Recent salmonella outbreak/ Democracy NOW inspiration

Yesterday, I caught the end of Democracy NOW which is one of my all time favorite broadcasts.

The segment that happened to touch me deeply was an interview with David Kirby:

David Kirby on "The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy and Poultry Farms on Humans and the Environment"

You can listen or watch the segmented broadcast here.

What it aroused in me was a whole bunch of looming questions in my mind. How come when I tell people that I am vegan people immediately wonder where I get my protein from? Or it causes them to take a posture as if I am an extremist. A lot of people become very defensive when they find out I am vegan. I try very hard not to push my values on others but I can't help but wonder, especially when I hear news casts like I did today, how we got so off track in regards to our food and our values. The first thing that I always wonder is where people get their nutritional information from? What makes you an expert that knows that in order to live healthily and happy as a human being I need 25 percent lean animal protein?

WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM??

So few people actually take the time to really attempt to gain some knowledge and insight other then a 3 page article in the latest teen or people magazine about nutrition. Also nutritional science is in its infancy. Think about what we know now htat we did know ten years ago about phyto nutrients etc... The question I want to ask in response is where do YOU get your PROTEIN? What had to suffer and die in order to provide you with that piece of bacon that you simply can not live with out and what is it going to take before we wake up and realize that as long as we continue to engage in fierce consumption of these products we continue to support factory farming. Factory farming is a crime against humanity. There is absolutely no excuse/ justification for it. It hurts EVERYONE.

How many more swine flu outbreaks/ salmonella before people begin to make a connection with their food...

And then I remember what It was like before I knew any of this and I regain an immense amount of hope for humanity. There is a lot of money spent (in the billions a year) to try to keep people disconnected from our food. This problem is very very complicated and there is more then just one solution but the way to change is first to accept that it actually is a problem whether or not you are willing to do anything about it. What is needed more then anything is malleability of the mind. Its very very hard to cultivate peace when the mind is rigid. There was a time when I ate whatever I wanted with no regards to anything other then my desire and sloth. Today I simply try to practice a certain degree of mindfulness in all my activities and while I fall short on a daily basis I seem to gain peace of mind in direct proportion to my effort rather then the results of that effort.

Everyone who is a parent can understand the desire of wanting to leave a world for their children to live in. For me Vegan-ism is about something bigger then the self. It is making very small sacrifices (although today I do not even see them as sacrifices) in order to attempt to leave the world in a better condition then when I found it. If I can do it, anyone can do it. At least that has been my own experience.