A Word About Karma

Karma, by definition, is 'action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad.' I like to think of Karma in relation to the food that I eat, or choose not to eat. Being a vegetarian, I of course avoid meat....but why?? What are my reasons for this choice? I am confronted with this question whenever someone asks me what made me become a vegetarian. In all honesty, my reasons were not at all Karmic in the beginning. I had read an article in a fashion magazine about a woman who died from Mad Cow disease. I know what you might be thinking....an article about Mad Cow in a fashion mag?? But, very true. It was a very touching article, and instantly made me re-think my food choices. I am sure that most of you remember the outbreak of Mad Cow. It was a horrible thing that resulted in the destruction of many many thousands of cows. Yet, some of the cows that had this horrid disease, were ground up and fed to other cows!! So, an animal that is made to be an herbivore is now a carnivore. Not only that, if the animal that had to be destroyed had a disease, why would you feed it to a healthy cow!? Calves are given the blood of the cows that have to be destroyed in their food?? What is wrong with the cattle industry??
The second reason I could add to my list was watching a video online about chickens. Yes, chickens. Some might think of them as stupid unfeeling animals, but I know for a fact that this is not true. A friend of mine's family raised chickens when she was a child, and there was one chicken in particular that would come up to the door of the house to be 'put to bed' at night!! That is one story that will always stick with me....the image of a little chicken coming up to the house at dusk. Makes me think of Chicken Run!! (if you haven't seen it, it's a great little movie. British humor is THE best). So, on to the video. I believe it was on the PETA website, and it honestly made me cry. I suppose they might embellish a bit to play on your emotions, but the scenes that were shown were heartbreaking. Do you know that chickens are given so many hormones that they are ready for butchering in 90 days? No way is a chicken that is left to grow naturally anywhere near being mature in 90 days. Ninety days!! Because they are given so many hormones to quicken their growth, and because they grow so rapidly, they get sick. Because they get sick, they are given high doses of antibiotics. They get to be so big and heavy that they can't walk. They just lie there, in their own poo and pee. The levels of ammonia in the air in the chicken coops are not safe for a human to breathe, so how is that ok for animals?? Animals that people are going to eat?? Don't even get me started on battery eggs!! Those poor chickens are stuffed into cages, sick and diseased. Forced to lay eggs on a much quicker scale than nature intended.
To me, the two reasons listed above were reason enough for me to become a vegetarian. Animals that are raised (non-organically) for food, egg or milk production, are mistreated, injected with drugs, sick, afraid, and just plain miserable. Who would want that kind of karma in their food?? I do still eat eggs and cheese, but I am very careful about my choices. The eggs I buy are local and are from free-range chickens that are not on steroids or antibiotics. The cheese I buy is rennent free (that is a subject for a future blog) and organic.
I am outraged at the food industry in general! Why do they do things like this that they know will harm the people that eat it?? It is ALL about money. Make the chicken grow 200 times faster and fatter than nature intended, and the farmer gets his money quicker and gets more money because the animal is bigger! And, this is America after all, so bigger IS better, right?? Not in my mind! I say healthy happy animals are better. Animals that are allowed to graze and eat the food they were made to eat. In all truth, the human body was not designed to eat meat, but that is another subject for another blog. If I have heard this once, I have heard it a million times.....'where do you get your protein from??' That question always prompts a laugh from me because most humans eat WAY more protein than their bodies need. And why is that? Because the FDA tells you that you need it. If you think about it, the 'Food Pyramid' that they put out there is pretty messed up. Someday soon when I have time, I will make a food pyramid of my own that is much healthier, and post it on my blog. For today, this is where I will trail off......stay tuned and thanks for reading!!