Transformation Process from Omnivore to Vegan: Part 1

I am on a journey to become vegan (or, at the very least, vegetarian). It is a journey that started a long time ago when I became convinced, for various reasons of which I will explain some here, that eating meat is against what I came to believe spiritually. Unfortunately I am still very much a meat eater but, slowly but surely, I am cutting it out of my diet like an addict who gives up the addiction one slow step at a time. This is exactly what meat-eating is – an addiction. I grew up in a family who believe that if there is no meat on the plate then the meal is incomplete. I grew up in a culture for which to braai is a national activity. So, I have been eating meat for the more than thirty years, most of the time unquestioning and, I admit even now, with delight.

Apart from the lack of support (and I do now have more support than before), it is this last part which make it most difficult to give up meat. It is easy to give up something which you do not like much to begin with. Giving up something you enjoy is more complicated even though you believe that there is something inherently and morally wrong with it. Thus, I do not judge anyone for any addiction they may have. As an Omnist I believe that your journey and the decisions you make on your chosen path is your own. And yet, I feel that this is an important enough part of my own journey that I want to share it and, hopefully, change some mindsets or, at least, trigger some thought.

Personally, I have environmental, health, humane and spiritual reasons why I am exercising my mind and my body to give up meat and the use of any other animal products. On the first two I am no expert, and I will only briefly refer to it. On the third no one need to be an expert – all you need is compassion. I have given a lot more thought on the spiritual reasons and will comment more elaborately on these.

Environmentally I do believe that we should be able to end famine if only we are willing to give up our desire to consume meat. If we do not care for the animals, at least we can, indeed must, care for the members of our own species. The argument is simple: there are enough grain to feed the whole of the world population. Unfortunately, a large portion of grain are used in order to feed the livestock which will become meat. The amount of grain used for this purpose are much more than the amount of meat that is produced at the end of the process. It is sad that we are depriving millions of people of food so that only some of us can enjoy our meat. Keeping meat prices is mind it is a fact that some of us might be forced to become vegetarian soon. This is also a deciding factor in my own family – having a meatless day or two in the week not only lessen our carbon-footprint but also go lighter on our pockets.

With health the first thing people always love to say is that we need protein. This is false because we are actually addicted to protein. Our bodies only need a small amount of protein all of which is present in vegetables and seeds. The amount of protein we take in by consuming meat is much more than we need. Further, although our bodies are able to consume meat and other animal products and we pride ourselves in being omnivore, there are studies that show that actually our teeth are not made to tear meat and our organs are struggling to break down the meat and animal milk enzymes.

As I said, I am not an expert in these areas and it is up to you, my dear reader, to do your own research. However, there is something that we all, who have a conscience, feel and that is humaneness. As I have read more and more into the reasons why I should become a vegan, one of the overpowering factors is our own cruelty. First, we have the ability to lie to ourselves thinking that meat is just that as if it grows on trees. We talk about beef instead of cow and of pork instead of pig but we rationally know what it is and do not hesitate to call lamb and fish for what it is, and yet somehow we can ignore these facts while we cut, burn and eat it.

Second, there is the fact that these animals first need to be killed, slaughtered (murdered?), before its meat (flesh) can be packaged and transported to where we can buy it. An interesting point of view on this is “humane slaughtering” which means that animals can now be killed without any, or at least with the minimum, pain. Even if the animal feels no pain it does not take away the fact that it is being killed. Apart from that, how low did we fall in order to come up with a nonsense term such as “humane slaughtering”? Think about it, the ‘war to end all wars’ lead to no peace at all other than many more wars.

Lastly, and this is the biggest lie we tell ourselves, how is it possible that it is okay to kill some animals and cruel to kill others? Especially in our Western so-called civilization certain animals such as dogs and cats and select few from the bird and fish species and rabbits, are not being killed for food. Here we suddenly know how cruel it is to kill these specific animals while at the same time we feel the absolute irrational need to kill other species. It will be much more honest, however not less cruel, to admit that some we love, some we eat and some we just plain hate. So, we came up with a word such as ‘pet’ (a beautiful word for slave, I suggest the word ‘companion’ for animal lovers), so that when a sheep are especially loved by a little girl and her family that particular sheep is called ‘pet’ and is not eaten together with the other sheep. As for those we hate, we prefer to kill spiders, rats, mice and snakes and give various reasons for doing so without thinking twice that there are groups of people who are more than willing to go to your house, catch these animals and take them to a place where they can safely continue life.

When a man kills a tiger, it is called hunting. When a tiger kills a man, it is called cruel.

It is not only the larger animals that suffers, but also insects. Before I elaborate on this, I need to say this, there is a few times when it is allowed to kill. Firstly, when being threatened, a matter of life and death. When a robber, murderer or rapist threatens you, you have the right to protect yourself; and that is also true of a dangerous animal or insect. Secondly, for survival – if you find yourself in a situation where there is absolutely nothing else to eat then it is again a matter of life and death (I am willing to bet that most of us, in the 21^st century, will never find ourselves in such a situation). Lastly, when you have no other choice. For instance, if there is an insect or other animal in your house which can easily be caught and released outside then it should be done that way, but others (such as flies and ants) are more difficult and then, while feeling sorry for the little creatures, it may be killed in the interest of cleanliness and hygiene.

Now to return to the fact that insects also suffer, we need to remember that no matter how small the creature, it is a living being. The focus so far has mostly been on meat, but what about an animal product such as honey? Here is what I recently learned about honeybees and their owners: We all know that bees collect pollen from flowers which they then take to the hives. What we perhaps do not know is that it is not the pollen itself that gets unloaded at the hive. The pollen is consumed by the bees and in their stomachs it is transformed into honey which is then vomited (yes you have read correctly) out. What is this vomit (otherwise known as honey) used for by the bees? It is the building blocks for the hive and the food that the bees feed to their larvae. In other words, we humans are thieves stealing so to speak out of the mouths of the babes (the same thing we do with cows’ milk by the way). But there are worse to come, in order to move the hives to where the beekeeper want it or when the honey is being collected, smoke is used to disorientate the bees. The reason this is bad (other than the fact that smoke is being blown into the faces of sentient beings – you try not to complain the next time you inhale smoke) is that, when bees are in their natural environment and there is a fire, the smoke is a signal that they should flee. So, what happen is that the bees eat as much honey as is possible in order to build a new hive somewhere safer. The question then is, why don’t the bees just leave the beekeeper the moment smoke is blown into the hive? The reason, and this is the cherry on the cruel cake, is the queen bee. The bees will only leave if the queen herself leave – problem is that the lovely beekeepers removed the wings of the queen.

These then are the some of the reasons why I am busy moving away from eating meat and using animal products. In part two of the Transformation Process from Omnivore to Vegan I will focus exclusively on spiritual and religious reasons. This does not mean that this post was not spiritual at all. As human beings I believe that we are not bodies containing spirits, but spirits living in bodies and thus we are spiritual beings. As spiritual beings I believe we have an immense obligation and responsibility towards the environment and the health of ourselves and all other sentient beings. Apart from that, if the focus is on spirit and not on body then it should also be on compassion and not on dominion. The cruelty we have towards nature, animals and each other show that our focus has far too long been on our bodies and our perceived right to dominate and do as we please. We have made our stomachs our gods.

May the One God with many Names and many Manifestations bless you

We are the Virus: Fear and Ignorance

From March until August 2020 I, along with many other South Africans, have been forced to stay at home due to the lockdown against the COVID19 pandemic. While some of us had by now returned to work many still stay at or work from home. When watching the news, it is clear though that not all people adhere to the lockdown rules, in fact there are some who still do not believe there is a pandemic at all.

I have returned to work on the 31^st of August, as it is not exactly possible to, as a library assistant, work from home. However, the time I was forced to stay at home were pleasant – most of all I had the opportunity to witness the first six months of my newborn baby’s life (a privilege many fathers do not have). I also had a lot of time, and truly little excuse, to focus on intense study, meditation and fasting. I know that the experience, for many heartbreaking reasons, was or are not as pleasant for many others.

As I contemplated these times we live in, I realize that there is another part of the pandemic many of us do not see or prefer to ignore. The virus itself, whether we are responsible for its genesis or not, is plainly what it is – it infects people and while some survive many dies. As human beings we do not have the same excuse, to say we do what we do because we are what we are implies that we do not have the capacity to think or the conscience to realize the consequences of our actions. The ‘I am only human’ excuse simply does not work.

And yet this is exactly how many of us conduct our lives – living (existing?) from day to day without questioning deeply our own motives and actions. My mother, a very wise woman, told me sadly that, “there are many things with which we live past each other, things we do not even think to find out… we just live… everyone in his or her own bubble”. She said this with regard to knowledge of certain subjects, but I think she will agree with me that it is equally true of thousands of small daily things over which we never stop to think why it is that we do it.

This is what makes us, the human species, the actual virus – a virus which can think but either prefer not to or prefer using the capability to consciously act in ways which will cause trouble to all of us on a later stage. Never mind the big things though, the fact that we are the cause of erosion, global warming, famine and other cruelties to mention only a few. Individually we make millions of choices daily which we unconsciously teach our children, and which adds up to become major problems in the long run.

A few years ago, I was using the train to go and visit my parents. While waiting for the arrival of the train I walked around on station observing people, an interesting pastime. So, at one stage I saw a mother and her small child, I would guess the boy were about three or four years of age, leaning against a half-empty dustbin eating some snacks. After eating they walked about three meters to the railroad track and threw the plastic containers on the track, then walked back to the half-empty dustbin and continue leaning on it. I was dumbfounded.

We humans seems, in essence, to be extremely selfish and self-absorbed. Someone once said that crowds are stupid, but personally I do not think that we fare much better individually – it is just easier to see the stupidity of the crowds. Some argue that they cannot do something to, for instance, stop pollution. However, looking at the actions of these very same people, they pollute with the same argument in mind – how can my own personal polluting cause massive pollution, I am only one person. In other words, we do not stand up to do something about the problems facing the world because we feel inferior while at the same time, in our personal lives, we act so superior that we are the very cause of those problems.

We refuse to see it because we are comfortable. There is a South African joke on politicians in government – a decision are made by some politician which is then contested in court, the court orders the politician to rectify the problem within, say, five years’ time… the politician then calculate that by that time he will not be in the position to correct it anymore and thus he agree to what the court says without any intention of actually obeying making it, in effect, someone else’s problem. It is not only politicians that act this way. Many of us do know what the effects will be if we continue wasting water and electricity – we complain about load shedding but make no effort to switch of the light when we exit the room – or continue polluting, but we also know that by the time those problems hit home we may not be around anymore (you do realize that load shedding is one example of such a problem? – for all the mistakes Eskom made and continue to make, we each have our own part in this). Even closer to our bodies, we know what the consequences will be for our bad eating habits and lack of exercise but we reckon that by the time it becomes a problem we would have lived our lives satisfactorily. Then we still act surprised when we are diagnosed with various types of sicknesses.

On the other hand, many of us fool ourselves into thinking that it is enough to give some money to some far off charity organization while we continue to do some of the very things those organizations are trying to stop. Giving the money is not the problem, fooling ourselves into thinking that that is the only thing we need to do is. Then there are also some of us who do give some money to some organization, even if it is through a backdoor way via playing lottery or buying at our favorite supermarket, only because we get something in return – points, the chance to win a competition, or discount on our shopping. It is as if we must be begged to do the right thing. And thank God we do not have to get our hands dirty. Then, on another front, there are those who raise awareness for some or other noble cause. Raising the awareness is not a problem, it is an exceptionally good thing as it would hopefully force some people to think. The problem come in when those who join the campaigns do so only to wear certain clothing, buying a pin or putting cloth around a tree. Again, people must be begged only to become nominally involved.

What is needed is some real action. Why not start a campaign yourself, for a chance, within your own area? Sure, that might be aiming a bit high for a start, but still there are many things many of us can do, on our own or with someone else, which will be small steps in the right direction. For starters, and as far as is financially possible, find out where better choices can be made within your own life and home. Safe water by showering for a maximum of two minutes, not only because this will also safe you some money but because it will do wonders to the environment which you may never even realize. Don’t know where to start? As a library assistant I can assure you there are many books in the library and websites on the internet which will give you easy tips. Besides this, there are also many events, such as Earth Hour where all electrical appliances are switched of for an hour, which are designed to help you getting into the habit of a more sustainable lifestyle.

My point with all this is that we made ourselves the biggest virus the world has ever seen simply through our fear and ignorance. My own journey into realization of my place and purpose on earth and in this life started when I began to seriously contemplate what it is to love, to have compassion, to live in harmony. Reading the Holy Scriptures of various religious traditions and the books written about it, helped me conclude that concepts such as love, compassion and harmony does not stop at ourselves, our family and our friends. It continues towards those we do not like, those we hate, complete strangers… and then further to all other beings no matter how small or big or irritating. It reaches into every single action we perform, every single choice we make or word we say. Contemplate this long enough and you will know that it was never going to be easy. But the alternative of living in a vacuum is so much worse.

May the One God with many Names and many Manifestations, bless you.