'Food' for Thought - Part II

“Societal choices, more often than not, are the result of expediency, statistical fallacy, sentiment, political or media pressure, or personal prejudice and vested interest.”
David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.
Power vs. Force

As stated in Part I of this discussion concerning Ahimsa, Wikipedia states, “Jains go out of their way so as not to hurt even small insects and other minuscule animals and make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. In accordance to this policy, eating of some foods, whose cultivation harms small insects and worms as well as agriculture itself, is to be abstained from.”

It has been written that a butterfly fluttering its wings can be the catalyst for a hurricane on the opposite side of the ocean. Every action has a reaction; it is only from our singular standpoint that we judge it to be right or wrong. The following response illustrates how our choices have this effect.

“The Very Humans That The Sweet Precious Innocent Animal Grows To Trust And Love With All Their Beautiful Innocent Hearts As Family... These Very Humans Turn Around And Mercilessly Slaughter Them In Bloody Murder ??? Such Humans Are Diabolical Demons. Humans Were Not Created To Eat Meat! ALL Beings And ALL Creatures Were Vegans And Never Harmed Any Living Being ~ Until The Human Species Fell Into The Demonic Behaviour Of Murder Blood~Lust And Greed. MANY Animal And Bird Species Are Still Entirely Vegan. Some Animal Species Biology Changed To Require Flesh Foods Due To Horrible Low Vibrational Change And Karmic Sufferings That Humans Evoked Upon Mother Earth.

GOOD Humans Are Vowing To Live Their Original Divine Blueprint. There Are Many Millions Of Organic Vegan Humans Now Upon Mother Earth ~ Living Loving~Kindness AHIMSA! ~~~ Looking Upon Sister And Brother Animals As A *Food Chain* Is Evil And Diabolical ~ Barbaric! Such Humans Are FAR Below ALL Animals And Creatures In Spiritual Evolution! Tim... We Do Not Share Resonating Vibes Nor Spiritual Ideals About What Is GOODNESS. SEE Who My Friends Are ~ They Are Organic Vegans For *Animal Liberation!* Absolute LOVING~KINDNESS!
(Final closing has been edited from this discourse)

The animals, including sheep and cows, that grow to love and trust have been bred to domesticity, in accordance with society’s need for providing for its members. We have indeed made them what they are, for the purpose of our physical sustenance. Whether there are more or fewer meat-eaters is debatable. Even chickens will eat their own, although we automatically envision them pecking at the ground eating seed. Chickens, roaming free upon the range, eat everything from seeds to worms and insects. I don’t believe this qualifies them as vegan. Animals existed long before humans made their appearance upon the earth; they have evolved according to their individual natures, as have we.

“All that you see is the manifestation of God’s Power. No one can do anything without this Power. … God exists in all beings as the All-pervasive Power; but the manifestation of His Power are different in different beings”
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

There is a food chain, whether physical or energetic in form. In most instances it is the larger animal that consumes the smaller (although there are exceptions to every rule), and they, in turn, are consumed by the earth so that herbivores have healthy plant material to consume. A small fish is consumed by a larger fish, which is then consumed by a still larger fish, until the largest dies and is returned to the ocean floor, where it nourishes and supports other organisms that feed the smallest fish, which is consumed by a larger fish, and so on. This is the cycle of life. That which lives, dies, and is returned to the earth. In terms of physicality, this return to the earth remains a form of energy and matter that continues to support the lives that follow; it is the food chain in utter simplicity. In the simple food chain the entire object is returned to the fold of universal balance, complete in its makeup of matter.

In the simple food chain, all matter is returned to the earth, providing the substance to continue the cycle of life. Commercial farming methods provide only three main minerals—nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium—to replenish the soil. We have seen a 50% reduction in the nutritional value of our food over the past 50 years, and it continues to decline. With this knowledge, are we treating others with kindness in continuing this practice? In the end, are we not massacring humankind? We cannot remove one part of the chain and not expect it to have an adverse effect upon our lives or the life of the planet.

Commercial farming has also fostered overuse of pesticides and insecticides to protect produce. The animals necessary for soil viability—worms and insects—are destroyed. This has also created many health issues; these chemicals are environmental toxins, which are carcinogenic. The main ingredient in these pesticides and insecticides is petroleum-based—a synthetic compound. We are therefore not only getting less nutritional value from our produce, we are also affecting and changing our innate cellular structure.

Not only do we use petroleum as a means to ‘protect’ produce, it is used to operate machinery in the fields and move the produce to central markets, where more petroleum is used in the transport delivery system. Petroleum is used to heat the store where we buy the produce, and then again to get us to the store and back home, where more petroleum and energy is used to keep the produce fresh or frozen. In moving away from small-scale, natural and organic farming, we are indeed killing our selves with pollution from factories, commercial farms, and the use of gas-powered vehicles. This is not what I consider a cycle that promotes or protects life; it is a sure road to its total demise.

Even synthetic fibres made from acrylics, such as faux fur or fleece, are petroleum-based products: the production, transportation and use of this material continues to pollute the earth from which our sustenance and life is received. How can we consider this Ahimsa, when even natural fibres are bleached and chemically altered, increasing the harm to our selves, animals, and the ecology of the entire planet?

The very act of breathing is necessary and beneficial for humans, yet bacteria and viruses are destroyed within the physical system. As we exhale we add to the carbon dioxide within the atmosphere, currently regarded as the primary cause of greenhouse gases and global warming.

In spiritual pursuits it is recommended that vegetarianism be followed, and in doing so it is with more ease that self-realization or Samadhi is attained. But Narendra, better known as Swami Vivekananda, in his complete works suggests that each individual follow that which is conditioned by their unique nature. On his travels, he ate what he was given, and in his epistles he wrote that he looked forward to meals more in keeping with his cultural background.

In my own attempt at vegetarianism, I discovered that I have sensitivities to some plant foods that provide necessary nutrients. My change of diet was a factor in serious health issues. So, I considered my genetic predispositions and returned to my cultural heritage in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We live upon this earth, and no matter what we consume we are part of the continuing cycle of creation and destruction; one does not exist without the other. It is only from our individual perspective that we judge one to be a higher vibration than another.

It is with respect that I consume food, with full awareness that I, too, on a Path to Light, will return to the earth, providing the necessary support for the continuation of cycles within the infinite balance that is universal energy.





© T.S. (Tim) White, 2008
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