>For what it's worth, don't worry whether eating meat is a capitalist
statement.
>Just make sure that when you decide to eat meat, this decision contributes
to
>your vision of the way the world should be. And if you have not thought
about
>that, it's about time you start. If we had more clarity about our visions,
we
>could make faster progress in implementing them, and would be faster at
>recognizing our mistakes. And if we keep the scale of our endeavours to an
>appropriate level, we will avoid catastrophes, and have more fun along the
way.
>
>
> Merry Christmas.
>
>Ignacio Villa
Hey, Ignacio:
Felicidad! (Did I spell it right? )
When you raise your own animal, there is a reality when you eat it. I raised
my children in Massachusetts on a small (20 acres) homestead, largely wooded
(for fuel to keep warm). In the fall, I would slaughter, always the pigs
last so they could clean up and convert the guts, etc, of the other animals.
Working alone, there were parts that became pig food or dog food or chicken
food that more frugal people would have eaten, but one can only do so much
and those other critters needed to eat anyway.
My kids would come home from school and see a pig hanging over the scalding
tub or a steer hanging from the sturdy limb of the sugar maple in the front
yard. We all knew where meat comes from Those animals were treated with
love and respect throughout their lives (well certain roosters and the geese
were not so loved because of their aggression), and any delinquincy or
deviation from perfection in their care was regarded as an extremely grave
matter. No one wasted meat. That would be an affront to the creature that
gave it. We were not frugal with meat from scarcity--we had enough so we
could use it for currency, for welding and car work, for example, as we had
little money and didn't need that much.
There was a spiritual aspect to eating our former acquaintances that gave us
to respect our place in the circle of life and what it takes to be there.
This has nothing to do with isms. The children watched from the window to
see that steer killed with one little 22 short, just a tiny crack and he was
down and I was racing to cut his throat and hang him up before the kicking
reflex started. If I was slow, the bruises on my thighs would last weeks.
This is reality. I am proud of the adults, very different each, that these
children grew up to be and their values. There respect for animals remains
impeccable.
This is part of the fruit of self-reliance, which is the backbone of
sustainability.
As we get into our solstice celebrations, some of us in the longest night and
others in the longest day, it is a good time to open to the spiritual aspects
of sustaining ourselves, the harmony of giving and receiving, not just of
matter, but of life itself, that propels us through life and gives us the
responsibility to become the best self, to fullfill our inner potential, to
the fullest. Why else should other lives, plant and animal, be given to keep
us in the circle of life.
For Mother Earth, Dan Hemenway, Yankee Permaculture Publications (since
1982), Elfin Permaculture workshops, lectures, Permaculture Design Courses,
consulting and permaculture designs (since 1981), and The Forest Ecosystem
Food Network. Copyright, 1996, Dan & Cynthia Hemenway, P.O. Box 2052, Ocala
FL 34478 USA YankeePerm@aol.com
We don't have time to rush.