Recently, an acquaintance who is a declared vegan posted a picture of a bag of Vegan chocolates that he purchased at Costco. The ingredients were short of organic or even comprehensible. Now, to give you a little back history, this group we belong to is a small online group of people (less than 10) who came together initially to work on building practical, local and sustainable resources for our community in the event of food or water shortages, financial collapse, etc… during lock downs and imposed mandates.
It wasn’t a crisis/emergency resource group, but rather a group to help people transition from the old system to local sustainability and inter-dependence with other like-minded people and communities.
He raised an interesting concern for me regarding veganism. A vast majority of vegans become vegans not because their doctor recommended it for health purposes, but because of peer pressure or the illusion that somehow veganism makes one more spiritual or morally and ethically superior. It’s merely a personal choice. But did they consult their body? After all, it’s the body that ingests the food, not your consciousness.
Having worked in media, marketing and advertising (in a previous life), I know better than to take anything at face value and assume everything is false or a lie. I’ve become wildly sophisticated with my discernment and common sense (now called critical thinking). Most of the population prefer to be led rather than empowered. They want to be told what to do rather than decide for themselves. It’s only about 10% of the population who seek a determination of authentic sovereign expression. You may not like it but look around you. Most would rather follow the crowd, than honour their unique path and make a stand.
When a product is labelled vegan, what is the first impression you have?
- It has no animal products and is organic?
- I am spiritual and therefore I have to buy it to reflect my values?
- Everyone I know is vegan, so I have to be vegan. It says its vegan. So, it must be vegan.
- A vegan friend recommended the product to me.
- I checked with my family physician and they recommended that I follow a vegan diet for better health because of the health issues I am facing at this time.
- I checked my blood type and it suggested that veganism was the best course to take for my blood type.
- I don’t want to disappoint people and really want to fit in. Veganism is already healthy. Everybody is doing it.
- I am making a stand against the slaughtering of animals. It’s about principles and ethics.
- It’s healthier for me.
These are some of the answers I’ve run across in talking with friends that are vegans. Not all, but some, are disgusted with people who eat meat; fish, poultry or otherwise. And yes, they still tolerate and love me, immensely because they know they are not judged. We can talk about numerous taboo topics and not get offended. It’s called emotional intelligence, love and respect. We call the kettle black for each other in loving ways. This helps us to grow in loving and supportive ways. I don’t want to have friends who always agree with me. It’s boring and just plain…well, boring! When I need to pull out a label because we are going toe to toe, I pull out that I am a ‘flexitarian.’ My diet is predominantly vegetables, fruits and legumes, and wholesome grains, but if my body is craving a nice piece of trout or organic, local chicken, even a burger, I will indulge.
If you’re vegan or claim to be vegan do you believe you have become morally superior? Did you make the choice to become vegan based on values and principles rather than a genuine prescribed diet based on a biological assessment of your physiology? We talk about this in my small group of friends.
It can become a competitive hierarchy, a ‘one-uping,’ that occurs, so I am told. It starts, though, with the denial of deep self-loathing that was never explored or healed. One belief or label piling onto another and another, etc… It’s silly, and even detrimental to your health and well-being. But soon you’ve created a false self with false friends and are not able to identify or even fulfill your deeper needs, thinking that declaring you’re a vegan has fulfilled all your needs. I thought this was fascinating!
But at this point, does it really matter? You’re morally superior, even if you’ve lost all common sense. Moral superiority is next to holiness, for some. But when an emotional or biological health crisis occurs, indicating an imbalance in your system that could have come from eating certain meats is it still about moral values and principles? Or is it about correcting and using synthetics at all costs to maintain or sustain the appearance of higher morality and principles?
It’s never the act of eating meat but what it means to eat meat and who we think we become by eating meat that drives the psychosis. If someone gets it into their head that by eating meat they are experiencing lower frequencies or eating their dog, then there’s a hard line in reality and common sense that is lacking. And if there is a real area of lack here, where else is there a lack that is seeking to be satisfied?
When everything gets lumped together without unpacking it and examining it, false conclusions, perceptions, associations and identities are created. And that inner void just gets bigger and bigger…
If the label reads vegan, do you assume the product is void of animal products? Are you assuming, even trusting, that the growers and manufacturers aren’t Gates or Monsato, or another oligarchy whose agenda is to introduce you to a ‘new’ food chain of lab-created synthetics with ingredients such as, insects and fetal placenta into your holy ‘vegan’ products?
Do you read the label of ingredients? Do you understand or question what you are reading? What percentage of the plant-based ingredients is actually plant-based? 1%? 5%? And of that percentage, what amount is grown organically? Without pesticides or GMOs? Do you actually have knowledge of what the first 5 ingredients are in the products? The first 5 ingredients are the dominant ingredients in a product. If you can’t pronounce them, then you are most likely ingesting synthetics created in a lab. Now, how morally superior is that? Don’t take my word for it. Check out the ingredients on the labels for yourself.
And don’t assume that if a product is labelled, ‘organic’ that there weren’t any pesticides used or that the processing or manufacturing of the product didn’t involve inorganic substances. Understand your labels. There is a huge war-on our environment, our food, our bodies, our humanism, on men and women, etc… Be prudent and discerning. Just be aware of how easily you can be manipulated through assumptions and presumptions.
We need common sense more than ever. Common sense by association is dangerous and just plain irresponsible. It has nothing to do with moral superiority or saving animals and neither is tribalism. “Think in your head,” my dad used to say to me. He had been teaching me to think critically as a very young age. And before you go flying off into a hissy fit of “I’m offended,” drama, I’d like to point out that critical thinking is not judging. It has more to do with discernment and the ability to rationalize for one’s self.
If your diet is void of local, organic animal products what nutritional value are you ingesting? And not the nutritional value that the manufacturer has indicated, but the nutritional value in relationship to what your body needs.
Have you been to a Naturopath to have extensive and detailed testing to understand the chemistry and mechanics of your body? Including strengths and genetic weaknesses? How do you know that you actually need a supplement, apart from advertisers telling you that you need it?
If you are doing it to make a moral or ethical statement, what statement is that, exactly? It is your body that is having the healing experience, not your mind or your consciousness… and certainly not your soul. Your soul and consciousness are eternal. Your mind or ego-personality simply has you on the hamster wheel of survival. Your body, however, is what is guiding your healing journey. So, how well do you pay attention to your body? Did you know that your body has innate intelligence and natural mechanisms? Did you know that your body isn’t your enemy, contrary to the messaging in mainstream media? Just like Nature isn’t the enemy or the feminine?
Now, I know some very well practiced, healthy vegans. When invited to dinner, my taste buds are passionately entertained with different flavours and textures of locally grown and ‘real’ organic foods. Wholesomeness is a lifestyle not a code for superiority. This is simply misguided and superficial interpretations. If you are wanting to make the change, please do so with thorough research and understanding of your personal physiology. And learn to listen to your body. It actually is talking to you all the time… all the time!
The intent of this piece is to create intelligent thought-provoking insights for self-reflection. It’s okay if you disagree. We can agree to disagree, while being supportive, loving and respectful. One doesn’t exclude the other.
~Patricia xo
