The Vegan Evolution

The vegan ideal embodies the highest of ethical aspirations – non-violence, justice and compassion toward the innocent. Yet this deep and powerful value system continues to be marginalized by society. The example set by those who embrace these principles is too often vehemently opposed, trivialized or simply ignored. But the effects of this paradigm shift in perception are far-reaching, and the rewards beyond measure.

And yet, it somehow appears that the light of veganism is so bright that people are afraid to open their eyes to it, even individuals whose eyes are open to the truth behind other social causes. What is it that makes us cling so stubbornly to a practice that is clearly unnecessary, devastatingly cruel, and, if left unchecked, will almost certainly end up destroying us?

More and more people are recognizing the prejudice and injustice inherent in enslaving and slaughtering animals, in order to feed our appetite for flesh, eggs, milk, and other products of exploitation. It is no secret that animal concentration camps create breeding grounds for all sorts of infectious diseases. It’s also becoming known that animal products are detrimental to human health, and that animal agriculture, including ‘free-range’ and ‘organic’, is implicated in some of the worst crimes against the planet. Even the truth about the animal industry’s role in world hunger and food shortages is starting to come into the open.

Despite all the advancements of human ‘civilization’, our addiction to killing keeps us in the dark ages. It inhibits us from cultivating our capacity for kindness, empathy, and justice; the very qualities we need to develop if we are to move forward into a safe and prosperous future, in which we do not fear one another.

Animals value their lives, and strive to be free from pain. Since the same qualities exist in us, empathizing with them comes naturally. When we suppress that empathy, it makes it impossible for us to look more deeply into the true nature of animals, and the rest of the natural world that we all rely on for survival.

Indifference toward the suffering of other creatures is an accepted societal norm that calls out for us to remember what basic human values are: justice, empathy, compassion and respect; for the natural world, for the other animals, and for our fellow humans. By re-evaluating and renewing our commitment to these fundamental values, and by calling attention to the need for an ethical evolution, we can create new standards of behavior, motivated by our desire to be better people. Only in this way will we become deserving of the position of stewardship that our physical evolution has granted us, but which we have rejected in favor of self-serving domination.

All over the world, animals are imprisoned, enslaved, tortured and violently killed, and all over the world, people who are otherwise kind, gentle and caring, continue to ignore this unspeakable suffering. And yet we wonder why the human race is plagued by violence on a world-wide scale. We go about our business, acting as though this state of violence does not indicate something terribly disturbing about our psychological state, individually and as a whole. Our lack of concern for innocent beings has caused us to de-sensitize ourselves to suffering, which in turn enables us to inflict pain on each other.

The vegan ideal is at the core of the shift from predation to protection and from prejudice to justice; an essential step into a way of living that is more suited to the nature of people who care about the suffering of others, and who can empathize with another’s situation. The vegan solution contains within it the power to solve even the most overwhelming problems we are facing, on every level from personal to planetary.

If we are to have a future, the people who live in that future will not be addicted to products that are a result of exploitation, suffering and environmental devastation. They will not source their food from animal farms or slaughterhouses, but from fertile gardens, vibrant orchards and veganic farms. People will be kind, compassionate, gentle and just.

This quantum leap in perception may seem unlikely from the position we are in today, but it is within this very change that our hope for the future lies.

http://gentleworld.org

The Growing Challenge - Week One

The Challenge: Grow one additional type of fruit or vegetable than you did last year, and grow it from seed. Post about your gardening experience once each week.

The Goal: To push ourselves to grow a little more food than we have before.

The Challenger: One Green Generation

Week One:

It is good to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought. 

 ~James Douglas, Down Shoe Lane

Welcome to my newest vegetable and fruit garden. Hubby and I created these rows last spring to add even more to our existing garden. We also added 2 herb gardens and a strawberry/sweet pea garden each for the boys. We will be adding wood edging to the rows this spring to help with keeping the grass out of the soil as much as possible.

The above vegetable garden we put in 2 and a half years ago. We will be adding a wall of lattice on the far north end, framed in, to help with wind gusts and for our climbing vegetables to grow up.

Right now the gardens look rather BORING, and DEPRESSING, but spring is fast approaching and I can NOT wait to start preparing, digging, raking, planting, weeding, watering!!

I am currently waiting for my seed order to arrive from the Cottage Gardener located in Newtonville, Ontario. They have a fantastic selection of certified organic seeds and many heirloom varieties. 

Here are my order details:

• Gypsywort *New addition
  
• Bull's Blood Beets *New addition
  
• Long Island Improved Brussel Sprouts *New addition
  
• Arugula *New addition
  
• The Cottage Gardener's Gourmet Heirloom Leaf Lettuce
  
• Bleu de Solaise Leek *New addition
  
• British Wonder Pea
  
• Red Opal Basil
  
• The Cottage Gardener's Coloured Carrot Mix
  
• New Zealand Spinach
  
• Petit du Rennes - Melon
  
• Blanche du Quebex - Tomato
  

The above garden is part of one of the flower gardens, in the shade today (The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow). I will order organic seeds next month to prepare, but for now I am focused on the fruits and vegetables.

'Happy Gardening Thoughts', see you here next week :)

God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done.