Food for Thought

When I look into the eyes of another breathing, heart-beating, thinking, playing, eating, LIVING being, I see a piece of the Divine. This includes ALL the creatures of the animal world. Elephants mourn the loss of a loved one. Mama cows cry out vocally when separated from their babies. Injured dogs yelp and cry in pain. Every animal has a way of communicating with their pack or tribe. You need only observe (whether in person or an Animal Planet documentary) to witness this for yourself. Of course, you may not want to. It's so much easier to eat the flesh of a murdered animal when you don't know them as a sentient being. It was easier to justify racism/prejudices when you didn't personally know anyone anyone "like that". Speciesism is the same situation. We have become so desensitized by the ad campaigns and food additives and easy-access, "give it to me now" food industry that there is no reverence or respect for the living creatures slaughtered to make your meal. If you had to kill that cow, chicken, sheep or fish - gut it, skin it and clean the blood from your hands and home, would you then be able to eat it? Perhaps, if you HAD to do it, to survive in the world. But today, we do not have to kill to eat. We have become greedy, selfish and lazy. Dining from the dollar menu and satisfying a "craving" have become the norm. 

Food is the fuel of life. But just like cheap, inexpensively made fuels will damage a vehicle it was not designed for, so too has our food industry damaged our body's, minds and souls. We were designed to play a conscious role in our hunting & gathering. Big business foods have stolen our consciousness and we have allowed it to happen. 

A recipe that has "a box of..." or "a can of..." is convenient, yes, but not conscious. A dash through the drive thru makes it seem like we're saving time, but we are slashing hours and years from our lives. Chopping, measuring, sorting, searing, sautéing...these are actions of a responsible consumer. One who is intentionally honoring and respecting the food process & thus, LIFE. 

The next time your taste buds try bossing you around just TRY to truly "think outside the box." Make real cooking a family event. Sit down at the table together. Shut off the phones and tv and tablets and look into each other's eyes. Talk. Laugh. Sing. Reminisce and remember. Most of all, be conscious. 

Life is short...made shorter still by a food industry that doesn't give a rip about anything but the almighty dollar.  Isn't it time we WAKE UP and start living again? Take back our meal-times, our families, our health & our lives? 

Food for thought.

God Bless, Namaste, and as always, SHARE THE LOVE. ~P.Frye