Part 2: An Inconsistent Vegan
For compassionate reasons, I want to give up relying upon all animals for my food or comfort. I also know a grandmother in these suburbs from China who raises chickens and then kills them in the back yard to teach her grandchildren the same lesson: We both care about animals and do not want to see them suffer.
She is no more a monster than my own grandmother who, according to family, would grab a chicken by the neck and then spin her to break before plucking all feathers and making dinner. Of course, grandmother could have eaten a salad but this is not what people do nor have ever done. It's not what we want nor expect from an omnivorous life. Animals are seen as a gift for our bounty and righteous divinity.
I am an inconsistent vegan. I love the camaraderie today around eating a meaty hot dog with coworkers. These desires include guilt after traveling home last week from Louisiana and seeing expansive Texas fields with cows and their calves grazing luscious grass while carrying egrets on their backs and always oblivious to our everpresent hunger.
A humble way to rationalize eating animals is to remember that not everyone on the planet has the luxury to choose the foods they eat. For this reason, I see all food as a gift and one to be accepted from other human beings and animals with gratitude. At least for today.
She is no more a monster than my own grandmother who, according to family, would grab a chicken by the neck and then spin her to break before plucking all feathers and making dinner. Of course, grandmother could have eaten a salad but this is not what people do nor have ever done. It's not what we want nor expect from an omnivorous life. Animals are seen as a gift for our bounty and righteous divinity.
I am an inconsistent vegan. I love the camaraderie today around eating a meaty hot dog with coworkers. These desires include guilt after traveling home last week from Louisiana and seeing expansive Texas fields with cows and their calves grazing luscious grass while carrying egrets on their backs and always oblivious to our everpresent hunger.
A humble way to rationalize eating animals is to remember that not everyone on the planet has the luxury to choose the foods they eat. For this reason, I see all food as a gift and one to be accepted from other human beings and animals with gratitude. At least for today.
