Pay-back time

For those who refuse to accept the dietary changes suggested by vegans, there’s a hard lesson to be learned. There are the health dangers of meat eating, with heart disease, cancer and diabetes each being associated with eating animal protein and fats. But it’s not just about health, it goes deeper, to the danger of developing a weak conscience. It leads us into advantage taking and not feeling the wrongness of it. It’s about abusing the vulnerable to benefit ourselves, and that could include the abuse of women and children, or spoiling the countryside, or fishing-out the oceans or the caging of hens.
All exploitation comes at a price even though it might not be immediately obvious. And because it isn’t immediately obvious we continue to exploit and think nothing of it. But eventually the damage shows up on our own doorstep, if not in the nightmare part we play in animal cruelty, then in the ill effects of eating animals. In terms of ill health (as well as shame) we are discovering how deep is the hole we’ve fallen into. It can be so deep and our hands so tied, that even if we wanted to we’re too far gone to make amends. Unless we try to repair some of the damage we’ve done, we may lose everything that we have gained.
If we do care about the animals’ plight we’ll probably appreciate the great advantages we humans have been enjoying, up to now, and not begrudge giving away some of those advantages for the sake of the greater good. Sure, we’ll have to deal with some inconvenience, and yet in the long run our decisions will be justified by enjoying good health and a lighter conscience.
It’s a straight forward move, from being an abuser to becoming a repairer. We all have to move that way sooner or later. And as soon as we do, as soon as we start to respect the natural order, we can develop, evolve and expand our consciousness. But not until!