The last age and this age

877: 

Imagine if vegan food really did let you think faster, by relieving the mind of guilt and giving you a sense of hope. I suppose, being vegan means you don’t have to be afraid of who you are. You don’t have to fear doom, for eating animals. Plus, and perhaps for the first time as adults, we can look forward to less ill health. This is the relieving of the weight of guilt, along with the spiritual failure of it all, and even to thinking of the animals cursing us for what we’ve done.

            Vegan food stops you being addicted to crap foods. Pass the cake shop, leave it alone. Pass up the crab croquettes, the Black Magic chocolates, the cream on fresh figs. Such memories, and such temptations, but far worse to feel that you are nothing more than a slave to your own tastebuds and worse, that you are a slave of convention. Take note of the amount of participation in violence and all the paraphernalia of violence. It seeps into our relationship and attitudes. It leaks most regularly into our food. getting what we want by force. This model of human-the-aggressor, the constant aggressor, we cling to, as if there can be no other way!

            Thankfully we are coming to the end of an age where violence is still appropriate. Twentieth century-think is ‘on the nose’. It’s likely that we’re near to ending the relevance of violence. The brainy kids of today are finding less destructive ways of intercours-ing. They’re talking amongst themselves. And, with them, they strut their different-opinions without causing nosebleeds.

            Vegans need to set the example here - our own dissociation with violence should start by our not going around hating carnivores. We need to talk to meat-eaters, and since there are so many of them we’ve got a lot to talk to. And talk about. And yes, we have our work cut out, establishing rights for animals. Here, it’s scale that is relevant - the vegan ‘suggestion’ is of David and Goliath proportions. And we, being part of the collective consciousness, whether vegan or not, think of the liberating of animals as a task. Hard work. And it might seem to drain our energy. Vegans need to set the example, not just about food, not just about behaviour, but also about this ‘D & G’ thing. The overwhelming odds seem to bring us out in a rash. But surely, if we can get past that, take energy FROM the work, then we don’t get exhausted at all, well certainly not in just thinking about it, anyway. It’s not to be daunted by the apparent forces against us.

            The Animal Industry, its abattoirs and its advertising, it thrives very nicely. Even though their influence is lessening (who hasn’t got a vegetarian mate these days?) But, our society is facing a choice - either we recognise the scientific evidence about plant-based foods or we continue clinging to a superseded means of making energy for ourselves and, in the process, violate huge numbers of animals. Remaining as an omnivore these days is rather like laying an unnecessarily heavy carbon footprint on ourselves, and not really caring much about it either.