize that would be the end to our environmental problems? Our world poverty problems? Our water supply problems? Our health problems?

Its so frustrating not being able to change the world and say, hey wake up. I just did! And it feels great!

Every single action in my life now is a conscious thought. When I wash dishes or a load of clothes with bio degradable soap, I think, hey today I am helping the earth. And I feel great!
When I look at my children, and think, I have no right to be irritated, there behaviour is age appropriate, and they also have a right to get mad, feel frustrated and have opinions, and that they chose me to guide them, and they can walk around without a nappy beause its good for the enviornment and makes them happy. And I feel great!
When I go to the shops, and have no desire to fuel consumerism, walk past isle upon isle of products I used to support, and think, hey I don’t even want them anymore. And I feel great!

When I look into the eyes of every person I meet, and think , hey, we are the same. I wish I could hug you. And I feel great.

And then I get home, and look in the mirror, and see such a young soul with still so much to learn, in such a hurry and so impatient, and I think, heyslow down, you are doing the best you can! And I feel great!
Today, I made a difference! And I feel GREAT!