Many years ago, while living in the UK for a time, I became interested in a change of lifestyle and adopted a non-meat diet. It was an easy transition and felt natural for me to do so. The markets on the streets abounded with produce from the farms and the gardens. Maybe meat was expensive, I don’t recall, but a vegetarian recipe book was bought and a largely plant based diet begun.
It was some years later that I began to question eating dairy foods. It wasn’t because I didn’t like them. It was rather that it had dawned on me, that in order to eat cheese, icecream, yoghurt and many processed foods made from animal milk, the animal mothers had to give up their babies, soon after birth. Animals must become pregnant, through whatever means and give birth, to produce the milk that we humans will take from them for ourselves. So, that results in millions of baby animals around the planet being born to become orphans every year. They will either be slaughtered for their meat at a very young age, grown for the same end result or to be milk producers themselves. Hence, a never-ending production of animals is necessary for these ends.
No matter which way I looked at it, I could not be at peace within myself and find a good enough reason to personally support the practice of taking babies off their mothers routinely for economic reasons or to satisfy my taste buds. For me, this is a cutting across nature, a denial of the feminine. Even when I received “confirmation” that at some level the soul group consciousness of the cows, had agreed to serve humans for a period of time, like a contract, it did not sit well with me to support the way the dairy industry is practised. This has nothing to do with the affection people obviously have for their animals. It is more that this has for so long now, been considered an acceptable practice.
Of course, everyone feels and thinks differently about this situation, if they even give it a thought. For some, it is more important that the animals are raised and treated well during their lives, regardless of why or how the animals came to be here in the first place.
No doubt, there are farm animal species that have had a degree of their mothering instinct bred out of them, or have they simply given up and become resigned to the inevitable loss of their offspring? What impact does the taking of the babies soon after birth, year after year have on them emotionally? Do we even care? Or do we think that man is supposed to have this level of manipulation and control over the animal kingdom and this is just how it is supposed to be? Is it okay to just assume “they get over it quickly”?
Regarding the production of eggs, some breeds of hens have had the “mothering, broody” behaviour bred out of them, making it easy to take their generously given eggs. In order to have those hens, most male chicks will lose their lives, for simply being male and not useful. As we know, not all hens are kept in ideal conditions and we must pay more for some eggs, to support what is hopefully an environment that allows hens to live as naturally as possible.
Many people argue that life in the wild is harsh, at least from a people perspective. In nature, an understanding exists between predator and prey, maintaining balance. There is an acceptance of how life and death is played out, a point at which the prey animal surrenders to the predator’s actions and it is understood, to be at peace with this natural ending of its life in the final moments.
I recall a documentary I saw in an Alaskan museum. A seal hunter described his interaction with a seal while hunting. He was about to shoot the seal whose head was above the surface of the water. The seal turned, looked at the hunter and in that instant, the hunter recognised the seal was asking a question of him “will you waste any of me?”, to which the hunter communicated that he would not. Immediately the seal turned giving the hunter the perfect shot. There was an energetic exchange, a connection between the two, an understanding and accepting.
Regardless of what our diet is, can we say we are doing the same with our practices and attitudes? Have we become so detached, that we have no idea how food came to be on our dinner tables and no connection with the spirit of the animal that made a sacrifice in some way or all that was involved in the growing and harvesting of our plant food?
Some indigenous cultures considered the taking of life to be a sacred act. They performed ceremony, song or prayers before embarking on a hunt, to connect with the spirit of an animal and to give thanks for its life. They also took only what they needed to feed the people and used what was left avoiding wastage.
Times have changed and our connection to the land and the animals has been eroded to the point that some people have no idea where their food comes from. Maybe, with the changing and somewhat traumatic times that many of us are currently experiencing, we will find a way to reconnect with nature, with awareness of her generous gifts that bring us health and a sense of wellbeing, unsurpassed by the world of most processed products and foods that do not truly sustain life.
So long as we continue to practice acts that exploit and treat animals as non-sentient beings, I do not see how we can live harmoniously with nature. Animals appreciate honesty, so at the very least, we can inform them of our intentions and express gratitude for what they provide for us, both, at source, on the farm and at the dinner table.
For me, this is an awakening to the life that is around us and supports us, an awareness of the cycles of life and the changing seasons. It is recognising another’s right to existence as well as the acceptance that life can be ended at any time and an appreciation of what that means for us personally, especially when that end benefits us in some way.
My understanding and certainly, my felt experience is that different foods have their own vibration. A friend had a garden that was tended by people who stayed at her home in the country – the vegetables grown there were so different from anything I had eaten before. They sparkled, were so alive and nourishing. Recently I have also been gifted fresh and nourishing greens from my neighbours’ gardens. Gifts from the earth and from the people.
No matter our food choices, or what ends up on our plates, the very act of having gratitude, is I believe, enough to raise the vibration of our food too, helping sustain us. Surely, together, we can find more ways to connect with the earth and grow food that gives vitality and life force, no matter where we live. Many are already doing this, so it is just a matter of joining in and having fun with it while also having a sense of achievement and replenishing the earth at the same time. As well as the enjoyment that eating good food can bring.